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 is able to live a decent life with whatever set of abilities one has)
2) ability identity security (to be able to be at ease with ones abilities)
How prevalent are these forms of security among disabled people you know? 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.
| Ableism is the term used to describe the discrimination against people with physical disabilities and mental disabilities that impact their ability to perform at tasks. To me, this phrase means that ableism can be used to justify these other forms of discrimination by alleging that minorities, females, poorer people and older people are less proficient at specific tasks, and tasks of everyday life. This means that people align these marginalized groups as being a disability in themselves, and being less able. This can cause the members of marginalized groups to perceive themselves as having less abilities than non-marginalized groups, leading to lower ability identity security, or becoming self conscious towards their own abilities. As an example, relating to the last chapter, decolonizing sport, the colonizers would have labelled the Indigenous peoples as having a disability, or being unable to carry out the tasks given to them at the residential schools. This could not be further from the truth, but it serves to prove my point that a marginalized group was perceived as being inferior in their ability to the colonizers. The Indigenous children would have then internalized these false claims, leading to them joining sports, and playing like they have something to prove against the schools with the colonizers’ children. Overall, I feel like that example demonstrates the idea of ableism being used to justify other forms of prejudices and the notions being taken to heart, which can lower one’s perception of their own abilities. |
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.
| My test results showed that I am not good at telling who may be transgender, perhaps demonstrating a lack of understanding. I believe that these tests are a useful tool. Specifically, they are a helpful diagnostic tool to determine how much implicit bias a person has, and they help someone actually see this with their results. Sometimes, seeing their bias could be the jump they need to change their mindset towards a marginalized group of people, and even become an activist. The tests serve as an effective method of self reflection such that it can shed light on biases both conscious and unconscious. In doing so, it can shed some light on some potential unknown preconceptions of groups. These tests can also help raise awareness of social issues by showing knowledge gaps, and areas of improvement for some social skills and other aspects of one’s social lives. |
B) Keywords
Exercise 3:
Add the keyword you contributed to padlet and briefly (50 words max) explain its importance to you.
I chose to define the medical model because it stood out to me. As I start medical school in August of this year, I thought it would be important to understand this so that patients do not get treated that way, by educating myself about this model.
Exercise 4: Complete the Activities
Which of the following are NOT defining characteristics of the medical model of disability?
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Focus on removing barriers
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Focus on the surrounding environment
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Medical intervention to treat illness and “abnormality
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Negative connotations
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Disability as a problem
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Disability as personal tragedy
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Focus on what individuals cannot do
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Impairment as cause of disability
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Goal of restoring “normality”
Drag the words into the correct boxes
The social model of disability argues that society disables people by imposing
and barriers and through attitudes that exclude disabled people from
in society. As such it focuses on disabling
rather than impairment.
The social model focuses on removing disabling instead of intervention.
As Fitzgerald and Long observe, “When it comes to sport and leisure, the medical perspective assumes that disabled people not capable of participating in activities because of their disability and are therefore excluded or offered separate provision…Or, the medical perspective may subscribe to ‘therapeutic recreation discourse,’ which perpetuates the view that “engaging in these activities will make disabled people ‘better’” (168).
Exercise 5: Notebook Prompt
What do Fitzgerald and Long identify as barriers to inclusion and how might these apply to sport in particular?
They divided the barriers into three categories. They were logistical, physical and psychological. Logistical barriers can be defined as external barriers, or environmental, and structural barriers to participation. An example of this could be geography as a barrier to access. Other logistical barriers could be structural barriers, that include governmental or institutional policies that disallow participation in sport. For example, these could be gender-related policies that prohibit the participation of transgender athletes in women’s sports due to having testosterone levels past an arbitrary line in the sand, as we’ve seen through previous chapters in this course. In terms of sports, barriers apply to them because geography can be a factor in participation, because people in a remote area may be physically too far to travel to any center of organized sport. This was seen in the last chapter as well as some of the reservations up north in remote areas could not access sport. Psychological barriers could be related to sport which can take the form of internalized prejudices, which can decrease their perceived abilities, lowering their confidence in their abilities, which could psychologically prevent their participation. Physical barriers could be an illness that prevents their participation, such as a cancer or chronic disease that makes them too weak to participate.
C) Inclusion, Integration, Separation
Which of the following is premised on the social model of disability?
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Integration
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InclusionYes! Inclusive aspiration is premised on the social model of disability that seeks to eliminate the structures and practices that exclude (Fitzgerald and Long)
Exercise 6: Complete the Activities
Which of the following is premised on the social model of disability?
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Integration
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InclusionYes! Inclusive aspiration is premised on the social model of disability that seeks to eliminate the structures and practices that exclude (Fitzgerald and Long)
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?
| 2. I believe that sport should be for a mix of both participation and competition. Some people truly enjoy being more competitive than others and I think that sports should exist for the purpose of enjoyment above all else. The point of sports in my opinion is to give people a reason and the means to be active, to improve their physical and mental well-being and overall health. For some people that looks like just going for the social aspect or the laid back, less competitive atmosphere, such as intramural sports. For others, that could look like pouring their lives and fully dedicating themselves to play at the highly competitive level, such as varsity teams, or even professional teams. I think that instead of grouping sports by skill levels, disabilities and ability, they should simply be grouped into competitive and non competitive and people can choose to play in whichever league they so choose. Grouping them in this way would likely allow for the most enjoyment, while allowing for the most participation, being the most inclusive as possible. I agree with the authors of the article that focusing on one end of the spectrum too much has the potential to focus too much on the negative aspects of disability, and reinforcing the concept of ableism would cause too much separation between people with disabilities, by labelling them as abnormal, which they could internalize, then hinder their performance, removing the enjoyment of the sport. If participation and competion lay on a continuum, I believe that sports should exist somewhere in the middle, allowing people the freedom to choose just how competitive they want to be. |
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).
