No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the author.
Disabled People and the Politics of Difference
Disability & Society
Abstract
Whilst the Disabled People's Movement has necessarily evolved from a consciousness of disability as central to its participants' identities, and a critique of disablism as endemic to institutional discrimination, academics and activists in various civil rights movements are increasingly perturbed by the personal and political dangers generated by an adherence to 'identity politics' simpliciter. The actual complexities of social life-in particular, the multiple dimensions of identities and the matrices of interlocking discriminationshave propelled us towards a politics of difference. Since a shift of premises and even paradigms is the prerequisite of such a politics, it will inevitably encounter resistance from some sections of our respective movements. This article addresses some aspects of this emerging politics of difference with reference to the self-organised groups in UNISON, the UK's public sector trade union, where the disabled members' group co-exists with groups for women, black people and lesbians and gay men, so that the politics of identity is always already entwined with the politics of difference. Three main themes are pursued-the attempts to transform occasional inter-group collaborations into sustainable inter-group coalitions; the mobilisation of differences across groups in the service of enhancing democracy within groups; and the struggles to accommodate to a burgeoning intra-group diversity.
... 'Identity politics' is the term used to describe movements and theories, such as those predicated on feminist and anti-racist sentiments, which are based on the recognition of shared oppression and among whose major goals 'are forging a [positive] image or conception of self and propagating this self to attentive publics' (Anspach, 1979, p. 766). In outlining the paradox that troubles the celebration of an identity hewn from oppression, Humphrey (1999) concedes that identity politics 'is an inescapable necessity for oppressed peoples, offering itself as a safe space in which people who share similar conditions of existence can heal from the wounds inflicted by the world, debate the societal origins of their affliction, and grow into survivors with the strength to fight back' (Humphrey, 1999). Yet she also warns that 'if it becomes the ultimate destiny for oppressed peoples, it will also metamorphose into an inescapable tomb' because it relies for its existence and its potency on the exclusionary logics which created it in the first place (Humphrey, 1999). ...
... 'Identity politics' is the term used to describe movements and theories, such as those predicated on feminist and anti-racist sentiments, which are based on the recognition of shared oppression and among whose major goals 'are forging a [positive] image or conception of self and propagating this self to attentive publics' (Anspach, 1979, p. 766). In outlining the paradox that troubles the celebration of an identity hewn from oppression, Humphrey (1999) concedes that identity politics 'is an inescapable necessity for oppressed peoples, offering itself as a safe space in which people who share similar conditions of existence can heal from the wounds inflicted by the world, debate the societal origins of their affliction, and grow into survivors with the strength to fight back' (Humphrey, 1999). Yet she also warns that 'if it becomes the ultimate destiny for oppressed peoples, it will also metamorphose into an inescapable tomb' because it relies for its existence and its potency on the exclusionary logics which created it in the first place (Humphrey, 1999). ...
... In outlining the paradox that troubles the celebration of an identity hewn from oppression, Humphrey (1999) concedes that identity politics 'is an inescapable necessity for oppressed peoples, offering itself as a safe space in which people who share similar conditions of existence can heal from the wounds inflicted by the world, debate the societal origins of their affliction, and grow into survivors with the strength to fight back' (Humphrey, 1999). Yet she also warns that 'if it becomes the ultimate destiny for oppressed peoples, it will also metamorphose into an inescapable tomb' because it relies for its existence and its potency on the exclusionary logics which created it in the first place (Humphrey, 1999). ...
This article seeks to demonstrate that, to function as a truly emancipatory phenomenon, disability culture must be relieved of the paradox that keeps it trapped in modernist assumptions that serve to reinforce its marginalised status. The paradox of disability culture may be stated as follows. How can we claim unity without falling into the same exclusionary practices that have served to create our divisive identifications in the first place? Conversely, how can we relinquish the practices of identification that are based on binary oppositions without losing the ability to claim identities at all? I argue that, by extricating it from its origins in essentialist assumptions, disability culture can be reinvigo rated as a truly emancipatory device, which is capable of devising positive identities which, rather than celebrating the 'disabled identity', rely on its dissolution.
... Overcoming the Paradox of Identity Politics As empowering as the creation of a sense of disability culture has been for people who were once trapped in the net of individualism which masked their oppression under the guise of personal troubles, it is based on a notion of identity politics which 'has become a double-edged sword' (Humphrey 1999: 174 ...
