Disabled Sports Essay - 2574 Words

When one looks at the word â€Å"disability†, it immediately conjures up an idea of what someone cannot do, or something physically wrong with an individual, that prevents them from doing something as the majority of society can do. When society looks at a person with a disability, society relates or compares them to what is considered â€Å"normal†. It is that comparison to the majority, or normality which causes society to view a disability as a negative. Disabilities can limit someone or on the other hand, they can give an advantage. In this paper, I will discuss whether Talcott Parson’s sick role applies to disabled individuals. As well, I will look at Michel Foucault and how his theories such as the clinical gaze and classification play into†¦show more content†¦Many disabled athletes and individuals outside of the sporting world, point to the issue with the word â€Å"disablility†. The word itself conjures up negative ideas and stereotypes. The able-bodied athlete is thought of as a pillar of strength, of someone who is admired, who has the ideal body. We live in a society where our sports stars are treated as heroes. If we look at hockey arenas, players are cheered and given standing ovations simply for entering the ice. A disabled athlete is looked upon as weak, small, or infirm. They are not held up high as heroes to their society, in fact if one was to compare the coverage of a Paralympic event with that of an able-bodied event, one would see a great injustice to the disabled athlete. In fact, there is a good chance one wouldn’t be able to find coverage of most disabled sports. The Paralympics are seen as secondary to the Olympics, in fact many fans of the Olympics are not even aware that the Paralympics usually follow the Olympics shortly after the closing ceremonies. The 2005 documentary â€Å"Murderball† set out to defy stereotypes of the infirm invalid, which many envisioned disabled athletes to be. Murderball is a film documenting the 2004 American and Canadian men’s quad or wheelchair rugby teams. Wheelchair rugby was invented in Canada in the 1970s and was originally called Murderball (International Wheelchair Rugby FederationShow MoreRelatedStudents Knowledge Of Adaptive Sports On Campus2460 Words   |  10 Pagesis home to some of the finest athletes with disabilities, but nobody knew or heard of them. When we conducted interviews, questioning students’ knowledge of adaptive sports on campus, only one out of the ten was aware of its existence. Our focus for this project was to address the awareness as well as the quality of adaptive sports on campus. Currently the University of Illinois is home to both Men Women’s Wheelchair Basketball and Track. Tatyana McFadden is a graduate of Illinois at in the 2012Read MoreWhy I Am A Wheelchair Basketball860 Words   |  4 Pages but it motivated me to push myself so I could play the sport that I love. Wheelchair basketball has also benefitted me by giving me a sturdy social support system which allotted me a better quality of life. Before I joined wheelchair basketball I had a small group of friends and I often felt insecure about being the only disabled person in my group. I fell into a deep depression because I thought that I was alone in being the only disabled person in my community. Once I joined wheelchair basketballRead MoreDisability Sports : Disabled Disabilities1673 Words   |  7 PagesDisability sports was initially created to help rehabilitate war veterans, since then it has become extremely popular and occurs across the globe. Historically, disability sports has not received very much attention, the problem is that we don’t have enough organized programs for the younger generations. There are plenty of after-school programs out there for able-bodied children, such as football or soccer, but there is a considerable lack in the amount of programs for disabled c hildren, accessibilityRead MoreThe Provision of Disabled Facilities in Sports Essay476 Words   |  2 PagesThe Provision of Disabled Facilities in Sports Currently there is no government legislation that relates or regulates to the provision of disabled facilities in sport. An institute, the ‘Inclusive Fitness Initiative’ aims to provide the physically disabled with the opportunity to exercise in accessible facilities with trained staff, among others who are similarly disabled themselves. Since providing the disabled population with accessible sports facilities is not a legalRead MoreRoles, Aims and Objectives of Two Sports Organizations Essay1053 Words   |  5 PagesRoles, Aims and Objectives of Two Sports Organizations I have chosen two sports organisations involved in development schemes and I will look at their roles, aims and objectives. The two organsations I have chose to focus on are The National Association for Sports Development (NASD) and The English Federation of Disability Sport (EFDS). I chose these two organisations as I thought they would be interesting organisations to concentrate on and I found a fair bit of researchRead MoreUnit 6 - P21251 Words   |  6 Pagesï » ¿Unit 6 – P2 In sport there can be certain reasons as to why people are unable to in sport, cultural, social, historical, economic or educational. These barriers are referred to as barriers to participation. Culture barriers are linked to different nationalities, beliefs and religions. There may be rules and views on who should participate in sport. Some religions do not allow women to participate in sport altogether, others allow participation if they wear clothes that cover the whole body. InRead MoreFactors Affecting Participation in Certain Sports Essay951 Words   |  4 PagesFactors Affecting Participation in Certain Sports Your peers are the people you mix with who have similar interests and backgrounds and are roughly your age. Your peer group has a big influence on the way you behave and the things that you do. This is not always expressed words. If you wear the â€Å"wrong† clothes or do the â€Å"wrong† things you can very quickly feel left out. If you peers approve of an activity, you will feelRead MoreAcademic Service Learning ( Asl ) Questions1197 Words   |  5 PagesAdapted Sports Night here at the University of Texas. Prior to arriving to the event a couple of prejudgments I had was that, majority of the athletes there would be from recreational sport teams in the area and that the games would be pretty simple to understand. Essentially, I thought that they would show me how to play different sports and how they are adapted to their wheelchairs or their particular disability. I believe that these assumptions came from not realizing that adapted sports is moreRead MoreEssay on Social Influences on Sport Participation1459 Words   |  6 PagesSocial Influences on Sport Participation It is clear that sport is strongly influenced by social factors and by human cultural responses. There is a recurring tension between tradition and the cry for modern intervention, this is apparent in football, where some want the technology that is used in rugby, in which a television screen is used in doubtful situations such as trys that werent fully seen by the referee, this would eradicate time wasting in controversialRead MoreBenefits in Youth Football1608 Words   |  7 Pagesof man, sports have had a tremendous role in the way people live their lives. From the time we are born, until our elderly age, most of us are involved in some way with sports. Whether it is a scrimmage game of soccer at recess in elementary school, playing on the varsity athletic team or simply watching the Olympics or sporting events on television, sports have an influential role in our everyday lives. The outstanding popularity of the sports industry has profoundly affected youth sports organizations