'Flag within a Flag: Understanding the Ongoing Cultural Significance of the Union Jack in the Australian Flag' by Tracey Mee in (2024) 48(3) Journal of Australian Studies 365-379 comments
In Australia, social scientists have long understood the importance of national symbols and the role they play in both the construction and maintenance of the nation, but in-depth analysis of the national flag has been overlooked. In particular, the cultural significance of the British flag that sits within the Australian national flag warrants focused consideration, as it symbolises the moment Australia became a British possession in multifarious ways. In this article, a critical analysis of the Australian flag demonstrates how the primary symbol of the nation can heighten White privilege through its official point of honour. Vexillology and Indigenist Standpoint Pedagogy provide a framework from which to deconstruct the Australian flag. This article conducts a critical examination of the social, institutional and historical frameworks that support the flag to argue that it is an ongoing signifier of White cultural power. ...
The Australian national flag is a symbol that communicates both explicit and implicit messages to its citizens as a collective and as individuals. This article draws from and furthers my PhD research, which critically examines the Australian nation through an investigation of the national flag.Footnote1 Analysis of the flag’s history and its applications across a range of sites reveals the cultural significance of the Australian flag, which carries the British flag as its official point of honour. My research demonstrates that discussions about the Australian national flag remain framed by Anglocentric history, sentiment and traditions. Furthermore, I argue that when non-Indigenous Australians engage in debate about the national flag, they routinely fail to foreground or incorporate Indigenous Australian perspectives.Footnote2 What is missing from these discussions is critical analysis of the flag and its capacity to operate as a symbol of White cultural power that is reinforced by the enduring authority of the Union Jack. The task at hand, therefore, is to reveal the pedagogical influence of the flag. This article begins with a background discussion that engages with various symbols of Australian national identity and highlights some of the rhetorical strategies deployed in their defence. Following this, I turn my attention to the historical development of Australia’s national flag before investigating various dynamics encoded in a national flag. Finally, I use the principles of meta-vexillological reflection alongside Indigenist Standpoint Pedagogy (ISP) to examine how the historical, institutional and social structures of Australian society work together to reinforce the legitimacy of the flag and the messages that it transmits.
