Hey! Again this is not at all what I need to be doing. However, there's a lot to blog about this month. The Olympics is here. The games have been politically charged but, also a great show of sportsmanship. I felt compelled to write a larger reflection on Alex and Fredrick Bilodeau. I am not an avid fan but, this is what I have learned via mainstream media and facebook about the brother's Bilodeau.
Alex is an amazing bilingual skier. He has won Gold twice at the Olympics for Canada. He is driven and inspired by his brother. Alex loves his brother very much.
And this is what the mainstream media has taught me about Fredrick
HE HAS CEREBRAL PALSY (CP) AND HIS BOTHER IS A WICKED AWESOME SKIIER. FREDRICK LIKES TO WATCH HIS BROTHER COMPETE BECAUSE HE CANNOT. ALSO HE HAS CEREBRAL PALSY!!! WHAT'S THAT? THINK OF THE WORST THING EVER....CP IS INFINITY TIMES WORSE THAN THAT.
In reality: Fredrick also skis. In fact that is why their parents encouraged Alex to take up skiing because they could do it as a family. My source on this is my friend Vivian. However, both times, Alex has won gold I have seen little media that positions Fredrick as anything other than his brother's cheerleader
See the difference? See how Alex is positioned? See how Fredrick is positioned? Remember, I am not talking about a full on google search, where I took the day off work to learn everything there is to know about the Bilodeau's. This what I have inferred through newspaper articles, the odd facebook post and news radio.
Here's my deal: I am really happy Alex Bilodeau won gold. I am also happy that his
brother is his biggest fan. They have a really beautiful simpatico.
However, I am a bit put off that every time someone talks about the
Bilodeaus they mention that Fredrick has CP. I question if Fredrick was gay would we keep bringing it up (to be fair in Russia we might). If Fredrick was left handed would we keep bringing it up. I also wonder why the media and Alex himself are using disability as a master status. Disabled is just one intersection of Fredrick's identity and it may be just one of the reasons why he likes to watch his brother ski. In a way I get it, there are things physically I cannot do that I appreciate or am inspired to watch. I cannot sing very well, I like to listen to people who sing well. I am impressed. There are athletes who are better than me at sports I play or used to play that I appreciate watching because, it is inspiring to see high level competition. When my sister swam I liked to watch her swim because I felt proud of her. However, I have never felt as though I was living vicariously through someone else. There are embodied experiences I will never have but, that is true of anyone. The times in my life where I did feel envious or sad that I could not physically do something often came from a poverty of experience or a lack of alternative opportunity. For example: I would like to be able to walk because it would be easier to play beer league sports and participate in marathons. That being said really the reason why I can't do these things stems more from a lack of imagination that beer league sports or affordable racing equipment would be available to people with disabilities.
Don't get me wrong CP is
my favorite palsy. I just question why Fredrick's only identity is that
of someone who lives through his brother. Alex was quoted as saying
"Just like you and I, he has dreams and most of them are not realizable
to him. But he never complains that it’s not realistic to him… He lives
his dreams through me", in the Denver post (a quote that has not gone viral on the internet). There's no reason why Fredrick has to live
through his brother. Disability is an identity not burden.
Fredrick skis too, let's talk about how Fredrick skis. I sincerely hope this is a media driven, over sensationalized, or perhaps something is lost in the translation?
There is adapted skiing. Further, Fredrick could develop an interest independent of his brother. Perhaps, he already has other interests. I am disappointed that in an Olympic games that has pushed back so hard against oppression and marginalization of sexual identities, and preached diversity and tolerance disabiltiy is positioned as something to be treated with well intentioned pity.
In reality Fredrick is bilingual, a world traveler, a devoted brother, a sports fan. He has Cerebral Palsy, all of these identities intersect. He is not all of these things in spite of CP or because of it but, rather "With".
If anything Fredrick's appearance at the Olympics is an occasion to reflect on all of the many folks with Cerebral Palsy in Canada and how we support them as a country. Where are Fredrick's skies?
*For the record CP is a neurological condition often caused by lack of oxygen at birth. It has a wide range of "symptoms" and embodiments. This is the condition I have. There are many successful folks with CP. Further, to this people with CP don't need your pity or for you to throw yourself down a hill (Bilodeau styles). They need allies in the fight for barrier free spaces, and opportunities for equity *
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