Watch… but don’t stare.

From a young age I’ve been a huge fan of sport, I often say if it involves a ball, I’ll usually watch it! Although it must be said I follow some far more closely than others — my knowledge of golf for example is pretty much non existent other than the 4 days a year that The Masters takes place!

However, my relationship with sport when it comes to partaking, is very different. I interviewed former Team GB Paralympic athlete James Roberts last year on my podcast ‘You Really Shouldn’t Have’ and I began our conversation by acknowledging how interesting I found it that two people with physical impairments had such differing experiences when it came to partaking in sport during adolescence. Roberts spoke of his love for PE lessons at school, whereas for me, they were my least favourite part of school certainly from around the age of 11 upwards.

My distaste for Physical Education sessions started before they ever really began in truth, and that was in the changing rooms. Throughout much of my childhood I wore Dynamic Ankle Foot Orthosis on both legs — sometimes referred to as DAFOS or commonly referred to as leg splints. This obviously gave me a visible difference to my able bodied peers and usually were not noticeable underneath my school trousers, however once these were switched for PE shorts, there was nowhere to hide.

Once we made it out onto the field, there was then the humiliating experience of having to gather together whilst two appointed team captains led the popularity contest that was selecting teams. Back when I did stand up comedy, I used to do a bit about this and said it would always end up as ‘me, the fat kid and the kid no one liked.’ In truth, my two companions were nothing more than fictitious elements of comedic exaggeration — I was always the last one standing.

The final point where I just completely disengaged with sport in regards to partaking was when as a tutor group we had to nominate a person to represent us in each event at the upcoming sports day. I remember now the teacher went down the list of events and one by one they were filled with names. Once all were filled, he went down the list and was satisfied that everyone was accounted for — everyone except the disabled guy sat at the back. By coincidence I then happened to be off sick on sports day for 4 straight years of secondary school!

As I said at the start, when it comes to watching sport, it’s a very different story. I’m sure like me, you enjoyed the excitement of the Olympic Games a few weeks ago. Despite there being a limited number of spectators at only a handful of events, the amount of talent on show was great to see. We now move on to the Paralympic Games which are running from August 24th — September 5th.

The Paralympics was first developed as an organized a sports competition for British World War II veterans with spinal cord injuries, taking place in England in 1948. A follow-up competition took place in 1952, with athletes from the Netherlands joining the British competitors. In 1960 the first Olympic-style Games for disabled athletes were held in Rome.

Whilst a lot of the media around the Paralympics will talk of the inspirational athletes competing and phrases like ‘SuperHuman’ used to illustrate their achievements, The Paralympics does not pass by without some examples of ableism being displayed, something that is prevalent in society for all disabled people.

Ableism is any statement or behaviour directed at a disabled person that denigrates or assumes a lesser status for the person because of their disability. Social habits, practices, regulations, laws, and institutions that operate under the assumption that disabled people are inherently less capable overall, less valuable in society, and / or should have less personal autonomy than is ordinarily granted to people of the same age.

Just last month during Disability Pride Month, an act of ableist behaviour forced one of the most decorated competitors due to compete at this years games to withdraw.

Three time gold medallist Becca Meyers withdrew from the US Paralympic team in July after accessibility issues caused by the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee. (USOPC)

Becca is a deaf blind athlete who competes in swimming. She was born with Usher syndrome, a rare genetic disorder. She has been deaf since birth and has progressively lost her eyesight. As such, she requires a Personal Care Assistant (PCA) to complete day-to-day tasks like navigating her surroundings and traveling to venues at competitions. Ordinarily, her mother attends events as her PCA, but due to restrictions in the numbers of personnel allowed to travel as a result of the Covid pandemic, Becca was told her mother was not deemed an essential staff member, and that she would have to share a team assigned PCA with 33 other athletes on Team USA. As a result, she decided to withdraw from the competition due to these restrictions putting her at risk.

The Paralympic games heavily rely on their ability to turn disabled athletes into inspirational success stories, yet in this case, they are refusing to provide and accommodate accessibility adaptations that adequately support and ensure the safety of its competitors. You do start to wonder, if the games are unable to be held safely to an accessible standard for all involved, should they really be held at all?

The coverage of the Paralympics here in the UK has grown certainly since the games here in London in 2012, many of our Paralympians went on to have successful spells on TV and in other media off the back of their successes at the games. However, the UK broadcaster Channel 4 has somewhat angered the disabled community with it’s choice of slogan for this years games

Photo Credit: The Drum

They’ve gone with the tagline ‘It’s Rude Not To Stare’. I think the angle they’re going for is ‘how can you not look on in awe at these incredible people’, however, for me, it really doesn’t work.

As someone who has spent the majority of their life being stared at for having a visibly physical impairment, I can assure you, those stares are not usually looks of ‘pride’ or ‘amazement’ or ‘friendly’, usually they are ones of vague curiosity or just plain gawking that often has a very harsh and unwanted feel to it. I’ve always been one to promote the angle of ‘If you have a question, ask me. I’d rather that than to just be stared at blankly.’

Unfortunately, what has probably been dreamt up as a clever or quirky tag line by a room full of able-bodied, edgy advertising execs does not do any favours for disabled people and the experiences we have to deal with from sections of modern day society.

So, enjoy the Paralympics, celebrate the success of the competitors, but please, don’t stare.

Twitter: @itstheJW

Originally published at https://www.itsthejw.com on August 16, 2021.