The co-conditioning of dis/ability and gender: An intersectionality study of Powerchair Hockey

Abstract

This paper aims at initiating scholars to consider dis/ability as a category of analysis when doing intersectionality in sociology of sport. First, it introduces a conceptual framework that allows researchers to engage with the issue of the body and its physical and cognitive functions, as well as to address how the ability–disability system intersects with various other salient systems of oppression and privilege. I call this concept the intersectional co-conditioning of dis/ability, whereby experiences of dis/ability are fundamentally conditioned by (and also condition in return) other systems of difference and inequality. The framework provides scholars with theoretical tools that will help them to investigate body-related issues while avoiding the pitfall of essentializing dis/abilities. Second, this work offers an application of the abovementioned conceptual framework, focusing on the co-conditioning of dis/ability and gender. Based on a multi-sited ethnography of Powerchair Hockey in Switzerland, I investigate different aspects of this sport practiced by people living with so-called “severe” physical dis/abilities. The results highlight the tensions, contradictions and paradoxes that both male and female players face as they (re)negotiate their positions within the matrix of domination. This application demonstrates the explanatory power of considering the intersectional co-conditioning of dis/ability.

Canadian women's experiences in mixed-sex sport: Wheelchair rugby

“…They all spoke of other athletes who did not appreciate or want to be spoken to in this manner who had left the sport. The gendered and aggressive norms become commonplace for athletes as they adopt practices which support their involvement in the sport (8). It reinforces the culture and norms that women competing in mixed-sex sport experience, and that disability sport environments also reinforce gendered and ableist norms.…”

“…The findings here are discussed through Bourdieu's concepts of habitus, capital, and field, and draw upon the disability sport and women's participatory research. These stories are complex and layered, and often represent a multiplicity of identities demonstrating the complexities of intersectional identities (8). Our work aims to highlight the complexity of these multi-faceted experiences for each woman a minority in their sport.…”

“…Gard and Fitzgerald (15) dissected disability representation in the documentary, finding that the players linked themselves to "symbols of hegemonic, straight, non-disabled masculinity" (p. 135), much like DePauw's description of the ideal body as able and masculine (2). Women are breaking barriers and taking part in masculine sports such as wheelchair rugby, but those who are successful are treated differently than men and struggle for equal support and recognition (8,18).…”

“…Yet even with the popularity of the sport, little research has since been devoted to the experiences of these athletes, especially in the cases of female athletes within the sport and the ways in which gender influences their participation. This is not an anomaly, as, even more so in a mixed-sex sport there remains limited research on cisgendered or otherwise identified women in disability sport (4)(5)(6)(7)(8), Thus, our work sought to expand understandings of experiences of women competing in the mixed-sex sport of wheelchair rugby. Building upon the growing literatures of women in sport experiences, this project further considers women's experiences in highly gendered sport settings contributing new insights in disability sport for females competing in a mixed-sex contact sport for persons with disabilities.…”