ABSTRACT
Over the past thirty years, my research has focused on Paralympic bodies (Howe, 2008a). In part, my entry into this field was via my own body. Using my body both as researcher and subject (Howe, 2008b, 2011b), this work celebrates the physical nature of physical cultural studies (PCS) (Giardina and Newman, 2011). It also strives to achieve the aim of praxis that is another key tenet of PCS. Because of my very personal involvement in this research, it has always had a political agenda. I embrace the understanding of McDonald (2002) who highlights two different approaches to a political agenda in research – radical and moralistic. The radical approach highlights how ‘critical’ social research separates intervention from activism whereas the moralistic merges research with social activism. As such my research attempts to be at one and the same time both radical and moralistic. The praxis focus I take towards my research, while advocated by those who practice PCS, is at one and the same time often criticized for its lack of theoretical depth.
