VELOX: Ergonomic. Adaptive. Performance.
| dc.contributor.author | Klecker, Sarah | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2020-08-03T22:47:51Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2020-08-03T22:47:51Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2020 | |
| dc.description | 221 pages | en_US |
| dc.description.abstract | Paralympic athletes have long been marginalized and fought to have their athletic pursuits recognized as equal to traditional sport. These groups have consistently been left out of marketing and advertising images, as these tend to focus on the cultural body ideal and since advertising influences what the cultural perception of “normal” is, their exclusion perpetuates societal discrimination (Hardin, 2003). An apparel market that has long excluded the needs of disabled individuals has a similar effect. Society is tied to the idea that disabled individuals are associated with tragedy, and that makes people uncomfortable–a reason they’ve been excluded from advertising, marketing, and having products generally available that cater to their needs. Sports marketing is particularly guilty of this, as evidenced by an ad for the Nike Dri-Goat trail shoe. It reads: “Right about now you’re probably asking yourself, “How can a trail running shoe with an outer sole designed like a goat’s hoof help me avoid compressing my spinal cord into a Slinky on the side of some unsuspecting conifer, thereby rendering me a drooling, misshapen, non-extreme-trail-running husk of my former self, forced to roam the earth in a motorized wheelchair with my name embossed on one of those cute little license plates you get at carnivals or state fairs, fastened to the back?” (Lauredhel, 2010) This is just one example of such transgressions against disabled athletes. However, as Kaitlyn Large puts eloquently in her piece Why We Need Disabled Athletes in Mainstream Sports: “The sympathy seems to stem from a misunderstanding about what causes the difference in quality of life for disabled people versus their able-bodied counterparts. Physical impairments are not themselves to blame, but rather a society that does not accommodate difference.” By catering to the unique needs of those with disabilities, we can fight this stigma and place para sporting events as equal to Olympic counterparts. Olympic athletes have long been characterized by unique body proportions that aid their sport. Looking at Michael Phelps’s long torso or Usain Bolt’s long legs, companies have been inspired to create uniforms for these elite athletes. Paralympians don’t receive the same treatment and are wearing uniforms designed for traditional athletics, neglecting the fact that their unique bodies and the sports they compete in have different requirements. | en_US |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/1794/25429 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | en_US |
| dc.publisher | University of Oregon | en_US |
| dc.rights | Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0-US | en_US |
| dc.title | VELOX: Ergonomic. Adaptive. Performance. | en_US |
| dc.type | Terminal Project | en_US |