Disability In The Age Of Disability

Disability has been a difficult topic of society for years. Many people find discomfort in the presence of the disabled and many feel pity for those who are disabled. Back in the 1800s, the disabled were perceived as unable to contribute to society, often forced to undergo sterilization, and forced into institutions and asylums (“A Brief History”). In fact, this treatment of the disabled and mentally ill has been persistent until somewhat recently, when the Civil Rights movement took place, and those with disabilities decided to take a stand for their rights. Although people with disabilities continue to face difficulties in finding jobs, legitimizing their opinion, having the right to vote, and choosing whether or not they receive or refuse

Douglas C. Baynton argues in his article, “Disability and the Justification of Inequality in American History”, that the concept of disability is culturally constructed and has been paid little to no attention to throughout history. He also argues that the term disability plays an important role in justifying discriminations against minority groups, based on gender, race, and ethnicity. He states that “Disability has functioned historically to justify inequality for disabled people themselves, but it has also done so for women and minority groups. That is, not only has it been considered justifiable to treat disabled people unequally, but the concept of disability has been used to justify discrimination against other groups by attributing disability to them.” (Baynton 94) He used women’s suffrage, African American freedom, and immigration restriction as examples to show how disability played an essential role in illustrating how minorities who were labeled as disabled were treated with discrimination. As they were labeled with disability, discrimination against them became justifiable, which ultimately proves that discrimination against disabled was thought as justifiable and were looked over.

Author of disability Nancy Mairs who’s a feminist and a cripple, has accomplished a lot in writing and teaching. Her remarkable personality shows in many of her essays especially in Disability which was first published in 1987 in the New York Times. In this essay, Nancy Mairs shows how disabled people are constantly excluded, especially from the media. By giving out facts and including her personal experiences, Mairs aims for making some changes regarding the relationship between the media and people with disabilities. Mairs thesis is shown implicitly in the first

The article “introducing disability Studies” by Ronald J. Berger was an eye opener in uncovering the past history of negative stigma associated with having a disability. Through history people have felt the need to stare at people with disabilities or to turn away in fear of maybe contracting the “disease”. This negative attitude was positively reinforced by ordinances such as the Chicago “ugly law” in which a person with physical deformities would have to pay a fine for simply being too “disgusting” looking to other citizens. This law was in place from 1880 to 1973, which is pretty recent in history. However there are positive glimpse in history when it came to uncovering and defining disabilities. Men like Leo Kanner and Asperger have dedicated

1. Outline the history and development of the medical, social and psycho-social models of disability

Author of disability Nancy Mairs who’s a feminist and a cripple, has accomplished a lot in writing and teaching. Her remarkable personality shows in many of her essays especially in Disability which was first published in 1987 in the New York Times. In this essay, Nancy Mairs shows how disabled people are constantly excluded, especially from the media. By giving out facts and including her personal experiences, Mairs aims for making some changes regarding the relationship between the media and people with disabilities. Mairs thesis is shown implicitly in the first and last

Individuals with disability have had a long history of maltreatment in America. From being thought of as possessed individuals in need of exorcism, targeted for heinous experiments, unknowingly sterilized, being labeled imbecile, feeble minded, and retarded, to being shipped off to state schools or mental asylums, those with disabilities were given no consideration as a valuable and able to contribute member of society. In a speech to congress, Frank Bowe, a highly educated deaf-man highlighted this claim by stating, “we are not even second-class citizens, we are third-class citizens” (Bowe, F. 1977--need citation), and Jim Cherry (2001) furthered the ideal in his words, that prior to “1970 we [disabled citizens] had no right to education, to employment, to transportation, to housing, or to voting. There were no civil rights laws for us, no federal advocacy grants. Few people looked beyond our medical needs” (Cherry, J.L, 2001 http://www.raggededgemagazine.com/0701/0701cov.htm). Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 attempted to fundamentally change how disabled people were reguarded.

