Example Of Essay On Masculinity, Disability And Nationalism In The Case Of The Disable Veterans

Engagement in sports, military and other physical activities and accidents typically lead to disabilities. In the case of the veterans, disability is viewed with pride and nationalism. The relationship between masculinity, disability and nationalism in the case of disabled veterans and the disabled rugby players is created by the fact that having a significant disability such as quadriplegia has a profound and dramatic effect on the person’s self-identity and image. For example, the practice of adjusting to a visible disability for such people may represent a period of managing “spoiled” identity. This evokes a form of national sympathy for them (Kurt and Cherney 19). It is this perception of disability as “spoiling” one’s identity that has increasingly created a culture or image of national heroes around masculinity, disability and nationalism in the case of the disable veterans examined by Professor Serlin and those of the disabled rugby players in the documentary Murderball.

How the masculinity of the disabled bodies recuperated through their sexuality

The masculinity of the disabled recuperated through their sexuality due to the benefits of sports recreation for physically disabled persons that help them to promote resistance by empowerment, as well as empowerment through resistance (Siebers 23). In addition, participation in the disability sports further enhances the masculinity of these bodies to communicate to the ableist society a massage to the effect that resists typical perceptions of the physically disabled persons as weak or frail members of the country (Kurt and Cherney 86). For example, heteronormative or homoerotic, masculine physical activities mediates participant's perception of the social stigma associated with disability and this in turn helps them to view their physical disability as less limiting. For example, it has been found that participants can further empower themselves by heteronormatively or homoerotically building their muscle through which they develop a greater control over diverse and different biomechanical.
While the disabled males in the study respondents felt that they were able to challenge stereotypes fasted over the sick and the weak in the society, they also expressed their internalized perceptions in relation to other aspects of conventional beauty that are reinforced towards them and which re oppressive for the persons with disability across the board in the community (Kurt and Cherney 86). In the army, the gay soldiers have to endure stereotypical attitudes (Taddeo 1). The gay soldiers thus show homoeroticism as a means to consolidate the gendered power.

How gendered and racial power consolidated through the male body

Through gendered and racial power, the military body emerged into the ideal masculine man through three different somatotypes, ectotypes, endomorph as well as mesomorph. In which case, Ectomorph was a tall, thin body while endomorph was the short heavy body. On the other hand, Mesomorph became the muscular body that is classically proportioned in dimensions that are ideal for the physical training of the military (Kurt and Cherney 89). As a result, the military made use of these three physical body types in determining if or not a recruit was homosexual. In addition, they also based the same determination on the recruit’s failure to show enough feminine appearance of masculine stance. The forms of knowledge about masculinity, in particular, historical periods that are needed in order to unpack these particular inconographics of masculinity
In order to unpack these particular inconographics of masculinity, some kind of knowledge about masculinity is required. These forms includes promotion of resistance empowerment and other vales through which the disabled people can find a defined space for their social interaction in order to increase social networks, as well as other relationships (Kurt and Cherney, 52). For example, it would help if the disabled persons were able to learn from other participants how to continue or work towards being physically active Kathryn 207. This could be done through such activities as organizing wheelchair rugby among others. This way, the physically disabled will be helped to enact disability and masculinity in parting ways.
In addition communication n different organizations can be used to unpack these particular inconographics of masculinity (Serlin 155). For example, through communication, the society can be able to reinforce positive gender roles that create as well as sustain a communication culture that is friendly and values and emphasize or encourages particular meanings or enactments of masculinity.

How nationalism and patriotism features in these cases

In all this cases, nationalism and patriotism is reflected through the immortalization of the athletes and disables soldiers. There are immortalized images of different aspects of the athletes on court displays, athletes off court talk and engagements, off court story and experience telling, spectator reactions in addition to other organizational attributes that have served to promote the wellbeing of the physically disabled categories. The athletes and soldiers are seen as patriots who sacrifice for national pride and love of the country. They are always recognized, serialized, honored and awarded medals.

What these images mean

The images are reflective of deeper coded in process as well as other analytical memoing that has for a long time served in perpetuation of these categories which eventually led to the development of certain attitudes. There are stereotypes as associated with self-presentations in regard to stigma as well as framed risks associated with daredevil masculinity or communication that acculturates the participants in to a particular organizational culture (Kurt and Cherney 129)
In addition while the on court displays may appear reckless due to their potential for injury such as through different smashing or hitting employed as the players score the points, the examples, above examples provide a deep rooted desire by the physically disabled persons to achieve as much physical aggression as the able-bodied athletes though in real life this has to differ from the ablest expectations. However, this does not in any way mark the physically disabled athletes as docile or fragile. They can rise to the occasion and promote disabled masculinity as a way to normalize and consolidate power.

Work Cited

Kathryn, Allan. Disability in Science Fiction: Representations of Technology as Cure. NY: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013. Print.
Kurt Lindemann & James L. Cherney. Communicating In and Through “Murderball”:
Masculinity and Disability in Wheelchair Rugby, Western Journal of Communication, 7(2), 2008
Serlin, David. Disability, Masculinity, and the Prosthetics of War, 1945 to 2005.In Marquard
Smith and Joanne Morra, eds., The Prosthetic Impulse: From a Posthuman Present to a Biocultural Future. Cambridge: MIT Press, 2006.
Siebers, Tobin. Disability theory. Michigan:University of Michigan Press, 2008.
Taddeo, Lisa. The Ke$ha-Loving, Command-Defying Ary Auteur. 2010. YouTube