BAR 150

In this essay we will be examining the internal tension in the mainstream representation of people seeking asylum in Australia

The issue of “truth” and it's representation in regards to the perception of “non (White) Australian” Australians has been a recurring motif through out Australian history. The majority of representations of Indigenous Australians, those the White Australia policy was designed to exclude and refugees who arrived since World War 2 have been deliberately manipulated to reinforce the perceived undesirability of these people.
Since the Howard government's commitment to it's “hard-line” approach to refugees, the Australian public has been subjected to a non-stop campaign of negative media images around the issue of asylum seekers. Refugees are almost only represented by images of young men of “middle eastern” or “Islamic” appearance, usually behind bars, and if the image makers are lucky, engaging in acts of violence protesting their continued detention. When the asylum seeker in question is not a young, threatening male, then the “hapless pregnant female” is the next favoured image. She can be represented as “irresponsible” for putting her unborn child's life at risk by attempting a dangerous journey, and while not openly aggressive, her image supports the representation of refugees as a”burden” on the community as she is “obviously” not able to work and will require support. There is also the latent threat of her fertility and potential for “out-breeding” the non refugee population.

Appended to the images are the labels which reinforce what we “know” about that person. An instinctive response to a pregnant woman on a dangerous journey should be one of sympathy and concern for her safety. We imagine what terrible situation must have provoked her to such drastic action at such a vulnerable time. However when we are