“You take my place; let’s switch!” What It Means to Be a Woman Powerlifter in Parasport

Abstract

Gendered disability in elite sport has emerged as a pertinent area of inquiry in sport psychology. However, qualitative research aimed at amplifying the voices of marginalized subgroups is notably sparse. Employing a phenomenological approach, we examined the lived experience of a Filipina para powerlifter, probing the intersection of gender, disability, and socioeconomic status in shaping how the participant made sense of life and identity, both within and outside the realm of sport. Three personal experiential themes were generated from the interview data's interpretative phenomenological analysis: “survival of the fittest,” “the voices in my head did not allow me to give up,” and “I am deeply human with a heart.” Narrating the trials she surpassed from childhood to adulthood as an athlete/person with disability (A/PWD), she realized the environmental, socioeconomic, and cultural conditions that handicap her more than her physical impairment alone. Despite bouts with self-pity and disempowerment, the participant drew strength from internal resilience and external support systems, ultimately achieving recognition as her country's first bemedaled Paralympian. This journey fostered profound compassion for her fellow athletes/persons with disabilities. Notwithstanding the limitations of a single-participant study, this research asserts its significant contribution to the scholarly discourse on cultural sport psychology, particularly concerning women of low socioeconomic status in sport for A/PWD. Upholding that the viewpoints and agency of marginalized individuals are heard and respected confirms their position as active participants in knowledge generation within the discipline.