Staff Profile

Sociology of sport, disability studies

Re-examination of the relationship between sports and welfare, exclusion and inclusion of minorities and the socially vulnerable by and in sports

Disabled sports, welfare

Oscar Pistorius, an amputee sprinter with artificial limbs, competed in the 2012 London Olympics. His entry in the able-bodied competition engendered discussions on the pros and cons of this. Those in favor of his entry applauded his ability to run as fast as able-bodied athletes despite his disabilities, whereas those against it argued that his artificial limbs gave an unfair advantage. The latter focused exclusively on his artificial limbs and emphasized his differences from able-bodied athletes.
I believe the controversy over Pistorius has posed an issue: whether we should consider disabled people to be the same as or different from able-bodied people. I feel uneasy about either consideration because if we consider them to be the same, only those who appear similar to able-bodied people can be integrated into society. If we consider them to be different, they will not even be considered for social inclusion.
I believe we should integrate disabled people into society while respecting their differences. I have conducted fieldwork on disabled sports with a focus on ways to ensure concrete implementation of the concept of “social inclusion with respect for differences” particularly based on examples involving severely disabled people. These people possess the skills necessary to live with their disabilities in society even though it is difficult to bring their situations close to those of able-bodied people. Sports seek to exclude certain people based on physical differences, but can liberate bodies from stereotyped images. I hope to review issues related to bodies and minorities from the aspects of disabilities and sports.