published works
Dr Rachael Gunn’s writing spans media, cultural studies, and popular music, with publications in major news outlets, leading academic books and journals. She is currently working on more creative projects (watch this space!).
report
Spaces for Street Dance
Gunn, R. & Shaheen, F. 2024. Commissioned by the City of Sydney.
Rachael led this research project exploring the vibrant street dance community across Sydney. The report revealed the creativity, connection and culture that emerges in public spaces, while also highlighting the very real challenges dancers face around safety, access, and recognition.
informed commentary
“We already know what it looks like to run, to swim, to jump and so on. Breaking provides an opportunity to explore the “faster, higher, stronger” ethos of the Olympics in new ways. It shows us that we truly don't know every point on which the body can spin or launch its weight, the different shapes it can make, or all the ways it can move.” The Economist
Rachael “Raygun” Gunn on the new sport that will invigorate the Olympics
Gunn, R. The Economist. 16 July 2024.
What is breaking? A guide to the new Olympic sport
Gunn, R. The Conversation. 9 August 2024.
The ethics of living a double life: rethinking ownership, authenticity, and identity in hip hop culture
Gunn, R. & Shaheen, F., Ink Cypher. May 2022.
“Has our demand for a more informed engagement with Hip Hop consequently sidelined those Hip Hop originally set out to reach? … if commitment is a key contributor to authenticity, do those with the greatest privilege, education, and mobility have an easier means to be considered the most ‘authentic’?” Ink Cypher
book chapters
"In a good way there's no beef, but the bad thing is there's no beef": Tensions and changing cultural politics in Sydney's breaking scene
Gunn, R., 2025, Representing hip hop histories, politics and practices in Australia. Dowsett, S., Marie, L., Rodger, D. & Saunders, G. L. (eds.). London; New York: Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group, p. 191-207.
Nafada: industrial, hip-hop, and the diasporic condition
Gunn, R., Khamis, S. & Collins, S., 2022, Bodies, noise and power in industrial music. Whittaker, J. & Potter, E. (eds.). Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan, p. 37-54.
Nocturnal paradox: how breakdancing reveals the potentials of the night
Gunn, R., 2019, Nocturnes: popular music and the night. Stahl, G. & Bottà, G. (eds.). Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, p. 147-162.
This chapter bridges early Sydney Hip Hop with the contemporary breaking scene, highlighting a shift from locally grounded identity-making to a more outward-looking approach. From the 2000s onwards, breakers increasingly drew on global knowledge, networks, and competitions to build reputation, reshaping their relationship to place as more interconnected and less nationally defined. — Representing Hip Hop Histories, Politics and Practices in Australia
Journal articles
(LATEST)
Australia
Saunders, G. L. & Gunn, R., 2023, Global Hip Hop Studies. 3, 1-2, p. 23-32.
The Australian breaking scene and the Olympic Games: the possibilities and politics of sportification
Gunn, R. & Marie, L., 2023, Global Hip Hop Studies. 4, 1, p. 39-56.
Where the #bgirls at? Politics of (in)visibility in breaking culture
Gunn, R., 2022, Feminist Media Studies. 22, 6, p. 1447-1462.
Dancing away distinction: queering hip hop culture through all style battles
Gunn, R., 2019, Queer Studies in Media & Popular Culture. 4, 1, p. 13-26.
"Don't Worry, it's Just a Girl!": negotiating and challenging gendered assumptions in Sydney's breakdancing scene
Gunn, R., 2016, Journal of World Popular Music. 3, 1, p. 54-74.
The 'systems of relay' in doing cultural studies: Experimenting with the Body without Organs in b-girling practice
Gunn, R., 2016, Continuum: Journal of Media and Cultural Studies. 30, 2, p. 183-194.
editorials
Dance and Protest Special Issue Editorial
Gunn, R., Aprahamian, S., Park, M. & Bell, S., 2023, IASPM Journal: journal of the International Association for the Study of Popular Music. 13, 2, p. 1-1111.
Queer contexts in Australia and Aotearoa/New Zealand
Hoad, C. & Gunn, R., 2019, Queer Studies in Media & Popular Culture. 4, 1, p. 3-12.
creative work
Entering B-girl Raygun: A B-girl’s challenge to B-boying (2019-2021)
Gunn, R., 2022. Macquarie University.