Forgotten bodies – an examination of physical education from the perspective of ableism

Abstract

Contemporary social interpretations of the body are multifaceted, and in some cases paradoxical. Looking at the field of sport, there exists a global trend for (normalized) physical self-optimization on the one hand, and the struggle to achieve acceptance of (bodily) diversity triggered by the societal claims for inclusion on the other hand. Thus, this theoretical paper seeks to subject social practices in the area of sport (with a main focus on Physical Education in schools in Germany) to critical reflection especially in the light of inclusive ideals, using the perspective of ableism. The meaning of the body in Physical Education in Germany is examined in an explorative and hermeneutic manner. The observations make clear that there are numerous barriers facing the project of inclusion at all levels. In addition to obvious problematic implications in sport, the examinations reveal that conceptual and curricular approaches also imply exclusionary potentials that increasingly shift the focus onto the individual and his or her self-determined and self-reflected movements in the world.

Notes

1. Similar issues also exist in areas unconnected to the body (one only needs to think of psychological or mental phenomena). However, the focus of this article has been deliberately limited to the bodily aspects.

2. This is all the more extraordinary as Weiler (2003) has shown that this image of humanity had already been used by Aristotle to legitimize the exclusion of slaves, barbarians and women from the category of human beings and that from the beginning onward ‘a sort of inversion of the kalokagathia ideal existed, namely that ugly human beings were considered to be evil and dangerous’.