Using intersectionality to explore physical activity participation amongst individuals with vision loss from ethnic minority backgrounds in the United Kingdom

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Abstract
Participation in physical activity (PA) is essential for maintaining health and mobility. Although women, individuals from ethnic minority backgrounds, and people experiencing vision loss are reportedly the least active of their respective identity classifications literature is yet to acknowledge the intersectional nature of group identification, and the ways in which barriers and facilitators to PA might vary or compound in instances of multiple-minority status. Fifteen people with vision loss (six male) from different cultural backgrounds (six White: nine South Asian) were interviewed. Reflexive thematic analysis, underpinned by an interpretivist epistemology and relativist ontology, was used to analyse data. Participants identified neglect at a governmental level as the most significant barrier to PA, producing inaccessible environments that are infrastructurally inequitable. Female South Asian participants’ barriers to PA were nuanced by the intersectionality of their multiple identity positioning (gender, race, and disability). The cultural expectations placed on South Asian women, specifically those pertaining to modesty and gender, limited their capacity to engage in a physically active lifestyle. Comparisons made between the experiences of White and South Asian participants highlighted a lack of acceptance towards disabled individuals in the South Asian community. This study provided insight as to how experiences of inequality intersect and require holistic means of intervention. Governmental bodies and social innovators should strive to create spaces which are architecturally appropriate for people with vision loss, and work with sporting facilities such as gyms to centralise marginalised communities in their design to provide services which are both accessible and culturally viable.

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