5
Section one: The fundamentals
A)
Exercise 1: Notebook Prompt
Many of you are likely familiar with the concept of “ability inequity,” which the authors of this article define as “an unjust or unfair (a) ‘distribution of access to and protection from abilities generated through human interventions’ or (b) ‘judgment of abilities intrinsic to biological structures such as the human body’.”
However, they go on to identify the following “ability concepts” that are less familiar:
1) ability security (one can live a decent life with whatever set of abilities one has)
2) ability identity security (to be able to be at ease with one’s abilities)
How prevalent are these forms of security among disabled people? Or, if you identify as a disabled person, would you say your social surroundings and community foster and support these kinds of security? Furthermore, while the focus of the article is on Kinesiology programs, it is also important to reflect on how academia in general accommodates for disability. If you feel comfortable answering this question, what has been your experience of postsecondary education to date?
-OR-
The authors also observe that “Ableism not only intersects with other forms of oppression, such as racism, sexism, ageism, and classism, but abilities are often used to justify such negative ‘isms’.”
What do you think this means? Provide an example.
| What the statement that “Ableism is intersecting with other oppressions, including racism, sexism, ageism, and classism, and abilities are invoked to justify such negative ‘isms'” actually says is that societal opinion about ability is often used to justify other discrimination. Like the assumptions about the things people can or cannot do by their ability or lack of ability, are tools of exclusion that maintain the issues that are rooted in inequalities.
This is especially seen in the workplace, ableism connects with classism when disabled people are denied the opportunity to work because of the assumption of their productivity or for the cost of accommodations. This justifies economic inequality and reinforces the separation of class, keeping disabled people in lower-income brackets with fewer opportunities for social mobility. Another example is the connection of ableism with racism in healthcare settings. Studies have shown that Black disabled individuals face worse barriers in getting the right medical treatment, both through ableist presuppositions and through racial stereotypes influencing the perception of their pain and their needs. This kind of double oppression results in worse healthcare outcomes, maintaining the perpetuation of institutionalized discrimination. This shows how ableism is not just interested in the disabled but is very much seen in broader discriminatory systems. |
Exercise 2: Implicit Bias Test
Did anything surprise you about the results of the test? Please share if you’re comfortable OR comment on the usefulness of these kinds of tests more generally.
| Yes, I was shocked at the result of the test. I didnt believe I had a strong automatic preference for people physically able compared to physically disabled people since I have always believed in equality and inclusion. It was quite upsetting to see that despite my intentions, implicit biases may still be present in my subconscious. The result made me reflect on how much societal norms and the portrayal of disability could influence my thoughts, despite not being conscious of it.
This test can be useful as a tool for self-awareness because it reveals biases people are unaware of having. However, they also could have limitations. Implicit bias may or may not be conscious or obvious bias, and a variety of things can alter the results, ranging from stress levels to acquaintance with the categories being tested. These tests still have the potential to reveal a problem of the bias and pushing people to think critically about the social conditioning that shapes attitudes toward disability. |
B) Keywords
Exercise 3:
Add the keyword you contributed to padlet and briefly (50 words max) explain its importance to you.
| Ableism – Ableism is important to me because it decides how disabled individuals are treated by society, they are still largely excluded and discriminated against. Recognizing ableism aims to dismantle discriminatory attitudes, provide accessibility, and create a more inclusive world where disabled individuals are valued for who they are, not just because of their ability to “overcome” challenges. |
B) On Disability
Exercise 4: Complete the Activities
Exercise 5: Notebook Prompt
What do Fitzgerald and Long identify as barriers to inclusion and how might these apply to sport in particular?
Fitzgerald and Long identify many barriers to inclusion, specifically focusing on kinesiology, sport, physical education, and physical activity. One of the barriers is the overall lack of awareness among faculty of disability mandates, resulting in the lack of policy implementation. The majority of administrators and instructors also lack training in working with disabled clients effectively. Where policies exist, an overall lack of awareness of federal disability mandates also worsens accessibility. Disabled people also get negative responses when they disclose their disability, resulting in stigma and doubt. Institutions also do not make necessary accommodations in areas like academics, technology, and the use of inclusive teaching strategies, and in most instances, institutions do not comply fully with legislated accommodations.
