KINE 1000 Test #2

Honouring Indigenous Experiences And Worldviews Of Health And Physical Activity Lectures/Readings:

Land Acknowledgement: What is it? Why is it important?
Institutional: relationships with privilege & oppression structured via institution.
Symbolic: Ideologies used to justify relationships of domination & subordination.
Power is the ability to define and shape reality. It influences what is valued, and how success is measured.
Oppression: unjust treatment of, or exercise of power over, a group of individuals, often in the form of governmental authority
Domination: the exercise of control or influence over someone or something, or the state of being so controlled.
Subordination: placement in a lower class, rank, or position
Privilege: a special advantage or right possessed by an individual or group
“We need a context of colonialism and what Bonita Lawrence calls Canada’s “‘National genocidal policies’” to understand the plight of First Nations further”
Doctrine of Discovery: European settlers were provided legal, commercial, and property rights to Indigenous lands mostly without the knowledge and/or consent of Indigenous Peoples and Nations.
Terra Nullius: Nobody’s land. Land that is legally deemed to be unoccupied or uninhabited. (“Taking Over”)
“Sport requires land”
Racial Superiority
Colonialism: the ongoing theft of Indigenous lands for capital gain.
^often accompanied by violence, expansion of territory, policies of assimilation, land possession and resources, knowledge and cultural production.
“Colonialism is a structure not an event”
Colonialism as Structural Oppression: Operates through a logic of elimination in which genocide is embedded within the structures of Canada in ways that renege from removal of Indigenous Peoples from lands, to mass killings, and cultural assimilation.
Institutional mechanisms of colonialism: removal of land/people from land, imposing new definitions of status, rights, and family (The Indian Act), denying peoples identity culture, removing ability to make decisions, enforcing power imbalances.
Key Point: Assimilation was central to the colonial project whereby Indigenous Peoples needed to be absorbed into mainstream Canadian life and adopt the smae values.
Residential Schools: little to no healthcare/medications, declining health, death, and physical, emotional, spiritual, and sexual violence.
Sport in Residential Schools:
Power of symbolism: false sense of equivalence among settler audiences who see something of their own sense of ‘normalcy’ in the pictures
Residential school photos strategically reinforced positive assumptions while distracting and silencing the destruction ‘schools’ were causing.

SES (Socioeconomic Status) and Social Determinants Of Health (SDOH) Lectures/Readings:

Socioeconomic Status: an individual's or group’s position within a hierarchy relative to others (more complex than social class), (to have status, you need to be in a group).
^Depends on: income, financial wealth, social connections (who you know, wealthy hang with wealthy), education (higher education-higher status), occupation,
Social Stratification: Layers or tiers (upper, middle, lower class)
SES on and through our bodies: A marker on our bodies. It's implicit/subtle. (how you walk, talk, dress, eat, dance, lifestyle choices, hobbies, etc)
Pierre Bourdieu: wrote on concepts- Capital, Habitus, Social Economic Status.
Capital:(= asset): economic (resources), social (support, friendships, relationships), cultural (knowledge, skills, education, advantages (travel, sports, clubs, etc)), symbolic (honour, privilege, recognition (have you won any awards?)).
^Two types of capital: Athletic (If you're on a team, you have athletic power/capital), and Aesthetic (beauty, height, clothing, etc)
Habitus: a sense of one’s place and sense of other people’s place (a sense of what is comfort or home to you)
Our preferences/tastes, habits, values, and expectations (shaped by our past, shapes the present, conditions our perceptions/mindset)
Habitus is ingrained and enduring, but can shift over time and place.
It’s like a fingerprint, what makes you, you.
Where other people belong
“Differences function as distinctive signs”
Upper classes: An “ethic of disinterest” and public display of wealth (you can see signs of what people do to display their wealth).
Middle classes: An “ethic of development” (self improvement) and delayed gratification is paramount
Working classes: An “instrumental ethic” - the body is a tool (strong body, a machine) to some end.
Quiet Luxury: expensive, tailored fashion the rarely if ever displays a designer’s brand or logo. (old money vs. new money), (money talks-wealth whispers)
“The more money you win, the more likely you will end up in financial distress or bankruptcy”.
Most people think they are middle class regardless of their income.
The Wealth Gap:
Income Polarization:
Salary and Wage Polarization:
Why is the gap increasing?
The myth of trickle-down economics (Myth: Healthy economy (tax breaks for wealthy and corporations) = healthy nation).
Meritocracy: The belief that progress/advancement in life is based on ability and effort (not ascription).
The Meritocratic Success Formula: Effort=Success
Capitalist, Neoliberal Regimes:
Social Determinants Of Health (SDOH):

