The Olympics and the Paralympics are both global events showcasing exceptional athletes. The Paralympics, named for running parallel to the Olympics rather than for any single disability, Sir Ludwig Guttmann founded the Paralympics after recognizing a universal desire and benefit in athletic participation among people with spinal cord injuries, emphasizing the empowerment that sport offers.
Personal Reflection
“To be a man, I have to be stronger and more assertive, or to be disabled, I have to be less independent and so subordinate that others speak for me when I’m in the room. These learned societal traits can be seen in the female gender roles as well. These things are just stereotypes but are reinforced heavily and sometimes complicate being a disabled man” (Martin-Hays, 2022, Balancing Male Stereotypes and Disability)
Life as a disabled person involves evaluating the pros and cons of energy, time, and various other factors of other people. The hardest one to overcome is others not managing my body. That I do 24/7, I don’t have as many will-or-can questions about being active and living life like everyone else. I do find that when I meet new people, especially virtually post-pandemic, I do take advantage of the limited camera view. I talk about rock climbing or skiing, sometimes leaving out the mono part of what I do, because it invites the specifics of how skiing has adapted. That physical strength blends in. I like sports like climbing, where adherence to strategy and arm strength come in handy.
The intersectionality of being disabled (a minority identity) and a man (an identity that is favorable in a patriarchal society decides its affirmations and its inspiration. Society gives and takes from you.
Severely Disabled Paralympic Competition
At the Paralympics, the event needs to be marketed to secure funding, and to do that effectively, the IPC (International Paralympic Committee) uses “flashy” prosthetics and chairs. These tools aren’t applicable to everyone and can reinforce assumptions about who is disabled enough. The classifications are complicated.
“The term ‘severe’ impairment refers exclusively to individuals who possess physical impairments, as opposed to sensory or intellectual, and compete within lower Paralympic sporting classifications.
In Paralympic swimming, this corresponds to classifications (often termed “classes”) 1–5. Paralympic swimming comprises 14 functional classes.
Swimmers with physical impairments compete in classes 1–10, with class 1 for individuals with the most severe impairments and class 10 occupied by Paralympic swimmers with minimal impairment. (IPC Swimming, 2011).
Other sports use different means of denoting the classifications in which individuals with severe impairments compete.” (Purdue & Howe 2013, p.29)
Sports classes are meant to level the playing field for competition. There has to be a scale to base the awards on. But while the IPC’s mission is to enable.
“IPC’s activities, in the context of Paralympic athletes are the development of all athletes from initiation to the elite level.” Purdue & Howe 2013 p. 27).
The “self-determination” is interesting to me because I have heard it so often as a compliment, it toed the line between a compliment for me and inspiration for others. Taking pride in a sport and being aware of a sport are two different angles. Awareness is acknowledging a diagnosis, and pride is a celebration.
References
Martin-Hays, O. L. (2022, August 3). Balancing male stereotypes and disability. capableism.blog. https://capableism.blog/balancing-male-stereotypes-and-disability/Balancing Male Stereotypes and Disability
Purdue, D., & Howe, P. D. (2013). Who’s in and who is out? Legitimate bodies within the Paralympic Games. Sociology of Sport, 30, 24-40. https://doi.org/10.1123/ssj.30.1.24