... In outlining the paradox which troubles the celebration of an identity hewn from oppression, Humphrey (1999) concedes that identity politics 'is an inescapable necessity for oppressed peoples, offering itself as a safe space in which people who share similar conditions of existence can heal from the wounds inflicted by the world, debate the societal origins of their affliction, and grow into survivors with the strength to fight back' (ibid). Yet he also warns that 'if it becomes the ultimate destiny for oppressed peoples, it will also metamorphose into an inescapable tomb' because it relies for its existence and its potency on the exclusionary logics which created it in the first place (ibid). ...
My thesis explores the notion, originally developed by sociologists such as Goffman and Charmaz, that a person's identity undergoes a difficult and painful metamorphosis in response to the effects of serious long-term impairment or chronic illness. I argue that existing methods of researching what I have come to call 'the disabled identity' generally avoid a deeper exploration of the social context in which this kind of marginalisation occurs. To address this absence, I develop a research methodology which combines an intensive exploration of the personal experience of disability with a critical analysis of the social and historical context in which the disabling of identity occurs. I approach the former through grounded theory and the latter through a Foucaultian analytics of genealogy and governmentality. These are informed by the theoretical insights surrounding the 'social model' of disability which claims that 'disability' is not a physical problem based on personal tragedy but is a social imposition based on exclusion and stigmatisation.
In accordance with this, the thesis proceeds in three successive stages. First, I apply a genealogical analysis to disability in general, then more specifically to the disabled identity, to provide the background for my qualitative research. The purpose of genealogy is to reveal that the concept under investigation is not a self-evident 'given' but a social construction which has developed to serve varying interests over time. Through this process it becomes evident that disability has evolved as a concept which performs as a counterpoint to the norm and, as such, provides a measure of 'what not to be' in terms of contemporary neoliberal citizenship.
Next, I engage in a grounded theory study which draws on the stories of disabled people to explore how their self-perceptions and the attitudes of those around them have been affected by disability. These stories stem from a variety of data sources, including my dialogues with participants, written stories from participants, and published autobiographies. Their analysis results in the emergence of the following themes: independence, occupational identity, and sexuality/appearance. Each theme is discussed in a separate chapter which attempts to let the stories speak for themselves by way of lengthy excerpts from the participants and texts, and combines them, where relevant, with my own insights and experiences as a disabled person.
In the final stage, I use a governmentality analysis to explore these themes and to place them in their current social and historical context. Here I suggest that independence, work and sexuality are key factors which are used to divide the affiliated from the marginalised in contemporary neoliberal societies. I argue that the two 'technologies' which currently have the most impact on how independence, work and sexuality are governed in relation to disability are welfare reform and sexual rehabilitation. Here I explore the available primary sources - particularly the last five years of Australian government policy on welfare reform and a selection of sexual rehabilitation texts - to reveal how governance seeks to operate as a liberatory force while remaining oppressive due to its paternalism and reinforcement of normative prescriptions.
The final chapter further problematises disability in relation to the governmental concepts of 'self-esteem' and 'empowerment' in an attempt to unpick what can be claimed to be emancipatory from what remains embedded in the dominant discourse. By 'deconstructing necessity' and exploring the root causes of oppression through what Foucault refers to as 'the disinterment of subjugated knowledges', the thesis outlines an alternative discourse in relation to 'disability' and opens up new possibilities for the creation of more positive identities.
... It is also closely allied with issues such as identity politics, democracy, tolerance and inclusion. In humanities, the 'politics of difference" applies to subjects such as feminism (Weedon 1999); race (McCarty 1990); class relations (Harvey 1993); ethnic issues (Wilmsen and McAllister 1996) community development (Young 1995); pedagogy (Giroux 1992); medical research (Epstein 2007); and, disability (Humphrey 1999), etc. ...
... The disability movement developed from what Humphrey (1999) refers to as "a consciousness of disability as central to its participants' identities" (p. 173). ...
... This is especially necessary in guiding attempts to make the wider public more comfortable in their contacts with minority groups (Al Ramiah & Hewstone, 2013). The findings from this study would suggest that in this respect there could be common cause for people with disabilities to align with other minority groups, especially with respect to tackling exclusion in education and employment (Humphrey, 1999;Thomas, 2013). Moreover, this recognises the intersections among these groupings in that a person with disability can be gay or black or an immigrant (Iriarte, McConkey, & Gilligan, 2015). ...
