Getting Down to the Paralympics
Sharing some thoughts (and two episode recasts) during the Paralympics
Hello readers of Getting Down to It!
This is Avery Anapol from the Down to the Struts production team. I hope you are all having a rejuvenating Labor Day weekend and reflecting on what was hopefully a joyful summer. Anyone else watching the Paralympics?
While we are between podcast seasons (and Qudsiya is till taking a break from regularly scheduled newsletter content), I wanted to share this thoughtful interview from Priti Salian’s excellent newsletter, Reframing Disability.
Priti interviews journalist Aman Misra, a deaf Indian journalist, currently a PhD scholar and graduate teaching assistant at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. His area of research is in the media perception of sports for persons with disabilities and public memory in sport.
In the interview, Aman discusses mainstreaming non-ableist coverage of Paralympics, including some thoughts about the “super crip” concept (similar to what some may describe as “inspiration porn”). According to Aman:
Journalistic organisations across the planet, locally, regionally, nationally and internationally, have stereotypical ways in which they cover disability. It is written in every academic text that we need to be reframing and rethinking disability not as a disadvantage, but rather as a separate identity itself that is no longer defined as the opposite of able-bodied.
He also shares tips for members of the media and those watching about how disability and sport should be covered on television, radio and online. As an editor who covers society including disability and accessibility issues, I am always learning about how best to cover these topics.
Read the rest of the interview and subscribe to Reframing Disability here.
Episode recast: Let’s Play Goalball!
While many people are thinking about disability and sports, we’ve recast an early episode (November 2020) of Down to the Struts about Goalball, a sport designed for blind and visually impaired people.
Qudsiya is an athlete herself, and in this episode interviews Karla Gilbride and Justin Chan, the co-founders of the Metro Washington Association of Blind Athletes. Their conversation explores the importance of design in making athletics accessible, the power of sports to transform lives, and beating stereotypes on and off the court.
MWABA Goalball players were also recently featured on NPR’s All Things Considered. And below is a video with some Goalball 101.
And finally, if you’d rather watch CSPAN than ESPN, we’ve also recast an episode about voting accessibility. This episode was first broadcast in July 2021, but with a key US election just months away, it couldn't be more timely now.
Qudsiya sits down with Lisa Schur and Doug Kruse, both professors at Rutgers University. They discuss their research on voting access for people with disabilities, and how to ensure participation in democracy is accessible to everyone.
Getting Down to It will be back in your inboxes later this month. Until then, thanks for reading!
In solidarity,
Avery