These barriers have a direct impact on disabled athletes in sport. Just as the faculty in academic programs are not interested in incorporating persons with disabilities, coaches in sports equally lack knowledge and training in adaptive sports. This can result in exclusion in mainstream sport, with disabled athletes being moved to segregated teams rather than being part of regular teams. Disabled athletes may be incorporated to participate, yet still suffer from exclusion, with disabled athletes being considered less able from ableist stereotypes. Another issue is the absence of adaptable equipment and accessible facilities, which limits disabled athletes’ training and competition. Disabled athletes even at the elite level are still short of funding, sponsorship, and media attention in comparison to non-disabled athletes. Overall, the same structural and cultural barriers in programs get repeated in sports, maintaining exclusion and ableist norms in athletic spaces.
C) Inclusion, Integration, Separation
Exercise 6: Complete the Activities
Exercise 7: Notebook Prompt
Choose ONE of the three questions Fitzgerald and Long argue disability sport needs to address and record your thoughts in your Notebook.
- Should sport be grouped by ability or disability?
- Is sport for participation or competition?
- Should sport competitions be integrated?
| 3. The idea of integrating competitions in sport is complex since it is a matter of balancing fairness, inclusion, and standards of competition. While integration would increase the inclusion of disabled athletes and decrease the ableism of the marginalization of disabled athletes, it would also promote the ideals of equality and accessibility seen in the frameworks for the rights of disabled people, making sure that athletes of any ability are allowed to compete with each other.
However, full integration is difficult. Sporting competitions are naturally organized around physical ability, so mixing competitions with little changes will be discriminatory towards disabled athletes. Adaptive sporting competitions aim to level the playing field by accounting for diverse levels of ability. Without it, integration will result in hypocrisy rather than full participation. Some argue that disabled athletes can be appreciated for their skills in separate competitions rather than being measured in ableist standards in comparison to non-disabled athletes. Part of the answer is to expand integrated sporting events while maintaining some separate competitions. This can be more mixed-ability competitions, like the classification systems at the Paralympics, where athletes compete in equal classes by ability rather than just split disabled and non-disabled athletes. The long-term goal must be to create an atmosphere where disabled athletes can get the same opportunity to show their ability without being excluded from the systems in place. |
Part Two: Making Connections
A) Gender, Sport and Disability
Exercise 8: Complete the Activity
The paradox that sportswomen habitually face (as the authors observe, this isn’t confined to disabled sportswomen) involves the expectation they will be successful in a ‘masculine’ environment while complying with femininity norms in order to be recognized as a woman.
True or false?
Take a moment to reflect on this paradox below (optional).
| TRUE – This paradox is an issue in sports, where women athletes have to juggle the desire to prove their athletic ability, which is often stereotypically associated with strength, competitiveness, and aggression, qualities often seen as masculine, while still trying to fit in with the typical vision of the expectations of femininity. Female athletes are often mocked in ways in which male athletes are not. For disabled women in sports, this challenge is even more complex. They have to fit in with not only the gender expectations, but with the ableist presumptions that can de-sexualize or de-gender them. Whereas non-disabled women athletes may be required to “prove” themselves as feminine in terms of behaviour or appearance, disabled women athletes may struggle simply to be seen at all since they are often presumed to be asexual or not seen as women altogether according to the standards seen in sports today. This paradox is obvious in how women athletes appear in the media, sponsors, and in policy itself. Women athletes with the stereotypical idea of beauty get more sponsorship deals and media highlight, while others may struggle for their share of the spotlight despite their achievements. This shows how femininity must be performed in association with athleticism to be accepted, indicating the deeply rooted gendered assumptions in sport. |
B) Masculinity, Disability, and Murderball
Exercise 9: Notebook/Padlet Prompt
Watch the film, Murderball and respond to the question in the padlet below (you will have an opportunity to return to the film at the end of this module).
The authors of “Cripping Sport and Physical Activity: An Intersectional Approach to Gender and Disability” observe that the “gendered performance of the wheelchair rugby players can…be interpreted as a form of resistance to marginalized masculinity” (332) but also point out that it may reinforce “ableist norms of masculinity.” After viewing the film, which argument do you agree with?
a) Murderball celebrates a kind of resistance to marginalized masculinity
| Murderball both challenges and reinforces traditional notions of masculinity, making it a complex case study in gender and disability representation. The documentary shows the physicality, competitiveness, and aggression of athletes in wheelchair rugby, going against the perception of disabled men as weak or passive. While it portrays the athletes as tough, competent, and masculine, the documentary disrupts the social exclusion of disabled masculinity, showing that being disabled does not mean being vulnerable or dependent.