The economic and social factors that influence the health of individuals and communities.
The quantity and quality of a variety of resources that are distributed to individuals/communities.

SDOH are as important, if not more so, than biology and lifestyle choices in our daily lives.
SES is strongest determinant of health
Health status increased each step up the SES ladder.
Increased SES affords greater sense of choice and control in life.
“Wealth equals Health
Healthism: Traditional Health promotion strategies are prescriptive.
Tend to reproduce healthism (health as exclusively an individual’s responsibility)
Tend to have little consideration of lived experience
Aligned with biomedical, curative, downstream determinants of health.
Why does SES and SDOH matter in Kine?
How do we value people? How do we assign value to people?
SES frames: our personal beliefs and behaviours, our professional practices and Kinesiologists.
Pathology: The study of disease (tissue).

Colonial Determinants Of Health Lectures/Readings:

Colonialism: refers to the policies, systems, and resources that support the political, physical, and intellectual occupation and forced displacement of Indigenous Peoples.
It supports the full or partial political control of a group to occupy and erase often by force and exploitation.
It is the basis of land.
We often approach SDOH as “facts to be known” rather than as “conditions to be challenged and changed”.
Intersectionality: the study of overlapping or intersecting social identities and related systems of oppression, domination, or discrimination.
We tend to study SDOH relatively independently but we all negotiate with Social and Structural Determinants simultaneously (with or without conscious awareness).
Colonial Connections: Settler-Colonialism is a structure not an event.
Colonialism-Power
Colonialism-Hegemony
Colonialism-Oppression
*Colonialism-Health
What is Health:
Oxford Dictionary: “The state of being free from illness or injury”
WHO: “A state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease”
Health as a Colonial Construct: “When I think of health - I think of doctors and nurses…or a medicalized concept”
The Indian Act: Limited movement and ability to access food and water, capacities to hunt, collect berries, harvest medicines, and engage in cultures and ceremonies.
Terra Nullius: Land Dispossession VIA racial superiority and economic productivity.
Structural Determinants Of Health: The Tree

Root of the tree (Distal)

Has the most profound effects of health because they represent the political, economic, and social context that construct all other determinants.
Deeply embedded determinants that include colonialism, racism/social exclusion, and self-determination that form the basis from which all other determinants emerge.

Trunk/Core of the tree (Intermediate)

Include health promotion, health care, education & justice, social supports, labour markets, & government and private enterprise.
Relationship to land, kinship networks, language, ceremonies, knowledge sharing.
Examples: inadequate federal/provincial resources to support healthy development for all Indigenous children, lack of economic development leading to poverty, & inaccessible health care that leads to diminished screening, late diagnosis, and negative health outcomes.

Crown/Leaves of the tree (Proximal)

Determinants influence health in the most obvious and direct ways.
These determinants include early child development, income, education, social support networks, employment, working conditions/occupational health, physical environment, culture, and gender.

- Understanding the interconnections between Root, Trunk, and Crown Determinants of Health are critical for appreciating how these influence the socioeconomic trajectories for children and youth that often predict their health through adulthood.

