Everyone needs to go read Aimee Mullins’ terrific essay at tech blog Gizmodo on disability, prosthetics, sports, and the thin line between competitive advantage and “unfair” advantage. Recalling the hue and cry surrounding fellow athlete and amputee Oscar Pistorius when he petitioned to compete in the Olympics after successfully competing against other able-bodied athletes in world competition, Aimee points out that the Cheetah prosthetic leg used by both her and Pistorius is not exactly new technology. As with most pieces of technology, it’s the user that makes the difference, not the technology itself.
Mullins then compares the hand-wringing that greeted Pistorius’ Olympic bid to the more enthusiastic reception that new aquadynamic swimsuits received in the Beijing Olympics. Those suits enabled swimmers to break all kinds of records, but the press couldn’t stop breathlessly commenting on their gee-whiz factor. She also comments on Tiger Woods’ remarkable winning streak following his first LASIK surgery (he later had a second).
It seems to all come down to concepts of bodily integrity. Sports fans don’t have a problem with fancy swimsuits, LASIK surgeries, or even performance-enhancing substances because, in the end, the athletes are still competing with their own arms and legs. In other words, they look human. But slap on a pair of prosthetics and the fans get a little queasy, even if they can’t articulate why. The “otherness”, cosmetic as it may be, is enough to take people aback. But when the “other” starts kicking the asses of nominally able-bodied athletes, panic ensues.
Mullins conclude with a glimpse into the future. She contemplates the consequences of prosthetics that can be programmed to function within the limits of human performance. She writes:
The chip used in a prosthetic that will dictate “acceptable human” metric-based output is what will be allowed in the Olympic standard; meanwhile, the Paralympics will be no holds barred. In an ironic, amazing cultural flip, you will see runners in the Paralympics going faster than those in the Olympics. Now won’t that be an interesting comment on “dis”ability?
Marathoners who use wheelchairs are already kicking the asses of able bodied marathoners.