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Article
Bound to Be 'Normal': Assistive Technology, Fair Opportunity, and Athletic Excellence
Proceedings of the IEEE 2014 International Symposium on Ethics in Engineering, Science, and Technology (2014, Chicago, IL)
  • Denise A. Baker, Missouri University of Science and Technology
Abstract

Objections to the use of assistive technologies (such as prosthesis) in elite sports are generally raised when the technology in question is perceived to afford the user a potentially "unfair advantage," when it is perceived as a threat to the purity of the sport, and/or when it is perceived as a precursor to a slippery slope toward undesirable changes in the sport. These objections rely on being able to quantify standards of "normal" within a sport so that changes attributed to the use of assistive technology can be judged as causing a significant deviation from our understanding of "fair" advantage, purity, and status quo. These three objections hold athletes using assistive technologies accountable to standards that restrict their opportunities to achieve greatness, while athletes who do not use assistive technologies are able to push beyond the boundaries of these standards without moral scrutiny. This paper explores how constructions of fairness and "normality" impact elite athletes who use assistive technology to compete in a sporting venue traditionally populated with "able-bodied" competitors.

Meeting Name
IEEE 2014 International Symposium on Ethics in Engineering, Science, and Technology (2014: May 23-24, Chicago, IL)
Department(s)
Psychological Science
Keywords and Phrases
  • Assistive Technology,
  • Disabilities,
  • Athletics,
  • Fairness,
  • Prosthetic,
  • Olympics
International Standard Book Number (ISBN)
978-1-4799-4992-2
Document Type
Article - Conference proceedings
Document Version
Citation
File Type
text
Language(s)
English
Rights
© 2014 IEEE Press, All rights reserved.
Publication Date
5-1-2014
Publication Date
01 May 2014
Disciplines
Citation Information
Denise A. Baker. "Bound to Be 'Normal': Assistive Technology, Fair Opportunity, and Athletic Excellence" Proceedings of the IEEE 2014 International Symposium on Ethics in Engineering, Science, and Technology (2014, Chicago, IL) (2014)
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/denise-baker/3/