Thank you Birgit for standing up for us! – VG

GINA ELISABETH THYGESEN, competitive dancers, works at Telenor

I have been asked an interesting and relevant question:

What do you, as competitive and disabled dancers, think about the fact that the performance of disabled people is often sensational, for example Birgit Skarstein’s participation in “Skal vi danse”?

The question interests me, so I choose to share my thoughts with you who bother to read.

Personally, I am not that sensitive. I think it is important that those of us who feel a certain difference do not become so sensitive as to perceive each reaction or each signal as a sign of stigma. Or as a conscious desire to put ourselves in a stable, as a hero or victim.

When we are exposed to something that we experience as new or different, it is probably a bit in our nature to react, for example, with skepticism, curiosity or admiration.

Whether we are skeptical or enthusiastic is not as important as I see it. The most important thing is rather how we communicate with each other and how we characterize each other. What words and tone we use, that we meet with respect, an open mind and a willingness to learn.

I am disabled, I am dancing, I am full time, I live in my own apartment. I have had boyfriends and loves, like you. Sometimes I find it difficult with all the household chores and I want a break from life, just like you. I start the day with a slice of bread, or yogurt with cereals, just like you, unless you are one of those who eat oatmeal.

I had a good starting point.

Yes, it is hard to live with a body that does not play as a team. Spasms that occasionally seize, fatigue, muscle and joint pain. But I choose to be positive. I do my best to live up to it.

But. I lie if I write that sometimes I am not bored with those I meet on the road, who praise me in the clouds that I, as a disabled person, live so normally, or those who become skeptical.

I’m tired of friends being “patted on the shoulder” when they “take me out” or asking my friends if they are my contact for support.

I often frantically reply “No! Wrong, I’m actually your support contact.

Yes, because actually sometimes it is almost completely true.

When I was a child, I sometimes felt uncomfortable, both in school and in life in general, because I felt different. More often then than now, thankfully.

Thanks to my parents and my family, who encouraged me. They taught me to see the possibilities, not the limitations. They told me that I was so normal, so similar, but also so different, like everyone else. Yes, because we are all the same and equally different, regardless of whether we are disabled or not.

So at least when I’m in a good place, because it happens from time to time, I think: great that you ask, great that you want to talk about it. I share, I’m open, maybe I can influence you, maybe I will teach you something, and maybe you will teach me something, because it would have been great!

I also think that way now. Not everyone who has seen wheelchair dancing knows at all that it exists as a serious sport, both nationally and internationally.

It is clear that it is permissible to get excited or wonder if this can be compared to the so-called “standing dance”.

As Birgit says, we also have footwork, but we do it with the upper body.

If we don’t do the techniques correctly, things will go wrong. Like during a World Cup in Germany a few years ago. My dance partner and I lost flow and the wheelchair tipped over. Precisely because I did not work enough with my upper body.

Birgit represents diversity. I think it’s great to see how I show my sport to the entire population of Norway, who uses their power of influence to show us everything that is possible. If we want, we can!

That Birgit is hailed primarily because she acts like a disability is too easy to say in my opinion. The picture is probably much more complex than that.

I do not feel that Birgit is treated or mentioned differently by the media or the judges in “Skal vi danse”, than the other functional participants in this year’s season.

Birgit complies well. I perceive her as a popular, dedicated, positive and eloquent athlete. She deserves an absolute applause for her effort and performance, both on the rowboat and on the dance floor!

I do not understand this false premise that someone is talking about, that officials cannot dance and Birgit must disprove this. Birgit has received a lot of provocation, which in many ways offends both her and diversity. It was important and correct for her to respond.

No one should hear or read that they are not good enough or that they do not fit, because that is not true!

Beyond that, she represents herself, and Birgit’s journey in dance is just as important as yours or mine. We don’t have to do what Birgit does, no one asks us to aim for the stars, unless we want to do it ourselves. I myself became a boring “office rat” who finds joy in dancing and what I do.

I believe and hope that Birgit’s participation in the sports arena and in the public space can help normalize diversity. Diversity enriches society. We all have the opportunity to influence. Thanks Birgit, for standing up for us. There is room for everyone.