Rachael Gunn | |
---|---|
Born | Rachael Louise Gunn 2 September 1987 Hornsby, New South Wales, Australia |
Other names | Raygun |
Academic background | |
Education | Macquarie University (BA, PhD) |
Thesis | Deterritorializing Gender in Sydney's Breakdancing Scene: A B-girl's Experience of B-boying (2017) |
Doctoral advisor | Diane Hughes |
Academic work | |
Discipline | Cultural studies |
Institutions | Macquarie University |
Main interests |
Rachael Louise Gunn (born 2 September 1987), known competitively as Raygun, is an Australian academic and competitive breakdancer. She is a lecturer in the Department of Media, Communications, Creative Arts, Language and Literature at Macquarie University Faculty of Arts. Gunn competed in breaking at the 2024 Summer Olympics, the sport's debut at the Games, but received a score of zero and did not progress past the first round.
Rachael Louise Gunn [1] was born on 2 September 1987 [2] in Hornsby, New South Wales. [3] She danced as a child, and was trained in ballroom, tap, and jazz styles. [3] [4]
Gunn attended Barker College [5] before enrolling at Macquarie University, where she completed a bachelor's degree in contemporary music in 2009 and a PhD in cultural studies in 2017. [6] Her PhD thesis, titled Deterritorializing Gender in Sydney's Breakdancing Scene: A B-girl's Experience of B-boying, explored "the intersection of gender and Sydney's breaking culture". [3] [7] [1]
Before breakdancing, Gunn practised jazz, tap, and ballroom dancing, and competed in the latter. [8] Her boyfriend, later husband, had been breakdancing for 10 years and encouraged her to try it. [2] She began breakdancing in the early 2010s, when she was in her mid-twenties. [3] [4] Gunn paused competitive breakdancing career to complete her PhD, returning to competitions in 2018. [4]
Gunn performs under the nickname Raygun, which is sometimes prefixed with the descriptor b-girl. [6] She is coached by her husband, Samuel Free, [9] and says that she trains three to four hours a day. [10]
Gunn ranked 2nd in the Open Bgirl Ranking in 2022 [11] and topped the ranking in 2023 in Australia [12] as well as winning or coming in the top three at many Australian breaking events over the past five to ten years. [13] She represented Australia at the World Breaking Championships in Paris (2021), Seoul (2022), and Leuven (2023). [6] [3] In 2023, she won the Oceania Breaking Championships, securing her spot in the 2024 Summer Olympics according to the qualifying rules. [3] [4]
In the breaking event at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Gunn did not receive any points from the judges in each of her three round-robin battles against her opponents. [14] [lower-alpha 1] She was eliminated at the round-robin stage after being beaten by Logistx (US), Syssy (France), and Nicka (Lithuania). [16] [17] After her performance and outfit, which did not match her competitors' street style, [18] [19] were ridiculed on social media, she shared a quote on Instagram: "don't be afraid to be different, go out there and represent yourself, you never know where that's gonna take you". [20] She stated that she could not compete athletically with her younger rivals, [21] explaining in an interview afterwards: [8]
I was never going to beat these girls on what they do best, the dynamic and the power moves, so I wanted to move differently, be artistic and creative... I was always the underdog and wanted to make my mark in a different way.
In response to the mockery, Team Australia Chef de Mission, Anna Meares, issued a statement supporting Gunn and condemning what she called "trolls and keyboard warriors". [22] Martin Gilian, the Head Olympic breaking judge, said that Raygun had done exactly what breaking is supposed to be about: "originality and bringing something new to the table and representing your country or region", which she achieved with her kangaroo hop. [23] He added that the breaking community stood behind her. The World DanceSport Federation also offered the support of their safeguarding officer in case Gunn was experiencing any mental health issues due to the media attention. [24] [25] [26]
In the aftermath of the event, false rumours spread that Gunn's husband, Free, was a national coach involved in the Australian team selection and a judge in the Oceania Breaking Championships through which Gunn qualified. However, the Oceania qualifier did not have Free nor any other Australians on its judging panel, used the same rules as the Paris games, and was open to everyone. [27] An anonymous petition on Change.org, calling for an investigation into the conduct of Gunn, Anna Meares, and the selection process, garnered thousands of signatures. This petition was based partly on the above misinformation and included other unsubstantiated allegations. [28] [29] [30] Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) chief executive Matt Carroll demanded the petition be immediately withdrawn, stating it amounted to "bullying and harassment and is defamatory" and that "The AOC is particularly offended by the affront to our Chef de Mission, Anna Meares". [31] On 15 August 2024, Raygun posted a video on social media talking of the devastating effect that the trolling and hate expressed on social media had had on her and her family, and asked media to stop harassing her family, friends, and the Australian and broader breaking community. She said that she had taken her entry seriously and "worked my butt off preparing for the Olympics". [32]
Gunn is a lecturer at Macquarie University Faculty of Arts in the Department of Media, Communications, Creative Arts, Language and Literature. [6] [3]
Her research focuses on breaking, street dance, hip-hop and youth culture, and gender and politics. She is a member of the Macquarie University Performance and Expertise Research Centre. Her teachings span diverse fields, including media, creative industries, music, dance, cultural studies, and work-integrated learning. [6]
Gunn met her husband, fellow breakdancer Free, at university in 2008. [9]
Gunn has published five peer-reviewed articles since 2016. [33] Some of her papers are:
Melanie Janine Brown, commonly known as Mel B or Melanie B, is an English singer, songwriter, television personality, and actress. She rose to fame in the mid 1990s as a member of the pop girl group the Spice Girls, in which she was nicknamed Scary Spice. With over 100 million records sold worldwide, the group became the best-selling female group of all time.
Breakdancing or breaking, also called b-boying or b-girling (women) is a style of street dance originated by African Americans in the Bronx, New York.
Gunn is a surname. In some cases the surname it is derived from the Old Norse masculine personal name Gunnr. In other cases it may be derived from the Old Norse feminine personal name Gunnhildr.
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