disabled identities

Question 1

medical model of disability

Answer 1

this view sees disability as a personal tragedy and the disabled deserve our pity

disabled are dependent on able-bodies and are unable to function without them

labels disabled people as ‘inferior’ as it is deemed abnormal to be disabled and normalisation will only occur through a cure

Question 2

medical model - best

Answer 2

traditionally disability was seen in terms of a person’s ability to fully participate in activities that the rest take for granted eg washing ourselves, cleaning a floor, walking, driving

Question 3

social model of disability

Answer 3

since 1980s - medical model began to change with the rise of the social model

this view was developed by disabled people themselves and argued that biological disability was less important than social disability

Question 4

oliver - social model of disability

Answer 4

it is society which disables physically impaired people

this is because the disabled are excluded from full participation in society through stereotypical attitudes held by able-bodies people

Question 5

best - social model

Answer 5

society generates forms of discrimination and exclusion that disabled have to cope with

the problem is to be found in social constructions of prejudice that surrounds disability and not in the bodies of disabled people

Question 6

marxist views on disability

Answer 6

it is difficult for disabled people to construct positive identities because they are often unable to work - particularly in high-status jobs, and so are not valued as highly in a capitalist society that values people entirely in terms of their wealth and employment

Question 7

feminist views on disability

Answer 7

it is difficult for disabled women to construct positive identities because they are not viewed as sexually attractive and are often unable to become mothers, the two main routes to status for women in a patriarchal society

Question 8

feminist view evaluation

Answer 8

interactionists argue that marxists and feminists view the disabled as passive

for instance, Goffman’s third strategy of becoming involved in identity politics suggests that disabled people are able to construct resistant identities

Question 9

interactionists views

Answer 9

disability is a social construct - it is a label applied to a group of people who are defined by society in a particular way

stigma is internalised as disabled people come to see themselves as others see them

Question 10

what does goffman argue - interactionist

Answer 10

disability is a stigmatised identity

it happens through a number of mechanisms

• derogatory names
• media images
• differential medical treatment
• barriers in employment
• constructed depedency

Question 11

what does Scott argue - interactionist

Answer 11

study into blind people in the US found that they internalise the experts’ view of themselves and so develop a ‘blind personality’

as part of this they developed learned helplessness

Question 12

how do interactionists argue about managing stigmatised identities

Answer 12

try to hide the stigma (easier with less visible impairments)

admit the stigma and try to relieve the tension that arises in interactions

protests against the stigma (identity politics)

Question 13

postmodernist view

Answer 13

disabled people are free to express themselves in many more ways than in the past due to new technology eg able-bodies avatar of woman with MS on Second Life

Question 14

postmodernist view criticism

Answer 14

structural theorists would argue that postmodernists fail to acknowledge the significant impact of structural inequalities on the identities of disabled people, for which new technology is unable to compensate

Question 15

disability as a social construct

Answer 15

most of the uk population have some form of impairment, such as wearing glasses

however, people with these are not labelled as ‘disabled’ because society does not define these as a problem and therefore does not produce a social environment in which people who wear glasses are handicapped

people who use wheelchairs are handicapped by society’s failure to provide a social environment in which they can be as mobile as able-bodies people

Question 16

concept of independence

Answer 16

being an aspect of normality is seen critically by sociologists in the disability movement

the reason for this is that the negative social reaction of disabled people is because they are dependent and constantly in need of help

Question 17

what does marsh and keating argue

Answer 17

no one is independent

“in modern societies, we are, of course, interdependent: we cannot manage to feed and clothe ourselves without relying on a vast network of other people and organisations

Question 18

marxism - pre-industrial society

Answer 18

the view that able-bodies and disabled people should be segregated and treated differently did not exist

Question 19

marxism - finkelstein

Answer 19

our negative cultural attitudes towards the disabled may be the product of capitalism’s emphasis on work as a source of identity, status and power

Question 20

marxism - industrialisation

Answer 20

industrialisation was responsible for a dramatic shift in cultural attitudes because capitalist society requires a fit and healthy workforce to generate profits for the capitalist class

disabled people become an economic burden for society and are defined as abnormal and as a social problem

Question 21

watson - learned helplessness

Answer 21

our stereotypical perceptions of disabled people about dependency and helplessness can affect how disabled people actually perceives themselves and their abilities

this is known as the ‘self-fulfilling prophecy’ whereby disabled people begin to believe that they are helpless which then leads to low self-esteem and worth