The discomfort reported by the general public at the prospect of personal contact with marginalised groups is an expression of the stigma they experience. This has been widely studied in relation to ethnic minorities and immigrants but less so for persons with disabilities. A national survey with a representative sample of over 1100 Irish adults provided an opportunity to examine reported discomfort with persons who had different impairments, including mental health conditions, with four other minority groups. Moreover, the personal and situational variables associated with expressions of discomfort were identified.
Respondents were most comfortable having persons with physical and sensorial disabilities living in their neighbourhood or in their workplace but less so for persons with intellectual disabilities and even less for people with mental health conditions. They were much less comfortable with the four other social groups: gay, lesbian or bisexual people; Eastern European migrant workers; black and ethnic minority groups and least of all, travellers. Moreover, a factor analysis confirmed that the scores given to the impaired groups were significantly correlated with each other but less so with the other four social groupings, although these were significantly inter-correlated among themselves. Respondents who were more comfortable with both sets of minority groups tended to have more social connections in their personal lives and to reside in towns or villages rather than cities. They also expressed more positive attitudes to the inclusion of persons with disabilities in Irish society.
The gradient in levels of public discomfort across minority groups may provide a sensitive indicator of the differential stigma experienced by persons with impairments within societies but there remains the possibility that an alliance with other minority groups would also help to promote more positive attitudes and reduce their wider social exclusion.
... In order to avoid social stigma and embarrassment, women with physical disabilities often tend stay at home or socialise only in private company. In the long term, this leads to a kind of 'social death', because these women are not part of mainstream society (Humphrey 1999). This in turn damages their self-esteem and deepens the sense of alienation from the community. ...
Community-Based Rehabilitation (CBR) has been adopted in many countries to help disabled people. This article analyses the interplay between CBR and the self-alienation of physically disabled women from their communities. In-depth interviews with 40 women with physical disabilities in northern Thailand found that CBR was barely capable of enabling women with physical disabilities to realise their sense of self within their community, because in itself CBR was unable to change the community's false impression of disability. Despite participating in CBR programmes, the self-alienation of physically disabled women from their community remained; the authors argue that this was due to the heavy reliance of CBR on medical practice, ignoring gender as a major contributing factor. In addition, CBR field workers obviously failed to grasp the magnitude of social models in disability rehabilitation.
... In addition to failing to challenge "real" relations of power, observers argue that identity politics does not challenge the social construction of status categories, ignores the intersection of identities, forces those with multiple identities to privilege some aspects of identity over others, fails to recognize diversity within groups, imposes a uniform identity on groups that are diverse, and essentializes a group's identity (Ryan 1997, Humphrey 1999, Phelan 1989, Alexander 1999. Others suggest that identity politics' essentialist claims can backfire. ...
This review presents an overview of research on identity politics. First, I distinguish between various approaches to defining identity politics and the challenges presented by each approach. In the process, I show that these approaches reflect competing theoretical understandings of the relationship between experience, culture, identity, politics, and power. These debates raise theoretical issues that I address in the second section, including (a) how to understand the relationship between personal experience and political stance, (b) why status identities are understood and/or portrayed as essentialist or socially constructed, (c) the strategic dilemmas activists face when the identities around which a movement is organized are also the basis for oppression, (d) when to attribute certain movement outcomes to status identities, and (e) how to link collective action to specific notions of power to help explain the cultural and political goals at which identity politics is aimed. I conclude by recommending...
... As recognised by Fuller et al. (2004a, p. 467); 'There is now a need to move beyond single institution studies and a focus on specific impairment towards a more extensive and integrated approach.' Although this call for a specific impairment focus may appear to reaffirm divisions within the Disabled Peoples' Movement (Humphrey, 1999), it does bring attention to the particularities of impairments, such as Asperger Syndrome, which have often been ignored in the social model of disability literature. ...
... Non edifficile allora immaginare come la sfida lanciata dal movimento dei disabili per il riconoscimento della propria identita trovi collegamenti con altri movimenti di lotta per I'affermazione del diritto alia differenza contro ogni forma di oppressione e discriminazione sociale (Stone, 1995;Erevelles, 1996;Humphrey, 1999). D'altra parte, essendo la disabilita una condizione che attraversa ogni altro gruppo che si riconosce per differenze di razza, genere, c1asse e orientamento sessuale (per I'owia considerazione che si puo essere disabili maschi 0 femmine, bianchi 0 neri, eterosessuali od omosessuali) ne consegue che il soggetto disabile subisce un aumento esponenziale del disagio per la complessita delle circostanze che 10 marginalizzano. ...
