In her latest post, our comms volunteer Sarah explores the history of the Paralympics, the impact the games have had on societal issues towards disability and disabled people, and the challenges they still face.
There is good news on the horizon for sports fans as the Paralympics begin on 28 August bringing another chance to watch athletes with disabilities compete and excel in their chosen sport. People with a variety of disabilities take part, including amputees, people of short stature, those with intellectual disabilities, and visual impairments. Like the Olympic games, the Paralympics also take place every four years, featuring both summer and winter games on varying years.
Whether or not you are someone who enjoys watching sport, it is fair to say that the Paralympics have made a difference to how society views people with disabilities. I have briefly researched the ways in which the Paralympics may have influenced attitudes towards disabled people, both in positive ways and in ways that still need challenging. But first, here is a brief history of how the Paralympics began and grew into what they are today.
The original idea for the Paralympics started with using sports to aid the rehabilitation of war veterans and civilians in hospital. On the advice of the Government, a doctor called Dr Ludwig Guttman opened a spinal injuries centre in the UK’s Stoke Mandeville hospital. From this, the idea grew from sports being used just to aid the recovery of those injured, into sport for recreation/enjoyment, and then finally as competition between those with injuries or disabilities. In 1948, on the same day as the Olympic games, the hospital hosted a competition for wheelchair users. This grew into a competition called the Stoke Mandeville games in 1952, which expanded to become the Paralympic games in 1960.
These have taken place every four years since then and involve 400 athletes from 16 countries. In 1989, the global International Paralympic Committee (IPC) was founded to act as the governing body for the Paralympics. Its aim and purpose were to promote a more inclusive society and to challenge stereotypes and social barriers.
The growth of the Paralympics over the last few decades has proven that people can participate and succeed in sport despite living with a disability. Rather than disability being seen as something to be ashamed of or hidden away, the Paralympics have brought it to the forefront. It continues to raise awareness of disability, as well as the difficulties that disabled people face such as inequality, discrimination, hate crime, and accessibility. More awareness brings about positive social change, although, as we know, sadly it does not happen overnight.
Along with raising awareness and celebrating the achievements of people with disabilities, the Paralympics have helped change attitudes and challenge negative stereotypes. The competitors are often viewed as courageous, determined, and inspirational. They show that it is possible to achieve great feats despite being limited in some way. The Paralympics have also challenged negative stereotypes which view people with disabilities as marginalised members of society or even worthless. Watching people with disabilities participate in sport has helped to change this view of people with disabilities into one that is more accepting, positive, and inspiring.
There is a problem with stereotyping though, it tends to create an unbalanced idea of what it is like to live with a disability. People do not necessarily want to be thought of as inspiring or brave, whether they are participating in the Paralympics or simply getting through the day. And many people with a disability, myself included, do not want to be seen as any different from people without disabilities, just with a particular set of challenges and strengths. Some people feel that the Paralympics may have contributed to the view of people with disabilities as either being superhuman, or the derogatory ‘lazy benefit scrounger,’ due to a lack of understanding of what it means to be disabled, and the specific challenges and issues disabled people face.
Another problem is that many disabilities are invisible. The Paralympics cannot include every type of disability, so those of us with invisible disabilities such as Lupus, Muscular Dystrophy, M.E, mental health issues, or intellectual disabilities, to name a few, are not given the same awareness and so remain invisible and often misunderstood by others. The athletes need to be physically fit, so the disability of an athlete is obviously different from those which limit people’s physical strength or cognitive ability. And of course, there are many variations of strength and fitness regardless of anyone’s disability or lack of disability.
The Paralympics have achieved a lot by raising awareness of those with disabilities. They are helping to create a more inclusive society by showing that disability does not always have to be a barrier, even though there are still challenges ahead in helping people understand what it is like to live with a disability.