For Essendon co-captain Bonnie Toogood, this weekend’s AFLW Pride Round is all about making sure everyone in the community feels seen and heard for who they are.
The culture of acceptance and inclusion within the AFLW competition is something she’s witnessed through her time across two AFLW clubs, the Western Bulldogs and more recently, Essendon.
“I noticed it particularly when I transferred from another code, and then coming into AFLW, it was just such an accepting environment and a place where you could be who you are and be really vulnerable with that,” Toogood tells Women’s Agenda.
The 25-year-old says she feels a responsibility as a leader within Essendon and the AFLW more broadly to ensure that this culture of acceptance is continued for years to come.
“The AFLW has been such a safe and accepting environment for so long,” Toogood said.
“We just want to continue that and bring that to the wider community because it’s so important to make sure that people feel seen and heard and accepted for who they are.”
This weekend, between November 3-5, the AFLW will be holding its Pride Round, marking the league’s fourth ever round dedicated to celebrating and supporting LGBTQI+ communities.
All 18 clubs will wear specially designed Pride guernseys, while field and boundary umpires will wear rainbow-coloured sweatbands and goal umpires will carry Pride flags. On field, the 50-metre arcs will be painted rainbow, while a rainbow will also feature on the iconic Sherrin for the first time.
The AFLW works with not-for-profit organisation, Pride in Sport, to ensure it continues to learn and provide genuine support to the community.
Toogood says it’s this commitment and culture that continues to bring more fans and community members into the game, and helps them to feel connected to the women’s league.
“That’s something about women’s footy that I’ve heard time and time again, particularly about being in the stands during Pride Round, is that there’s such an accepting environment and everybody’s celebrated,” she said.
“We’ve got the progressive flag through our sash and it’s really important to make sure all identities and sexualities are being celebrated.”
Toogood also suggests that the AFLW has cemented its place as an industry leader for LGBTQI+ inclusion.
“Pride Round means we are able to continue being the industry leaders in that, because visibility is a key part of the education process. You can’t change language, or evolve, if there’s no visibility,” she explains. “It’s really important that we champion that.”
For Toogood, a key part of her leadership style as a co-captain at Essendon is to make sure she works hard to be as vulnerable as she can.
“I’m particularly passionate about this [LGBTQI+ inclusion], and so many of the girls are too. It’s about talking about it in a way that people can engage with,” she said.
“Being vulnerable and honest with how important it is to give visibility and educate the wider community on what it means. Previously, people may not have felt safe in a football environment, but now they do because of this round.”
“Whether it’s the rainbow flag or the progressive flag, it’s so important to realise how much it means to people.”
Toogood’s dedication to ensuring Pride Round is successful, and that there are positive flow on effects for the LGBTQI+ community is clear. As she says, it’s a really exciting opportunity.
And it also highlights the fact that what AFLW players do is so much more than just playing footy.
“It’s about connecting the community, and it’s imperative for me as a leader to champion that.”
You can catch Bonnie during the AFLW Pride Round on Friday November 3, when Essendon take on the Gold Coast Suns. You can find tickets to this game, and all other Pride Round games here.
Feature Image: Bonnie Toogood. Credit: AFL Photos.