The social and cultural perspective about persons with disabilities has substantially modified the consideration of the disability personal identity (Finkelstein, 1980; Oliver, 1990; Shakespeare, 1996). It is here presented, in succession, both the reformulation of the construct onto the disability personal identity accordingly to the adoption of the social model and, in the second part, statistical results obtained from a research onto
Disabled people need to be activists given the many problematic lived realities they face. However, they frequently encounter obstacles in traditional offline activism. Online activism could be a potential alternative. The objective of this scoping review is to examine the extent and nature of the coverage of disabled people in the academic literature that focuses on online activism. We searched the abstracts in Scopus, Web of Science, and the 70 databases in EBSCO-HOST for the presence of 57 terms linked to online activism or online tools or places for online activism, which generated 18,069 abstracts for qualitative analysis. Of the 18,069 abstracts, only 54 discussed online the activism by disabled people. Among these 54 relevant abstracts, only one contained the term “Global South”. No relevant abstracts were found that contained the terms “Metaverse” or “Democrac*” together with “activis*”. Only two relevant abstracts contained the phrase “digital citizen*”. Out of the 57 terms, 28 had no hits. The thematic analysis identified 24 themes: 6 themes in 30 abstracts had a positive sentiment, 7 themes in 30 abstracts had a negative sentiment, and 11 themes present in 23 abstracts had a neutral sentiment. There were three main themes: the positive role and use of online activism; the technical accessibility barriers to online activism; and the attitudinal accessibility problems arising from ableist judgments. The intersectionality of the disability identity with other marginalized identities and the issue of empowerment were rarely addressed, and ability judgment-based concepts beyond the term’s “ableism” and “ableist” were not used. The study underscores the necessity for further research given the few relevant abstracts found. The study also indicates that actions are needed on barriers to online activism and that examples for best practices exist that could be applied more often. Future studies should also incorporate a broader range of ability judgment-based concepts to enrich the analysis and to support the empowerment of disabled activists.
Die politischen Erfolge der Behindertenbewegung, die Überarbeitung der internationalen Klassifikation der Funktionsfähigkeit, Behinderung und Gesundheit durch die Weltgesundheitsorganisation (WHO) und die zunehmende Etablierung der Integrationspädagogik haben ein neues Verständnis von Behinderung etabliert: Behindert ist man nicht, behindert wird man. Die vorliegende Theorie der Behinderung zieht daraus die Konsequenzen und stellt ein Dispositiv für die Beobachtung von Behinderungen bereit. Sie macht aus der Differenz von behindert/nicht behindert ein anregendes Element der Selbstbeschreibung der Gesellschaft. Aufgrund seiner breiten Orientierung ist der Band als Einführungstext in die Disability Studies geeignet.
A critical Analysis of Herbert Spencer's Theory of 'Social Darwinism'
Throughout the world negative connotations and scapegoating of individuals with disabilities is far too common. The purpose of this article is to examine the history that shows how persons with disabilities are viewed, and ends with suggestions on how to improve this perception in countries where these productive citizens may not be fully valued. A critical review was conducted by dividing the definition of disability into five different perspectives (historical, religious and theological, legal, socio-cultural, and developmental), and concludes that when viewed through an international lens, traditional dogmas continue to exist. The belief that disabilities are ‘divine punishments’, and any subsequent miseries related to the disability are attributed to misdeeds from a past life. Beliefs that foster this negative perception support mistreatment and allow for the continuation of unfounded negative stereotypes. Understanding and exploring these beliefs is considered the first step in changing these negative perceptions.
Higher education for disabled people is an important factor that can improve their living standards in the long run but, in Thailand, little is known about the interplay between inclusive higher education practices and disabled students. This article, therefore, sets forth a qualitative method for investigating barriers that affect the inclusive higher education participation of blind students. Findings drawn from face-to-face interviews with 12 blind students clearly indicate that unfriendly physical environments on campus, lecturers’ inaccurate understanding of inclusive education, and inclusive higher education policy inconsistencies limit their active learning opportunities. The author recommends that senior university administrators introduce sharply tailored interventions to adopt universal design concepts, appropriate academic adjustments, and campus-wide inclusive practices that contribute to supporting the educational achievement of blind students.
