"No one should ever have to justify the space they take up" - Madison de Rozario

I’m incredibly proud to be a Paralympian, and to get to pull on the Green and Gold for Australia. It is a privilege that has afforded me to travel the world, connect with a community of like-minded people, challenge myself at every turn and then use that sporting platform to impact change.

But it is exactly that. A privilege.

During one of my postrace interviews with Channel 7 in Tokyo, I said that no one should ever have to justify the space they take up, and people with disabilities should not have to be exceptional in order to be accepted.

The Paralympics is arguably the biggest stage afforded to people with disabilities, but Paralympians are not representative of our entire community and nor should they be. They are a representation of peak physical performance. Viewing disability through this lens gives a false understanding of most people’s lived experiences.

Historically the common perception of a person with a disability has been that we are people who have been dependent on communities and require support. That’s never been accurate for every person with a disability. Right now we are seeing a new standard for disability being set, in which sport is the only stage we are provided.

Now as the visibility of Paralympic sport is at an all-time high, what we are being flooded with in mainstream media is this exceptional version of disability.

If the only time we see someone with a disability is when they’re winning medals on TV every four years, it’s not fair to the 20 per cent of Australians with disabilities. By comparing every person with a disability to an elite athlete, we are forcing people with disabilities to fit this impossible mould. It creates an idea that in order to have a disability and be accepted, you need to be almost outstanding. Elite and physical ability is not a standard we hold any other Australian to, but we do for our 20 per cent with disabilities.

While the Paralympics is this movement that is shifting perceptions, it’s clear that there is a lot to make up for in the middle. No one should ever have to justify the space they take up. We need to allow all people to exist as beautifully imperfect perfect people, and we need every person, from every corner of our community to be represented.

This International Day of People with a Disability, I challenge you to recognise the lens you view the world through. We need to acknowledge the biases that we hold - the stigma that continues to surround disability, and understand the ways in which we can action change in our own lives and in our own communities.

It takes more than just us - the 20 per cent of Australians - to make real and lasting change. It takes all of us. Together, we can remove the stigmatisations and misrepresentations and embrace every individual for who they are, in their messy, multifaceted, beautiful humanity.

By Madison de Rozario for Athletics Australia
Posted: 3/12/2021