Question 22

scott - self-fulfilling prophecy

Answer 22

looked at interactions between medical professionals and blind people in USA

argued that the blind developed a ‘blind personality’ because they internalised the experts’ view that they should be experiencing psychological problems in adjusting to their loss of sight

• learned helplessness

Question 23

longmore

Answer 23

disabled people are represented on TV as monsters, dependent on others, objects of pity

if the disabled are portrayed as courageous, it is often because it is contrasted with the tragedy of their situation

these stereotypes reinforce cultural stereotypes and consequently prejudice and discrimination

Question 24

cumberbatch and negrine

Answer 24

media representations of disabled rarely present them as a person, an individual who happens to also have a disability

they tend to focus on disability rather than representing them as individuals who happen to have a disability

Question 25

wood

Answer 25

the lack of disabled people employed in the media leads to no one challenging stereotypical views of the disabled

however, where they are, these stereotypes are more likely to be challenged

one example is on BBC’s Eastenders’ where character Donna Yates is wheelchair-bound, but the scriptwriters do very little to focus on her disability and portray her in the same was as every other character

Question 26

negative media representations

Answer 26

these media representations reinforce cultural stereotypes, which may in turn affect identities of the disabled

this assumes that they are passive: in fact some disabled people resist media representations and cultural stereotypes

Question 27

positive representations

Answer 27

there have been recent changes in the representation of disabled people, through events such as the Paralympics in London 2012

this has led to a greater awareness and interest in these sports - some comedians have broken down the barriers and stereotypes regarding disabled people

Question 28

how can disability become a master status

Answer 28

we have multiple identities - however, for disabled people who may not identify themselves through their disability - may find difficulty in asserting this on others who have stereotypical views of their identity

disabled people may find it hard for people to see ‘the real me’ - such as gender, class, ethnicity, sexuality because people have applied the ‘disabled’ label to them

Question 29

what is a master status

Answer 29

a dominant label that over rides all other aspects of that person’s identity

Question 30

how can prejudice and discrimination affect the quality of life

Answer 30

disabled find themselves segregated from able-bodies society eg special schools

prejudice maybe translated into discrimination as employers are reluctant to employ disabled people - this leads to them living a life of welfare benefits

Question 31

what does brown argue

Answer 31

people with disabilities are seen as either innocents or perverts

Question 32

what does kallianes and rubenfeld argue

Answer 32

women with disabilities are often discriminated against

• it is assumed by professionals that such women should not be having sex and that they are likely to be unsuitable mothers
• led to a number of disabled women being forcibly sterilised or had their own children taken into care

Question 33

disabled identity and resistance

Answer 33

social model of disability argues that a more positive representation of disabled people should be promoted, focusing on independence, choice and autonomy for disabled people

the state should invest in a disabled-friendly social environment and should address prejudice and discrimination against the disabled

disabled people are now more likely to resist definitions of disability that focus on dependency and helplessness

Question 34

what does Antle argue

Answer 34

children with disabilities do not qualitatively differ in how they see disabilities compared to children without disabilities

Question 35

what does Olney and Kim argue

Answer 35

disabled people felt much more positive about their self-image, even if they were aware that able-bodies people evaluated them negatively

they, therefore, reject the medical model of disability

Question 36

disabled identity in contemporary society

Answer 36

critics of the social model of disability note that prejudice and discrimination need to be tackled and that the social environment which we live in is not always conductive to the disabled

also note that physical and biological factors, such as pain, can affect the experience of social life negatively

therefore - surrounded by physical and biological factors in addition to the limitations of social environment shaped by negative and stereotypical attitudes towards disability

Question 37

contemporary society - however

Answer 37

societal expectations around the disabled are becoming less rigid and this is reflected in the way that media stereotypes are being challenged, and in the greater awareness of the ways a disabling society can restrict opportunities

Question 38

what does bradley argue

Answer 38

offers a more useful approach by suggesting the need to combine modernist and postmodernist views

argues that identity depends very much on social, political and personal circumstances

Question 39

bradley argument - however

Answer 39

she does argue that disability is becoming an increasingly politicised identity, and there is support

eg large disability rights movement, trying to build a more positive identity for disabled people

300 deaf social clubs across Britain

Raves for thousands of deaf partygoers organised by a deaf DJ