the social construction of disability Flashcards
(17 cards)
friedson 1965
the commonsense perception of disability is that disabled people have some physical or mental impediments that prevents them from operating normally, such as loss of a limb, paralysis, blindness or down syndrome
best 2005
notes that disability is defined as the inability to fully take part in activities that the majority take for granted such as walking, washing, driving, and so on
under the equality act 2010
people are disabled if they have a physical or mental imapirmen that has a substantial and long term negative effect on their ability to do normal daily activies. substantial means more than minor or trivial like not being able to work or get dressed without help.
the biomedical approach to disability
tends to define disability as a form of long term chronic illness. moreover it works on the assumption that disability leads to dependence on others. it also assumed that the disabled person has to be helped to come to terms with the physical and psychological problems that they allegedly face
the social construction of disability
oliver 1996 is critical of the biomedical approach to disability because it assumes that there exists a clear definition of a normal body, and a normal range of activities associated with it.
tom shakespeare
suggests that bodies should be viewed as part of a continuum, with fit able -bodied people at one end and the continuumm and the severly diabled at the other end
the social constructionist approach to disability
focuses on how the individual is disabled by society rather than by their physical or mental impairment. very critical of the biomedical model for failing to recognise the social barriers that prevent the disabled for participating in the same social actives as the able bodied.
disablism
describes the social barriers that arise when an able bodied person views someone with an impairment-such that they may be hindered in performing some ordinary tasks- with prejudice and treats them in a discriminatory way
stigma and disability - erving goffman 1963
suggested that certain groups of people are defined as discredited because they possess characteristics that are seen as negative
aiden mccarthy 2014
reported that 22/3 of the british public feel uncomfortable talking to disabled people, while 1/5 of 18-34 year old males admit that they have actually avoided talking to a disabled person, because they were unsure how to communicate with them.
george Covington
a writer who is blind suggested that people with disability’s are brave, courageous, superhuman and inspirational for living with their disability. disabled people argue that their disability is not a burden and should not be seen as inspirational because that is their norm.
aiden and mccarhy- disabled people are dependent
found that 76% of able-bodied people believed that disabled people were in constant need of care.
longmore 1987
found that disabled people tend to be represented on tv as evil, dangerous and monster-like, as objects of pity and charity
cumberbatch and nergrine 1992
argue that media representations of the disabled rarley present them as people who just happen to have a disability and not real functioning people in society.
aiden and mccarthy- research data
28% of disabled people reported being stared at, while 35% had been talked to in a patronising way. 20% reported people treated them as if they were a nuisance, while 40% felt that able-bodied people did not understand their needs