Mit diesen Worten beschrieb Theodor Adorno in ungewohnter, geradezu prophetischer Weise einen quasi paradiesischen Zustand, den er den „Stand der Versöhnung“ nennt. Dieser Zustand zeichnet sich dadurch aus, dass in ihm das Verschiedene miteinander versöhnt ist, ohne dass es aufhörte, verschieden zu sein oder das Verschiedene sich feindlich zueinander verhielte. Das Verschiedene steht also weder unter dem Zwang des Identischen, noch wäre die Dialektik von Identität und Nichtidentität jemals aufgehoben innerhalb einer zwanglosen, herrschaftsfreien und friedlichen „Kommunikation des Unterschiedenen“, das „teil hat aneinander“.
This article is an offshoot of a research project on lesbian and gay self-organization in the UK's public sector union UNISON. The site upon which lesbians and gay men 'work together' is a complex and contradictory one, located at the juncture of several pathways - women's and men's movements, gendered politics and sexual politics, purist ghettos and queer rainbows. The UNISON group furnishes an ideal site for a case-study of sexual and gendered dynamics in lesbian-and-gay politics by dint of institutional arrangements whereby separate spaces for lesbians and gay men respectively encourage reflexivity in working through these hyphens. While reflections from the lesbian feminist mirror have been active ingredients in the ongoing resocialization of gay men, it is argued that reflections from a gay male mirror will also be necessary if we are to nurture greater wisdom and justice in gender relations. Since the lesbian and gay group co-exists with other self-organized groups for women, black people and disabled people within a broader pro-socialist movement, the potential for working across other sets of differences is also noteworthy. Nevertheless, it can be demonstrated that a sustained coalition between lesbians and gay men is not sufficient in bringing about coalitions with other oppressed minorities or majorities, and may even be at loggerheads with them.
Ever since the anti-globalisation protests in Seattle in 1999 the adoption of new information and communications technologies (ICTs) by social movement activists has offered the prospect for the development of global cyberprotest. The Internet with its transnational many-to-many communication facility offers a revolutionary potential for social movements to go online and circumvent the 'official' messages of political and commercial organisations and the traditional media, by speaking directly to the citizens of the world. Furthermore the use of electronic mail (e-mail), mailing lists, websites, electronic forums and other online applications provide powerful media tools for co-ordinating the activity of often physically dispersed movement actors. Moreover, ICTs may also contribute to the important function of social movements of shaping collective identity and countering the claims and arguments of established political interests. A growing body of literature during the last decades of the twentieth century attests to the significant impact SMs have had upon the restructuring of the political landscape. Most of that literature addresses the more traditional actors and institutions (e.g. parliaments, political parties, bureaucracy etc.). Less attention has been devoted to those manifestations of political action that are concentrated around social movements and all kinds of more or less institutionalised and sustainable forms of citizen mobilisation. This book is a collection of cases that take a critical look into the way ICTs are finding their way into the world of social movements. © 2004 selection and editorial matter, Wim van de Donk, Brian D.Loader, Paul G.Nixon, Dieter Rucht. All rights reserved.
Over the last forty years, the field of disability studies has emerged from the political activism of disabled people. In this challenging review of the field, leading disability academic and activist Tom Shakespeare argues that disability research needs a firmer conceptual and empirical footing.
Over the last thirty years, the field of disability studies has emerged from the political activism of disabled people. In this challenging review of the field, leading disability academic and activist Tom Shakespeare argues that the social model theory has reached a dead end. Drawing on a critical realist perspective, Shakespeare promotes a pluralist, engaged and nuanced approach to disability. Key topics discussed include: dichotomies - the dangerous polarizations of medical model versus social model, impairment versus disability and disabled people versus non-disabled people, identity - the drawbacks of the disability movement's emphasis on identity politics, bioethics in disability - choices at the beginning and end of life and in the field of genetic and stem cell therapies, care and social relationships - questions of intimacy and friendship. This stimulating and accessible book challenges orthodoxies in British disability studies, promoting a new conceptualization of disability and fresh research agenda. It is an invaluable resource for researchers and students in disability studies and sociology, as well as professionals, policy makers and activists.
