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.
|
This phrase emphasizes that ableism, discrimination against disabled persons, often coexists with other forms of oppression. It reveals how society prioritizes certain capabilities over others, and how those perceived abilities are utilized to justify inequalities in a number of circumstances, including race, gender, age, and class. For example, in the workplace, there is often a bias that associates physical strength and stamina with productivity. This can have a disproportionate impact on the disabled, but it also ties to sexism when women are perceived to be physically weaker or less talented in specific occupations. Similarly, racial attitudes have historically linked intellectual or physical abilities with certain ethnic groups, justifying exclusion and punishment. For example, cognitive tests have long been used to exclude immigrants of specific ethnicities, reinforcing both ableist and racist paradigms.
|
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.
|
I don’t think anything surprised me, the only ones I had gotten wrong was just either a finger slip or my brain got a bit confused. My results were a slight automatic favour for Eastern American over Asian American.
|
B) Keywords
Exercise 3:
Add the keyword you contributed to padlet and briefly (50 words max) explain its importance to you.
|
This is important to me since we see it everyday on campus, many university buildings still lack ramps, elevators, or accessible seating. Lab areas, housing, and even libraries may not be wheelchair accessible. Traditional lectures, scheduled examinations, and participation-based marking may penalize students with impairments such as dyslexia, ADHD, or chronic diseases. While many institutions provide disability services, students must frequently lobby for accommodations such as additional time on examinations, note-taking assistance, or flexible deadlines, which may be met with resistance from instructors. |
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 highlight many obstacles to disabled people’s participation in sports and leisure, which might be logistical, physical, psychological, or attitudinal. These obstacles highlight how sport and leisure can be places of exclusion. These include external barriers such as inaccessible athletic facilities, geographical location, expenses, and transportation issues. A failure to provide support, such as individuals qualified to utilize specialty equipment, and a failure to properly transmit information about opportunities, both contribute. Participating or competing with non-disabled persons might exacerbate feelings of poor self-esteem and difference among disabled people. This can be driven by the concern that they will not be able to keep up with non-disabled individuals, possibly risking shame. Negative attitudes might impair participation in sports and leisure activities. Non-disabled individuals may “tolerate” sharing a recreational place with a disabled person, but they are uncomfortable actively interacting with them. Frustration from non-disabled persons when handicapped people fail to execute things at expected levels can promote impressions of inferiority. Such as, some deaf people find hearing people reticent to make changes to include them, whereas deaf people may be hesitant for hearing groups to engage in events for fear of losing the opportunity to compete on their terms. Lastly, they bring up that people with moderate to severe learning difficulties and hearing impairments may find it more difficult to access integrated services owing to communication challenges. Service providers may lack the necessary skills to personalize information to the public’s demands.
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?
|
Question 2 I believe that although sports may be used for both participation and competition, depending on the setting and personal goals of their own. I ultimately think sports are an excellent way to be active, have fun, and interact with people while avoiding the strain of competition. Participation in sports boosts physical and mental well-being, whether it’s a casual game of soccer with friends, joining a recreational volleyball league, or for me, simply dancing for the love of movement. It offers the opportunity to acquire new skills, gain confidence, and enjoy teamwork in a supportive setting. Unlike competitive sports, where winning is the primary goal, participation-based sports prioritize enjoyment, inclusiveness, and personal progress, making them accessible to individuals of all skills and experience levels.
|
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 |
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
|
After reviewing the film I would say I agree with point d) Murderball does both of these things. The film highlights the athletes’ opposition to marginalized masculinity by exhibiting their strength, independence, and resistance to common impairment stereotypes. By competing in a physically rigorous and violent sport, the competitors, particularly Mark Zupan and others on Team USA, challenge the notion that crippled men are weak or passive. However, the film also promotes some ableist masculine ideas, such as the belief that males must demonstrate their worth via physical toughness, rivalry, and dominance. This is compatible with traditional, able-bodied masculine ideals, which may be seen as promoting ableism in the context of disability. Overall, I believe that Murderball both rejects and fosters some aspects of masculinity, particularly by stressing the athletes’ efforts to reinvent themselves in a world that usually excludes them.
|
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.
|
|
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)
|
|