L4 Disability and representation Flashcards
person vs identity first; medical vs social model
person first = ‘people with xxx’
identity first = ‘disabled person’
medical = individual
social = collective
‘mismatch’ between descriptive and substantive representation (disability)
substantive - are representatives actually standing for disabled people? challenging narratives? or is it more tokenistic…..what are the ideas which are being represented
Disability is a recurrent political topic, but there are
only 1% of politicians (15-20% worldwide identify as disabled) Recker 2022)
Types of motivations to represent disabled people and how this is gendered
- intrinsic (duty to represent)
- Assumed responsibility (chosen commitment)
- extrinsic (rewards for representation)
Key findings & research: who represents disabled people (in a progressive/traditional manner), and why
Used oral question data from 3 parliaments - UK, Scotland, NZ…coded every question based on traditional/progressive
Found that these all matter:
- personal ties
- ideology
- career path
- geography
and representation increased over time, with 2/3 using the progressive model re: disability
Being disabled has a significant impact - and connection to increases frequency. But the substance is more complicated. progressive representation is tied to more personal, deeper connections.
Descriptive representation matters as it transcends ideology.
How race/EM status and gender interact with disability
disability connected to poverty and other marginalised identities - colonialism - etc…
certain groups (such as black british) are more likely to be disabled
Women more likely to declare disabled status AND have more contact with disabled groups (pink collar work)
The ‘Purple’ vote
Representation of the disabled group as a means to gain votes…1/5 people in the UK are disabled - HUGE VOTE SHARE
