‘A mockery of equality’: an exploratory investigation into disabled activists’ views of the Paralympic Games

Braye, Stuart, Dixon, Kevin and Gibbons, Tom (2014) ‘A mockery of equality’: an exploratory investigation into disabled activists’ views of the Paralympic Games. Disability & Society, 28 (7). pp. 984-996. ISSN 0968-7599

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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/09687599.2012.748648

Abstract

This article offers an exploratory analysis of the opinions of disabled activists towards the Paralympic Games. With the use of a qualitative online survey, the work focuses on the perceptions of disabled individuals (n = 32) who are not Paralympic athletes but are affiliated to the disability rights group, the United Kingdom Disabled People's Council. Working on the premise that the views of disabled activists have been excluded from Paralympic sports discourse to date, the results illustrate a nuanced yet negative view of the Games to contrast with an existing, yet overly positive, academic narrative. Participants were particularly cynical of the portrayal and production of the Games and its Paralympic athletes as they perceived that the wider population of disabled people is misrepresented. The overwhelming perception in this preliminary analysis suggests that the Paralympic Games can be counterproductive to disability rights beyond sport.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: Disabled activists, Paralympic movement, disability rights, disability politics, disabled people’s movement
Subjects: C600 Sports Science
L300 Sociology
Department: Faculties > Health and Life Sciences > Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation
Depositing User: John Coen
Date Deposited: 16 Jun 2020 10:38
Last Modified: 31 Jul 2021 11:30
URI: http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/43468

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