At the same time, though, Murderball also reinforces ableist norms of masculinity through its emphasis on hypermasculine traits like aggression, strength, and sexual expression. The players in the documentary show their masculinity in ways typically related to hegemonic, exclusionary definitions of how one can be a “real man.” This supports cultural expectations for masculinity to be shown through physical strength and toughness, abilities most closely connected to able-bodiedness. The film can be seen as reinforcing the idea that disabled men have to prove themselves to be acceptable in society rather than working to erase such expectations in the first place. Murderball is both a source of resistance to, and validation of, the traditional masculine role, highlighting the complexities of disabled masculinity in sport. |
Section Three: Taking a Shot
A) Resistance
B) Calling out Supercrip
Exercise 10: Mini Assignment (worth 5% in addition to the module grade)
1) Do you agree with the critique of the “supercrip” narrative in this video? Why or why not? Find an example of the “supercrip” Paralympian in the 2024 Paris Paralympics or Special Olympics coverage and explain how it works.
| I do agree with the critique of the “supercrip” narrative presented in the We’re the Superhumans video. The “supercrip” narrative shows disabled athletes as inspiring heroes who have overcome their disabilities through their pure determination, reinforcing the idea that a disability is something to be conquered rather than something that can be accepted as a valid way of being. The narrative can be harmful in the sense that it individualizes the experience of the disabled person and disregards the structural barriers disabled people face in society, such as a lack of accessibility, funding, and inclusion. Rather than challenging ableist frameworks, the narrative of the “supercrip” likes to reassure non-disabled people that success is a matter of will, absolving society of its responsibility to create a more accessible society.
As an example from the 2024 Paris Paralympics, showing how the media covers athletes like Italian wheelchair fencer Beatrice Vio (Bebe Vio). Vio, the double amputee due to meningitis, is presented as being “unstoppable” and as “beating the odds.” She is undoubtedly an excellent athlete, but most of the reporting is focused on her being disabled as the obstacle she heroically overcame, rather than celebrating her for her ability in the sport. This fits the “supercrip” narrative because it suggests her success is talented in the sense she is disabled, rather than in the sense she is an elite athlete. The issue seen with this is it creates the idea that disabled people must be exceptional to be worthy, rather than already worthy regardless of the outcome. It shifts the attention away from the barriers to success disabled athletes face, such as the lack of funding for sport for the disabled, like sponsorships and accessibility. |
2) Does the film Murderball play into the supercrip narrative in your opinion? How does gender inform supercrip (read this blog for some ideas)?
(300 words for each response)
| Yes, Murderball does play into the “supercrip” narrative, though in a more complex way than traditional portrayals of disabled athletes. By showing the athletes as tough, competitive, and physically powerful, the film resists the dominant portrayal of disabled persons as vulnerable or to-be-pitied. However, It still emphasizes the athletes’ success in overcoming disability, rather than more general structural barriers disabled athletes often face.
The supercrip narrative individuates the disabled, suggesting that success is only through determination, rather than external factors like accessibility, money, and societal acceptance. In Murderball, the athletes are valued because they can accomplish traditional masculine expectations, competitiveness, strength, agility, so their success will be more acceptable to the typical audience. This fits with the supercrip narrative in that it shows them as exceptional disabled athletes above expectations rather than critiquing the existence of these expectations. Gender plays a key role in shaping the supercrip narrative, particularly in Murderball, where masculinity is central. Disabled males, in the blog “I Am Not Your Supercrip,” discuss how disabled males are pressured to display hypermasculinity to counter society’s perception of the disabled as weak. The athletes in Murderball reclaim masculinity through physicality, trash talk, and by dominating others, the message being you must be physically tough to be a “real man.” This becomes a part of ableism since it sends the message disabled males must do something drastic if they want to be valued, while disabled women are usually excluded from the supercrip narrative or are portrayed differently, needing to be protected or as inspiring but lacking the aggressive component. Overall, Murderball challenges some ableist stereotypes yet reinforces the supercrip myth by basing success in hypermasculinity rather than in the change of structures. |
