Identity-Disability Flashcards
What is meant by ‘learned helplessness’?
Disabled people may internalise the idea that they are incapable of changing the situation and thus fail to take action to help themselves- low self esteem and high dependency are a result of this and policies such as segregated schooling contribute too, although the intentions were well-meaning
What does Zola say about disability?
The vocabulary disabled people use to describe themselves is borrowed from discriminatory, able-bodied society e.g deformed, diseased, abnormal etc
What does Murugami say about disability and identity?
A disabled person has the ability to construct a self identity that accepts the impairment but is independent of it- sees it as a characteristic and not defining feature
Describe how disability can acquire the part of ‘master status’
The label ‘disabled’ carries a stigma that affects all interactions, creating ‘master status’ as it transcends all other aspects and becomes defining characteristic in which someone is judged, not only by others but also by themselves
What does Gill say about disability?
As a polio survivor who became disabled later on in life, reconciling his identity as a disabled person with previously held notions about what being disabled means was a hurdle
What is the medical model of disability?
Sees disability as a medical problem and that the limitations are caused by the impairment- leads to a victim blaming mentality as they are made to believe that the problem lies w/ the disabled people rather than society that hasn’t met their needs
What is the social model of disability?
Social/ physical barriers, e.g design of buildings/ discriminatory attitudes, mean that society is the disabling factor and that disability is socially constructed since it is based on the assumption of what is ‘normal’ and ‘abnormal’
What does Shakespeare say about disability and identity?
Disabled people are socialised to see themselves as 1) victims- they have investment in their own incapacity as it becomes the rationale for their own failure and 2) inferior- often isolated so the chances of building strong, collective identity is limited and a lack of role models and representation+education in media & school in largely able-bodied society creates pity, avoidance and awkwardness