By tracing the impacts of this movement, one can gain a better understanding of how fear and devaluing of people with disabilities became deeply embedded in our culture. Doctors were still calling people with disabilities burdens, segregating them in institutions, sterilizing them, and treating them as subhuman as late as the 1970’s. Today, many people still treat people with disabilities as burdens and with fear. During the height of eugenics in America, medical research was being done on people with disabilities (Groce and Marks, 2000). This is a clear equivalent to the status of animal, as only animals and people with disabilities were used in the manner; comparing people with disabilities to animals remains part of our medical and academic culture. In fact, Groce and Marks (2000) challenged anthropologists who consider the value of non-human primates higher than other animals because of their similarities to people with disabilities, connecting these arguments to the American eugenics movement. While the result of the eugenics movement was to devalue people with disabilities, and anthropologists in this case intended to increase the value of the life of the primate, in both instances, the

Nonetheless, this is the reality of the disabled in U.S. history, just as discomfort and marginalization exist today. The 20th century contains many examples of how the disabled were abused, from the harsh restrictions for immigrants to the outright murders of disabled babies. Much of the blame for this must be laid at the door of eugenics, an unconscionable “science” seeking to promote human perfection. It is the essence or ultimate expression of the society's plain dislike of the disabled, and the ideologies behind it only further the universal bias against this population. Progress has been made and there is greater awareness today, but it remains arguable that the culture's emphasis on beauty and physical skill only perpetuates the eugenics rationale. Ultimately, the idea of eugenics itself translates to an ongoing and unconscionable marginalization of the disabled, and because the concept reduces disabled human beings to only their

What socio-historical factors play into the social construction of disabilities? Please be specific and provide examples to support your answers.

The Americans with Disabilities Act initiated on July 26, 1990 was not the beginning of the disabled rights movement (Mayerson). The effort to break the barriers of exclusion of the disabled from society began with committed people who voiced the rights of millions of disabled citizens. During the 19th century the disabled were often forced into insane asylums for the good of society and often received mental and physical abuse (Brignell). Fortunately, there have been noticeable improvements for recognizing the justice of the disabled as members of society. In 1973, the segregation of the disabled is recognized by section 504 of the Rehibilitaion Act as discrimination. Since the Americans with Disabilities Act, they can participate in the

Even though Christianity was already spread across the Europe, the attitude towards people with disabilities was not so great (Disabilities, 2017). There were “idiot cages” in the town centers, inside which were people with disabilities, which served as entertainment for citizens. They were still treated as different people of the society. Although, there were many churches which provided people with disabilities with help and support. People began thinking that mental disorders can be cured and a great number of medical centers

Despite the response to disability varying greatly between times, places and cultures (Barnes, 2012), there is no doubt that disability has an immeasurable impact on people’s lives. Disability affects an individual’s identity and their ability to work, socialise and be involved in society. In this essay I will discuss how approaches to disability have changed over time, specifically how approaches to disability have developed in recent centuries. I will start by discussing the medical model before moving on to its direct challenge in the social model. Finally I will discuss responses to the social model, in particular the biopsychosocial model.

Prior to the course, Perspectives on disability, my understanding of disability was a fundamental, concept of disability, in which I knew it existed, and also have seen and interacted with people considered to have a disability. I never took a deep look at all the social and political factors that exist within the spectrum of disability. This course has allowed me to examine all aspects of disability, which has changed my view and approach of what a disability is and how it is viewed. "Historically, disability has been viewed fundamentally as a persoal tragedy, which has resulted in diasbled people being seen as objects of pity or in need of charity. They have been subject to descriminatory policies and practices in which the predominant images of passivity and helplesness reinforced their inferior status"(Barton 4). Uncovering the framework of disability, by studying the historical, soicial political and educational standpoint, I see the intricacies in which gives me a greater understanding and awareness of the topic.

In this report, the Medical and Social Models of disability are explained, the relevance of both and their importance in society. My own personal views on both are contained throughout and within the conclusion, based on research, referenced and listed in the bibliography.