Not Just a Spectator

Before we were the Superhumans: a genteel look at disabled people at sport and leisure in the 1970s

Before the Paralympics made disabled people into Superhumans, the Disabled Living Foundation offered a more genteel perspective of disabled people at sport and leisure in the 1970s. Birdwatching, netball, hiking, and clay pigeon shooting were the order of the day.

This film is stressing that disabled people can do what non-disabled people do when barriers are removed, though clearly with assistance. It is worth noting that a decade before, many of the participants in the film would have been in institutions like care homes or hospitals, so the idea of access to leisure and sports for all was quite a radical one. Access to leisure facilities and sport is seen by the disability rights movement as a fundamental pillar of independent living.