American disability policy is often framed as a health, economic, technical, and/or safety issue. This is a critical issue because this specific framework of disability is based upon narrow statutory interpretations of a policy sciences framework rather than a civil rights or social construction framework. This article addresses the critical interpretations of disability policy, notably the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) and the unintended consequences of the ADA through several court cases. Using these court cases as a starting point, the article examines the implications of disability policy from two different models: the policy sciences and social construction model. The article concludes with a discussion addressing disability using the two policy models to better serve the needs and expectations of Americans with disabilities.
A year-long longitudinal study was conducted to gain insight into the lives of eight students who had a label of Asperger's syndrome during their transitions into higher education in the UK. Reflecting on life history data, the findings suggest that universities might actually be maintaining and (re)producing barriers that perpetuate the exclusion and ghettoisation of disabled people. The analysis goes beyond an acknowledgement of institutional disabling practices to pinpoint the subtle impacts of issues of pedagogy, learning, teaching, and assessment. It is argued, therefore, that inclusive education needs to engage more directly with the specific issues faced by learners with the label of Asperger's syndrome. However, rather than viewing this as an issue of special education for distinctly impaired learners, Asperger's syndrome must be understood with reference to wider questions of how higher educators respond to diversity and difference.
Special education for disabled children is seen by many as being a major factor in the creation of a negative, second-class identity. This article suggests that disability is increasingly being seen as a positive cultural identity. Consequently, inclusive education has the potential to assimilate disabled children and subsume the promotion of disabled identity under the pervasive concept of diversity. Special schools could, therefore, under the control of disabled people become sites for the promotion of disability as a positive cultural identity and offer disabled children and their parents a genuine choice of education.
This article is an offshoot of a research project on lesbian and gay self-organization in the UK's public sector union UNISON. The site upon which lesbians and gay men 'work together' is a complex and contradictory one, located at the juncture of several pathways – women's and men's movements, gendered politics and sexual politics, purist ghettos and queer rainbows. The UNISON group furnishes an ideal site for a case-study of sexual and gendered dynamics in lesbian-and-gay politics by dint of institutional arrangements whereby separate spaces for lesbians and gay men respectively encourage reflexivity in working through these hyphens. While reflections from the lesbian feminist mirror have been active ingredients in the ongoing resocialization of gay men, it is argued that reflections from a gay male mirror will also be necessary if we are to nurture greater wisdom and justice in gender relations. Since the lesbian and gay group co-exists with other selforganized groups for women, black people and disabled people within a broader pro-socialist movement, the potential for working across other sets of differences is also noteworthy. Nevertheless, it can be demonstrated that a sustained coalition between lesbians and gay men is not sufficient in bringing about coalitions with other oppressed minorities or majorities, and may even be at loggerheads with them.
This article arises from a research project involving the disabled members' group in UNISON, and problematises the social model which explicitly undergirds the discourses and practices of this group. In abstract terms, there are dangers that the social model can be interpreted in a way which privileges some impaired identities over others, sanctions a separatist ghetto which cannot reach out to other groups of disabled and disadvantaged people, and weaves a tangled web around researchers who adhere to the emancipatory paradigm. In concrete terms, these dangers are explored with reference to the stories of impaired people who believe that they are excluded from the disabled members' group, the predicaments of ex-disabled and differently-disabled people in relation to the movement, and the culture of suspicion surrounding academics, particularly the 'non-disabled' researcher as would-be ally. It is argued that, whilst such identities and issues might appear to be 'marginal' ones in the sense of occurring at the boundary of disabled communities, disability politics and disability studies, they should not be 'marginalised' by disabled activists and academics, and indeed that they pose challenges to our collective identities, social movements, theoretical models and research paradigms which need to be addressed.
As with many movements operating in neoliberal regimes, Canadian disability movements struggle to maintain momentum and engage youth leadership. Drawing on feminist disability studies, this article presents the findings of a participatory research project on the Youth Activist Forum, an event which brought together 38 youth with and without disabilities to meet new and established leaders with disabilities. We argue that the process of planning, hosting, and attending the Youth Activist Forum forges a complex rare space that facilitates empowerment for youth. We frame the space as ‘rare’ because: the activities and leaders are overlooked by the scholars documenting Canadian disability movements; it is a new experience for many youth participants, planners, and speakers that builds community; it reveals a lack of shared frameworks through uncomfortable moments; and in some ways, it diverges from priorities on the Ontario funding and non-profit landscape. We argue that while rare and difficult to create, this space is necessary as it facilitates empowerment, recognizes existing youth leadership, and helps us imagine the future of disability movements. We conclude by discussing the value of our findings for youth studies researchers, particularly those drawing on disability studies literature and seeking to engage youth on disability issues.
