Australian aboriginal women: Experiences of living in, outside and around the margins

Aboriginal women are said to be within the 'margin' or 'marginal' as the dominant view is 'centred'. Often in some of the discourses, we are an appendage to the main body of work, like an afterthought that is not separated, but lost within the text of the dominant voice. For example, Hage (1998), in reflecting on his own book, states "I have become very aware, only belatedly, that this book fails to incorporate the problematic representation of Aboriginality within white fantasies" (p. 24). This paper will present some of the issues of marginality as it relates to Aboriginal women in Australia. Verbal narratives from interviews undertaken with Aboriginal women in Rockhampton will additionally be incorporated and offer the experience of their lived realities.