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
| D
The film ‘Murderball’ both celebrates a resistance to marginalized masculinity and reinforces ableist norms of masculinity. First, relating to resistance, I think this film can portray a resistance to marginalized masculinity. It is defined as viewing masculinity as less noticeable if it comes from a marginalized community. They show how people with various mechanisms of spinal cord injury can still participate in a sport called murderball, where men play a high contact, risky form of wheelchair basketball, a sport that is normally gendered to males, and masculinity. Playing this sport allows each person to increase their perceived masculinity, as high contact sports are largely dominated by men, so it allows them to attach to their masculine roots. Above that, it also shows that people with disabilities can still participate in sports and do what they love to, and live lives to their fullest extent possible. It depicts the athletes travelling from their sporting events to go watch their children play in a concert the means a lot to them. Through the scope of this course I believe they aim to show that disabled people can still have a family, and do many other parts of life, to show that they are not any lesser people than those without disabilities. Conversely, the film also reinforces ableism. For example, in depicting teams men in great physical condition riding around in wheelchairs, crashing into each other and falling over and training hard demonstrates to me that despite having a disability, this sport is not for the weak. The athletes are still in fantastic condition, playing a sport that requires a lot of strength, endurance, speed and intelligence that not everyone can play. I think if they had showed more of a recreational type of league, with varying skill and athletic levels, they might have been able to avoid this message from being communicated accidentally. The early parts of the film talks about how these athletes were not able to do some things as easily, emphasizing the impacts of their disabilities on their lives, showing what they were not able to do, that non-disabled people cannot do, also reinforcing the ableist norms of masculinity. Overall, I think the film ‘Murderball’ did both reinforce ableism and challenge marginalized masculinity. |
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 presented by John Loeppky. The supercrip narrative states that disabled people who complete everyday tasks are perceived as superhuman. I do not think people with disabilities should be viewed as heroes just for doing everyday tasks, and a lot of them do not want to be perceived as such. For example, many people with disabilities view themselves as lazy just for doing things that were built for them, such as using the automatic door opener, or as they call it, the lazy button. Next, I also agree that the narrative creates an assumption that disabled people must want to go to the Paralympics, depicting them as having lower standards for athletes than the Olympics, which is not true. They can almost be more exclusive as some disabilities are not viewed as compatible with the games. Finally, the narrative also tends not to extend to retired athletes that want to transition into coaching roles. Just because they can play, does not mean they can do other parts of the sport because their disabilities may be viewed as hindering their abilities. An example of a Paralympian is Markus Rehm, a long jumper, who jumps on one leg and a carbon fiber blade. I believe he is an example of the supercrip narrative due to the amount of publicity he gets for his successes. I think it is important to note that I am not discounting his successes in the slightest. The medical model of disability is evident here because he used prosthetics to ‘fix’ his disability, to get him closer to ‘normal’. In doing so, they ignore structural barriers, such as policies relating to participation, and regulating prosthetics, such that certain parameters cannot participate. On top of that, I found an article that said Paralympians want to be viewed as athletes, like everyone else, instead of being looked on with pity, demonstrating that they want to be viewed as equal, scrapping the supercrip ideas (Thurtle, 2024).
Thurtle, W. G. (2024, May 6). Why British Paralympics Media Coverage Must Change. Sports Gazette. https://sportsgazette.co.uk/why-british-paralympics-media-coverage-must-change/ |
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)
| I think Murderball does play into the supercrip narrative. It depicts disabled people as athletes in fantastic condition, with lots of fans playing a highly physical sport, that involves lots of physical contact, showing how the film contributes to ableism. I believe this demonstrates that these athletes are also guilty of trying to play into the supercrip, because like Ben Mattlin said, they feel that have to do something extraordinary to be seen as ordinary people. Many people with disabilities have internalized the supercrip ideals just to view themselves as a part of society. Relating to how gender informs the supercrip narratives, the blog uses the example as wheelchair basketball players to demonstrate that gender can inform the supercrip narrative. This could mean that women could be more susceptible to the supercrip narrative as they may internalize some notions that they have to perform even better than males to be taken seriously, especially if they are in positions of authority and leadership positions. I believe the same can apply with sexual orientations other than heterosexual. This could be due to old fashioned methods of thinking, including sexism, showing that some people used to and still think sexual orientations other than heterosexual are inferior. Many people are impressed by these athletes, myself included. Almost all these athletes are males. People are impressed by their strength, their speed and their looks, despite their abnormal bodies and their abilities to act like non-disabled people. I believe that the blog seeks to combine the notions of supercrip and ableism because having greater abilities can make it easier for people with disabilities to feel normal in the eyes of others. |
