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.
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I believe the quote given above refers to individual setting standards, where a lack of inability or lower performance in an ability compared to their standards, justify them giving a negative ism. This becomes an issue as everyone has different abilities that they are good and bad at. For example I might not be great at or able to preform task a, but I am exceptional task B. This type of thinking can be applied across the board. Using my girlfriend’s brother has an example, while he is in a wheelchair and might not move around as fast as me, the upper body strength gathered from moving himself around, puts him in a way better position in upper body strength to no doubt (from experience) beat me at an arm wrestle. |
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.
| In general, these tests allow individuals no matter where they scale to identify it more scientifically. For example it can show how individuals who assumed they were more moderate within their views are more leaning than they would have initially thought. Furthermore, it allows for a greater conversation to be had on why people identify in a particular ranking and what is missing to cause said scores to vary.
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B) Keywords
Exercise 3:
Add the keyword you contributed to padlet and briefly (50 words max) explain its importance to you.
| Ableism
I have added ableism due to its effect on my girlfriend’s brother , who is a wheelchair user. This is typically a large issue for him since many individuals set standards for specific tasks based off of able-bodied individuals. This creates a disadvantage as he might underperform based off the standards in one task, but out preform in other metrics.
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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?
| Socioeconomic factors which included transportation, location, and costs were brought up, with difficulties for families that could already be strained based on the cost associated with some disabilities. Mental/Emotional stressors are another barrier which included topics of able-bodied perceptions, lower expectations, standing out, and confidence issues. All of these play into sporting and teams. Finally, Status-quo issues which included segregation between able-bodied sports and disability sports (ex. hockey and sledge hockey), or how at the same time sports that are regularly played are typically for able-bodied individuals which would require change to be inclusive.
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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 3
Deciding whether sports competitions should be integrated is a difficult question. For benefits, it would go against the traditional segregation model, with the possibility of bring said sports more mainstream and encourage inclusiveness. On the other hand, it could also sideline the events. Traditionally events such as the Paralympics don’t run at the same time as the Olympics and allows for equal viewing opportunity. Pulling from the implicit bias test done in exercise 2, a large amount of individuals, whether they realize it or not, are ableist bias. I believe that merging the two events could lead to decreased viewers and a sense of invisibility.
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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? (TRUE, assuming this is the misplaced prompt a little above)
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
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Answer A Murderball celebrates a kind of resistance to marginalized masculinity or pushes back on the theory that disabled men are weak, extremely bluntly. This is shown through aspects such as athlete strength, independence, and aggression. One large point in independence that sticks in my head involves Scott, where he voices the anger he gets when able-bodied individuals doubt his abilities to complete tasks his own. Additionally, early on in the film Mark can be characterized through strength and aggression. He speaks on people talking down about him behind his back and standing up to them, specifically “ you are not going to hit a kid in the wheelchair, f***king hit me”. In another section he mentions jumping onto a bully and pulling his weight in a fight due to bullying. Both of these parts play into self independence, aggression and standing up for himself, and strength typically not associated with individuals with disabilities. I would like to note that Initially, I thought about answering B as true, and make a point on it. The idea of ableist norms of masculinity seems like an odd topic in my opinion. The theory that masculinity is tied to ableism doesn’t seem quite right. when you look at sports such as skating or dance, where heterosexual men do partake in these types of sports and still can fulfill these ideologies. I believe that masculinity is tied to an individual rather than being tied to a sport or specifically only abled individuals.
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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.
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Yes, I agree with the critique of the “supercrip” narrative. Well, most individuals, including myself initially thought of it as a way to bring power to these individuals, it seems to be more than that. Each individual, whether able-bodied or not, works to improve themselves in the respective sports. The idea that a title is given to a disabled individual for “overcoming” their disability does not sit well. It theoretically sounds like an able-bodied person giving a pat on the back to a disabled athlete who has managed to fit their expectations. I could not find a direct source stating a Paralympian as a “supercrip”. Multiple sources stated that they would move away from this title due to reasons mentioned above. Many of the sources originally using the title have found that Paralympian’s genuinely take offence to the term as it refers to them as less than able body to individuals and that they had finally made it to the exceptions set out able body individuals. |
2) Does the film Murderball play into the supercrip narrative in your opinion? How does gender inform supercrip (read this blog for some ideas)?
| No, I do not believe the film Murderball plays into the supercrip narrative. These athletes are very accomplished in their game, and he overcame a lot to get where they were. That being said, they did not overcome a disability, and the achievements they earned shouldn’t be framed as such. Rather their disability is a part of who they are as an individual and they should be celebrated for what they have achieved. The stories given in Murderball also don’t attempt to put its athletes in a position where they are hailed as a supercrip, but rather shows their day-to-day lives and sport no differently than how a documentary would follow an able-bodied athlete. it does speak about some of their injuries that had brought them to this point, but does not paint it in a negative light as if they’re crawling their way out. overall the story and plot style seen in Murderball doesn’t lend itself to the supercrip narrative, but rather just the true story of the athletes and their game.
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