IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v297y2022ics0277953622001162.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

“Dirty looks”: A critical phenomenology of motorized mobility scooter use

Author

Listed:
  • Battalova, Alfiya
  • Hurd, Laura
  • Hobson, Sandra
  • Kirby, R. Lee
  • Emery, Richelle
  • Mortenson, W. Ben

Abstract

The use of motorized mobility scooters has become increasingly prevalent. Drawing on the critical-phenomenology and disability-studies literature, this study explored the embodied nature of scooter use among 20 new scooter users. The analysis revealed four themes: 1) Navigating the social environment and being (un)seen presented a paradox of how hypervisibility and invisibility can both exist; 2) Transitioning to scooter use revealed the affective component of becoming a scooter user despite the underlying desire to avoid unwanted attention; 3) Experiencing accessibility challenges en route and at destinations demonstrated that the inconsistency in accessibility along different routes unavoidably makes disability more visible; 4) Strategic and personalized use of devices for mobility illustrated how reliance on other mobility devices (e.g. canes and walkers) can be used as a strategy to circumvent the barriers and lessen the visibility of disability. The lifeworlds of “lived relation”, “lived body”, “lived space”, and “lived things” encapsulated the multi-faceted experiences of new scooter users. The critical phenomenology of scooter use emphasized the need for creative strategies to address the physical and attitudinal barriers as well as scooter design-related concerns.

Suggested Citation

  • Battalova, Alfiya & Hurd, Laura & Hobson, Sandra & Kirby, R. Lee & Emery, Richelle & Mortenson, W. Ben, 2022. "“Dirty looks”: A critical phenomenology of motorized mobility scooter use," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 297(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:297:y:2022:i:c:s0277953622001162
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.114810
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953622001162
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.114810?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sweta Rajan†Rankin, 2018. "Invisible Bodies and Disembodied Voices? Identity Work, the Body and Embodiment in Transnational Service Work," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(1), pages 9-23, January.
    2. Bickenbach, Jerome E. & Chatterji, Somnath & Badley, E. M. & Üstün, T. B., 1999. "Models of disablement, universalism and the international classification of impairments, disabilities and handicaps," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 48(9), pages 1173-1187, May.
    3. Grue, Jan & Johannessen, Lars E.F. & Rasmussen, Erik Fossan, 2015. "Prestige rankings of chronic diseases and disabilities. A survey among professionals in the disability field," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 180-186.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Lourdes Marco & Alejandro Pozo & Gabriel Huecas & Juan Quemada & Álvaro Alonso, 2021. "User-Adapted Web Services by Extending the eIDAS Specification with Functional Attributes," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(8), pages 1-20, April.
    2. Badley, Elizabeth M., 2008. "Enhancing the conceptual clarity of the activity and participation components of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 66(11), pages 2335-2345, June.
    3. Puszka, Stefanie & Walsh, Corinne & Markham, Francis & Barney, Jody & Yap, Mandy & Dreise, Tony, 2022. "Towards the decolonisation of disability: A systematic review of disability conceptualisations, practices and experiences of First Nations people of Australia," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 305(C).
    4. Michael J. R. Butler & Ann L. Cunliffe, 2024. "The Dent in the Floor: Ecological Knowing in the Skilful Performance of Work," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(5), pages 1766-1791, July.
    5. Fabio Meloni & Stefano Federici & John Lawrence Dennis, 2015. "Parents’ Education Shapes, but Does Not Originate, the Disability Representations of Their Children," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(6), pages 1-15, June.
    6. Venkata S. Murthy Gudlavalleti, 2018. "Challenges in Accessing Health Care for People with Disability in the South Asian Context: A Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-11, October.
    7. Adam Johnson & Richard Tucker & Hing-Wah Chau & Elmira Jamei, 2022. "Accessible and Inclusive Cities: Exposing Design and Leadership Challenges for Bunbury and Geelong," Urban Planning, Cogitatio Press, vol. 7(4), pages 1-12.
    8. Rouquette, Alexandra & Badley, Elizabeth M. & Falissard, Bruno & Dub, Timothée & Leplege, Alain & Coste, Joël, 2015. "Moderators, mediators, and bidirectional relationships in the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) framework: An empirical investigation using a longitudinal design," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 133-142.
    9. Bussière, Clémence & Sicsic, Jonathan & Pelletier-Fleury, Nathalie, 2016. "Simultaneous effect of disabling conditions on primary health care use through a capability approach," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 154(C), pages 70-84.
    10. Michelle Willems & Davide Sattin & Ad J.J.M. Vingerhoets & Matilde Leonardi, 2015. "Longitudinal Changes in Functioning and Disability in Patients with Disorders of Consciousness: The Importance of Environmental Factors," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-24, April.
    11. Mary Ann Jackson, 2018. "Models of Disability and Human Rights: Informing the Improvement of Built Environment Accessibility for People with Disability at Neighborhood Scale?," Laws, MDPI, vol. 7(1), pages 1-21, March.
    12. Matthias Forstner, 2022. "Conceptual Models of Disability: The Development of the Consideration of Non-Biomedical Aspects," Disabilities, MDPI, vol. 2(3), pages 1-24, September.
    13. Olubola Emmanuel Abiodun & Olarewaju Ayobami Emmanuel, 2024. "Care of Hearing Impaired and Physically Challenged People during Covid-19 Pandemic: Challenges and Prospects," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 8(2), pages 1736-1745, February.
    14. Mohammed Cheded & Alexandros Skandalis, 2021. "Touch and contact during COVID‐19: Insights from queer digital spaces," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(S2), pages 340-347, July.
    15. Colin Barnes & Geof Mercer, 2005. "Disability, work, and welfare," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 19(3), pages 527-545, September.
    16. Lundälv, Jörgen & Larsson, Per-Olof & Törnbom, Marie & Sunnerhagen, Katharina Stibrant, 2012. "The ICF: International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) – A Swiss army knife? Accessibility and disability in a Scandinavian disability magazine (SDM) – A quantitative conten," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 108(1), pages 67-75.
    17. Natasha A. Layton & Emily J. Steel, 2015. "“An Environment Built to Include Rather than Exclude Me”: Creating Inclusive Environments for Human Well-Being," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-17, September.
    18. Roshni Narendran & James Reveley & Shamika Almeida, 2021. "Countering transphobic stigma: Identity work by self‐employed Keralan transpeople," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(4), pages 1220-1236, July.
    19. Rob Imrie, 2004. "The Role of the Building Regulations in Achieving Housing Quality," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 31(3), pages 419-437, June.
    20. Jan D Reinhardt & Erik von Elm & Christine Fekete & Johannes Siegrist, 2012. "Social Inequalities of Functioning and Perceived Health in Switzerland–A Representative Cross-Sectional Analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 7(6), pages 1-7, June.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:297:y:2022:i:c:s0277953622001162. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/315/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.