Jordan's Principle: a child-first principle that aims to eliminate service inequities and delays for First Nations children.
A law that stipulates that First Nations children be able to access health services as required. (Government of first contact are required to cover costs)
Defer: Deferring significant and even crisis issues by calling for additional studies or research into the problem.
Deflect: Deflect attention by making announcements about unrelated projects, or by offering commentary that indirectly blames or vilifies First Nations on completely unrelated matters.
Deny: Canada also denies the problem of First Nations poverty directly via its own political positions, and by simply failing to act or consistently ignoring warnings from its own federal officials.
“Despite a plethora of evidence supporting a structural approach to redressing inequities in Indigenous people’s health, policy-makers continue to focus on Crown determinants. This is clearly irrational and counterproductive”.
Stretched Beyond Limits: deprivation associated with extreme poverty stretches us “beyond all human limits” until they simply can’t take it anymore.
Knowing who you are and where you come from is a privilege.

Sex and Gender Lectures/Readings:

Sex: Biological classification (male, female, intersex). Sex is often assigned at birth.
Gender: Social roles, behaviours, and expectations tied to one’s sex. Gender is shaped by culture.
Social Construction of Gender:
Gender roles and expectations vary by culture and history.
Sociologists use social constructionism to study these variations.
Example: Gendered sport preferences - contact sports for boys, aesthetic sports for girls.
Hegemonic Masculinity: Culturally dominant form of masculinity
Traits: Strength, competitiveness, aggression. (Commonly linked to sports like football and hockey).
“By organizing sports in this way, we reinforce the idea that men and women are fundamentally different in physical capability”
Women need a certificate of femininity in professional sports (olympics, etc)
Policy Examples: Creating safe, inclusive spaces.
Ex, “Children 7 years old or greater are not allowed to change in the room of the opposite gender unless approved by…”
Sport as a Human Right
Inclusion is essential
Fairness demands inclusivity
Rethink sports to uphold human rights universally
Key Takeaways:
Gender is socially constructed; impacts sports deeply
Hegemonic masculinity and sex segregation limit inclusivity
Feminist and inclusive policies benefit all in sports.
Inclusion as a human right builds resilient communities.
Gender is a social construct, sex is more biological.
Sport is a human right: inclusion upholds this
UN Declaration of Human Rights: “Everyone has the right to participate in cultural life, including sports.
Gender, sexuality, ability, race, and socio-economic status limit access=barriers to participation.
Female athletes receive limited media coverage than men.
The media emphasizes appearance over skill.
The media coverage tends to focus most on female athletes who fall within the parameters of dominant femininity (white, able-bodied, middle-class, attractive) (also if you're wearing make-up, jewellery, and attire).
Additional Pressures faced by athletes of colour (less recognized if you are not white)
Sex-segregated sports are “standard practices" (ex, NHL is only for men)
Claim of fairness due to physical differences
Maintains binary gender norms
Excludes non-binary and gender-diverse athletes
*Inclusivity, fairness, & human rights*
Binary divisions visibility for non-binary athletes
Reinforces binary thinking in sports culture
Gender Verification & Sex Testing in sport: There's no exact standard by which one can determine exactly who is and who is not a woman.
Genitalia
Hormones: Both male and female bodies produce so called male and female hormones, and there is no absolute level or ratio that separates one sex from the other.
Chromosomes: these are unreliable
Females with high testosterone are told to undergo hormone treatments to compete
Highlights intersectional discrimination: Gender, race, class, sexuality.
Targeted racialized women
People say sport is inclusive & fair but it is 100% not.
“Many women’s organizations and sports organization, including the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, argue that sex verification testing should be abolished”
Fairness vs. inclusivity
Policies need to better account for the diversity of gender expressions and identities
Key Takeaways:
Re-envisioning sports to include all gender identities challenges outdated views and seeks to reflect principles of dignity, fairness, and equality
Adopting intersectional and inclusive approaches can transform sports
Inclusive sports are built on ongoing learning, critical reflection, and commitment to diverse policies and practices that uplift marginalized voices.
Ensuring sports are genuinely equitable means actively reshaping policies and programs to support and celebrate the full spectrum of identities, creating a space of safety and belonging for all athletes.