La bibliografia che segue affronta una particolare questione circa le concezioni della persona nella filosofia politica e del diritto d'area anglosassone. Il nodo problematico riguarda la nozione di responsabilità per scelte e comportamenti di un soggetto. Il problema è, quindi, quello di individuare come possiamo parlare di libera scelta, delle cui conseguenze i singoli agenti sono responsabili, pur in presenza di necessari ed inevitabili, nessi di causalità che stanno alla base dei comportamenti individuali e collettivi. In questo modo si è andati all'origine di molte discussioni ormai classiche di filosofia morale, politica, e del diritto circa nozioni di giustizia distributiva, fortuna morale, inabilità fisica o psichica, dipendenza, costrizione e merito. Tutti questi nodi problematici, infatti, rimandano alla questione circa la nozione di libertà individuale, nozione che si ottiene dall'analisi dei concetti di necessità ( si è liberi perché si sfugge a nessi inevitabili di causalità) e di responsabilità, d'imputazione di un atto ad una volontà che si autodetermina. Come si vede, quindi, l'oggetto di questa bibliografia ritorna nelle discipline politico-giuridiche come un tema ineludibile che, tuttavia, viene tradotto in diversi modi, secondo i differenti campi scientifici di riferimento. Questi ultimi si collegano strettamente poiché è ormai affermata la tendenza, nella filosofia della morale, della politica e del diritto, a mettere in relazione la questione dei diritti individuali e dei doveri che i poteri pubblici hanno nei confronti dei cittadini, con un quadro concettuale di riferimento riguardo ai poteri, d'autonomia e di deliberazione, e ai limiti, fisici e di razionalità, del soggetto agente. In questo modo il dibattito circa il "libero arbitrio" si presenta, come vedremo, alla stregua di una questione metateorica generale (parte prima della bibliografia) dalla quale le tre discipline in oggetto sviluppano diversi ambiti problematici. È chiaro, quindi, perché la prima voce della ricerca sia la più nutrita. Essa, infatti, intende presentare le diverse letture delle nozioni di libertà, necessità, responsabilità che rivedremo, non più analizzate, ma per lo più assunte per via stipulativa o convenzionale, nelle altre voci della bibliografia. Il dibattito, pur nella sua vastità, può essere ridotto a tre soluzioni: - compatibilista (la nozione di libero arbitrio è compatibile con quella di necessità causale),
Con ‘Sessualità alterabili’ vogliamo esprimere la complessità di un fenomeno psicosociale che riguarda il rapporto tra sessualità e disabilità.
‘Sessualità alterabili’, si riferisce innanzitutto allo sviluppo dell’identità sessuale e dell’immagine del proprio corpo, come corpo sessuato di un soggetto con disabilità, che è in larga parte alterato, compromesso e frustrato da stereotipi sociali riconducibili a miti discriminanti comunemente diffusi nelle più diverse culture mondiali. ‘Sessualità alterabili’, però, intende anche sottolineare come la sessualità di una persona con disabilità debba essere riletta all’interno di quelle specifiche e differenti esperienze di cui gli individui con disabilità sono gli unici testimoni. Nella misura in cui la persona con disabilità manifesta abilità fisiche, psichiche, spirituali, artistiche e culturali specifiche, altre da quelle di una cultura occidentale, bianca, patriarcale, medio-boghese, la diversità di prospettiva che nasce dal corpo e dalla mente di un disabile è un’altra, differente (e nella sua differenza, criticamente dialettica) visione del mondo e, di conseguenza, della normalità di un corpo e dei suoi bisogni e funzioni.
Infine, ‘Sessualità alterabili’ significa che la sessualità di un disabile, attraverso il suo modo di sentire e vivere i bisogni del suo corpo come sessuato, amabile e amante, altera gli stereotipi della normalità, del concetto di ‘natura’, di ‘fisiologico’, di ‘sessuologico’, affermando la differente bellezza naturale, esperienziale e sessuale di una normalità della devianza, di un’ontologica contro-naturalità dell’esserci.
