Fremantle’s 2023 AFLW Pride jumper is about so much more than just celebrating the upcoming Pride Round, which will feature Fremantle taking on Sydney at Fremantle Oval on Sunday 5 November. 

The Ange Stannett design showcases the Progress Pride Flag on the front of the jumper, with the chevrons forming part of the flag. 

The Progress Pride Flag is an update of the Pride Flag that is synonymous with the queer community. Designed in 2018, the flag includes the colours of the Pride Flag with additional black and brown stripes to represent marginalised LGBTQIA+ communities of colour, along with the colours pink, light blue and white, which are used on the Transgender Pride Flag. 

The jumper is the third iteration of Fremantle’s Pride jumper, and the Vice Captain said she was honoured to be asked to be the designer. 

“I remember feeling like a superhero when I pulled on our first jumper design because it was so bold and that meant so much to our group,” Stannett said. 

“It’s always special regardless of what jumper you pull on, these rounds that have the extra meaning behind it, whether it’s Indigenous or Pride. You try and draw on that to play with a bit more purpose so you can really do it justice. 

“Obviously, I was extremely honoured when asked to help with the design. I was excited about what the process was going to look like and hopefully coming up with a powerful design that sparked conversation.” 

The colourful design on the front is juxtaposed on the back by Stannett showcasing a number of statistics that represent the hardship still felt within the LGBTQIA+ community. 

These stats are showcased by six bars that represent the disparity that still exists in the queer community. 

• LGBTI people are nearly six times more likely to experience and be diagnosed with depression compared to the general population (1)
• 74.8% of LGBTI people aged 18 and over had considered attempting suicide at some point during their lives (1) 
• LGBTI people aged 18 and over were over 18 times more likely to have considered attempting suicide in the previous 12 months (1)
• 22% of LGBTIQ people aged 18 and over reported having ever experienced homelessness (1)
• Only 6% of LGBTI+ youth are involved in a team sport, in comparison to 70% of non-LGBTI youth (2)
• 82% of LGB participants said they have witnessed or experienced homophobia in sport (3)

Stannett said it was important to her to make a jumper that went further than celebrating the contributions of the queer community in the AFLW. 

“I wanted the design to be bigger than the jumper itself and the one game where we celebrate in Pride Round and shed light on the stats we have around mental health and people in the LGBTQIA+ community,” Stannett said.  

“I want people to look at this jumper and be able to celebrate Pride Round but also to create conversations. 

“There’s still a lot of progress to be made and that’s seen in these stats and the gaps there are between the general population to the LGBTQIA+ community.  

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“You see some of these stats, particularly the one that says LGBTI people aged 18 and over are 18 times more likely to have considered attempting suicide in the past 12 months and it really hits home. 

“If there’s any way that we can create safer spaces, more of them, spark conversations that start to change people’s perception, attitudes and behaviour towards people within the queer Community.  

“If that helps to lower the occurrence of prejudice, discrimination and exclusion or helps to save even just one life, that’s a pretty good outcome.  

A portion of every sale of Fremantle Dockers Pride merchandise purchased through The Dock will be donated to Living Proud, a non-profit organisation which aims to promote the wellbeing of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, intersex, queer and other sexuality, sex and gender diverse people in Western Australia. 

Living Proud’s CJ Jansen welcomed Fremantle’s support of the organisation. 

“Living Proud is an LGBTQI+ organisation that has been supporting WA for 50 years,” Jansen said. 

“Overall, LGBTQI+ people are healthy happy people, however, we are still over-represented within the health data, as represented in the jumper design. 

“Our health is notably worse than heterosexual cisgender people, which is largely a result of the stigma, discrimination, and exclusion that still occurs today. 

“Pride Round is a fantastic way of bringing visibility and awareness to this important issue and it helps our community to feel seen.” 

Jansen said one of Living Proud’s current projects was the Queer & Accessible (Q&A) Project, which connects LGBTQIA+ people with disability to the queer community by supporting queer groups and organisations to plan and promote accessible events and activities. 

“Even the data displayed on the jumper doesn’t highlight the even higher rates again that are experienced within the LGBTQI+ disability community,” Jansen said. 

“The Queer & Accessible Project connects LGBTQI+ people with disability to the queer community by supporting queer groups and organisations to plan and promote accessible events and activities.  

“We provide a range of services to help bridge this gap and welcome people to get involved. 

“Our community isn't whole until everyone is able to be involved.” 

REFERENCES 

1 - These stats are sourced from LGBTIQ+ Health Australia’s Snapshot of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Statistics for LGBTIQ+ People October 2021 
2 - sourced from a Pantene Australia survey in 2021 completed as part of the Ribbon of Strength campaign with the Matildas 
3 - sourced from a 2015 study Out on the Fields, the first International study on homophobia in sport