While I was looking up the poem about Mr Cogito reading the newspaper, I came across this poem of Zbigniew’s, which says a lot about disability and suffering in general: Continue reading “Zbigniew Herbert, Mr. Cogito”
Month: December 2016
Disability Studies Conclusion
Although there are certain groups of disabled people (particularly the more radical and activist groups like Wry Crips) whose model for inclusion is rooted in identity politics, demanding respect as being different rather than in spite of one’s differences (Kruks, 2001, p 85), the bulk of disability discourse revolves around the idea that disability is socially constructed (Davis, Siebers, Shogan). Continue reading “Disability Studies Conclusion”
Research on disability – goals
This part of my research will focus on disability and how it is represented in the media and elsewhere. I will look into disability studies to help me with terminology and an understanding of the general issues arising in disability discourse, as well as looking at some disabled artists to get an idea of how they are representing themselves. The goal is to reach a deeper understanding of the issues surrounding disability in order to avoid misrepresenting disabled persons, as well as to inform myself about how disabled persons themselves wish to be perceived (obtaining such information can enable me to more effectively empower my subjects).
Stigma and social attitudes
“When the dominant culture defines some groups as different, as the Other, the members of these groups are imprisoned in their bodies. Dominant discourse defines them in terms of bodily characteristics and constructs those bodies as ugly, dirty, defiled, impure, contaminated or sick” (Iris Young, quoted in Sibley 1995, p 18)
“It is always possible to bind together a considerable number of people in love, so long as there are other people left over to receive the manifestations of their aggressiveness.” (Freud 1962, p 61) Continue reading “Stigma and social attitudes”
Psychological effects of disability
“Dealing with anger, self-loathing and daily experiences of rejection and humiliation are among the hardest aspects of being a disabled person.” (Shakespeare et al, 1996 p 42)
The psychological effects of disability are considered some of the most difficult to cope with. Not only does the individual have to deal with the impairment itself (often this is something that has come about, since as Siebers (2001) has indicated, only 15% of disabled people are born with their impairments), but there are also the stigmatizing effects of society, which includes the attitudes of those family and friends, colleagues and health professionals in direct contact with the individual (often this is compounded with the individual’s own negative stereotypes of disability that had been formed prior to the onset of disability). Continue reading “Psychological effects of disability”
Disability and identity politics
Identity politics is a general idea that some groups are oppressed within society, or more specifically, that one’s identity makes one more vulnerable to discrimination, exploitation, marginalisation, even violence. This would seem to be particularly relevant to the disabled body and issues surrounding the social construction of disability coupled with the hegemonic myth of normalcy. Continue reading “Disability and identity politics”
Disabled identity
One of the problems associated with disability is the fact that the impairment becomes the primary focus of identity, eclipsing all other aspects. As such, although an individual may belong to or identify with other groups (ethnic, gender, class, etc), the disabled identity becomes the salient one. McTigue (2007) observes that this may lead some to resist being labelled disabled for fear that the ‘absolute concept’ of disability will render them ‘wholly disabled’, effectively obscuring their other traits and abilities. Continue reading “Disabled identity”
Defining disability
“The category disability is not fixed and absolute, but can be, and indeed has been, defined in a variety of different ways throughout history, within particular societies and in any given social context. The fact that definitions of disability are relative rather than absolute have led some sociologists in particular to conclude that disability can only be properly understood as a social construction.” (Oliver, 1989, p 6)
“The term ‘disability,’ as it is commonly and professionally used, is an absolute category without a level or threshold. One is either disabled or not. One cannot be a little disabled any more than one can be a little pregnant.” (Davis 1995a, p 1)
Disability has been used as a rational pretext to justify discrimination against and exclude minority groups from mainstream activities throughout history. Continue reading “Defining disability”
Disability Studies – the medical and social models
As Lyotard pointed out, “narratives allow the society in which they are told, on the one hand, to define its criteria of competence and, on the other, to evaluate according to those criteria what is performed or can be performed with in it” (1984, p 20). The 19th century narratives that measured, identified, categorised and segregated abnormal ‘deviant’ types continue to inform institutional policy and discriminate against disabled people to this day, and according to disability theorists deserve to be challenged in much the same way as similar discriminatory narratives concerning gender and ethnicity have been. Continue reading “Disability Studies – the medical and social models”
History of disability as social issue
Disability scholars such as Michael Oliver (1990) and Vic Finkelstein (1981) trace the roots of disability as a social problem back to the rise of capitalist economy. According to their interpretation, in the period before the Industrial Revolution the majority of the population were rural and disabled people were not segregated since they could make some contribution, however minimal, to the production processes, which were largely agricultural or small-scale crafts. Continue reading “History of disability as social issue”
Carl Whetham photography 