Unhealthy, unfit, disabled: Constructions of health and fitness among adolescents with mobility impairments

Abstract

The present study explores the discursive constructions of health, fitness and disability among eight 14-17 year old youth with variety of mobility impairments living in the Ottawa area. Located within a framework informed by feminist poststructuralist and disability theories, the study is based on a content analysis of guided conversations and individual journals in which participants were involved. Results indicate that participants discursively construct health and fitness in corporeal terms such as being active, eating right, and having a good body. Within their constructions, participants both resist and rearticulate dominant health, fitness and disability discourses. Results also highlight a variety of discursive strategies used by participants to both defy oppressive stereotypes related to gender and disability and to construct themselves as healthy and fit individuals. Insights gained from this study begin to fill an important gap in North American literature on the experiences of youth with disabilities. Such insights may be used to inform the development of programs aimed at improving the health, fitness and well-being of Canadian adolescents.