Il libro raccoglie i dati di una rilevazione effettuata in diversi centri italiani, che accolgono persone con disabilità, sulle modalità di riconoscimento, accoglienza ed educazione della sessualità, vale a dire, sulle influenze socioambientali nello sviluppo della sessualità di persone disabili in Italia. Lo studio porta ad un livello critico ciò che è facilmente riscontrabile nell’ambito della disabilità, ovverosia, come nei centri d’accoglienza delle persone disabili e, spesso, nelle stesse famiglie di figli con disabilità, il problema dell’educazione sessuale rimanga, per così dire, latente, sommerso, non rientrando, di conseguenza, nelle finalità esplicite del progetto educativo dei medesimi.
Purpose
– Through a reflection on a recent voting rights campaign for people with disabilities in Lebanon, the article aims to contribute to a body of literature that seeks to challenge the marginalisation of people with disabilities; and aims to share our reflections with others interested in deeper thinking on the global impacts on their day‐to‐day work.
Design/methodology/approach
– The article begins with a background discussion of the Lebanese context and the voting rights campaign, followed by an analysis of rights‐based work through a discussion of key issues faced by community activists.
Findings
– The analysis highlights the impact of global forces on local grassroots work through the following issues: formalisation of relationships between national government organisations (NGOs); professionalisation within NGOs; contentious dealings with the state; the meanings and uses of diversity and international political relations.
Originality/value
– There is a dearth of published studies on the disability‐rights movement in the Arab region; more specifically, the article provides a critical reflection on the changes facing the movement in Lebanon, where there are no published studies on the topic. This article would be of value to activists in other parts of the world interested in the changes facing activism on disability rights or other issues.
Research was conducted to gain insight into the lives of students with Asperger Syndrome (AS) during their transitions into higher education. Eight students were recruited from across the United Kingdom to partake in a year-long longitudinal study that incorporated life-history interviews. In their responses, the majority of interviewees identified spaces within their universities as being inaccessible. They found obstacles locating themselves in spaces where other students generally tend to congregate (e.g. student unions, pubs, libraries) due to their sensory impairments. As a result, a number of respondents experienced difficulty engaging socially in university life. This paper explores how students with AS and hypersensitivities negotiated these barriers. While some experienced a sense of ease, others were not as successful. This difference in experience, as argued here, reflects the diversity of individuals who have AS. Reflecting upon this diversity, it is hoped this paper will contribute to raising the profile of young adults with AS and wider questions about disabled student support provision in higher education.
The theoretical and practical constraints of identity formation for lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) persons with developmental disabilities are explored. Firstly, disability and queer theory and conceptions of identification and community are presented. This is followed by a synopsis of some of the common societal myths about disability and about homosexuality. Thirdly, we trace how these myths affect and filter into caregiver attitudes, lesbian and gay communities and communities of persons with disabilities, including developmental disabilities. All these factors conspire to inhibit self-identification as LGB for persons with developmental disabilities. It is further argued that neither disability theorists nor queer theorists have adequately accounted for such complex identities, and that, perhaps, a fusion of disability theory and queer theory may provide a more comprehensive lens to capture these complexities. We conclude with tentative yet practical suggestions to begin to create community for LGB persons with a developmental disability.
While persons with disabilities comprise approximately 17% of American and Canadian populations, they comprise a mere 3% of the workforce. This study examined the attitudes of 231 Canadian management undergraduates toward employing persons with disabilities. Participants were assigned to MacLean and Gannon's (1995) fourfold table of low-high combinations of the sympathy and discomfort scales derived from the Interaction With Disabled Persons scale (IDP; Gething, 1991). Results showed that the fourfold classification of attitudes was useful in identifying differences in attitudes, as measured by the 13-item Attitudes Toward Employing Persons With Disabilities instrument (ATEPD; Loo, 2002). Scores on the IDP and ATEPD were independent of social desirability scores. Recommendations are presented for organizations and educators to promote positive attitudes toward employees with disabilities.
This article is an offshoot of a three year study into the self–organized groups for women, black members, disabled members and lesbians and gay men which have been enshrined in the constitution of the UK’s public sector union UNISON. The argument is that self–organization has become a significant axis around which trade union democracy is being reconstituted in the late twentieth century. However, our understanding of this phenomenon has been obscured by the ascendancy of mainstream union perspectives over self–organized perspectives, which has unfortunately been compounded by academic researchers. A re–conceptualization of self–organization proceeds in three stages. First, it is contextualized politically and theoretically in terms of trade union histories, new social movements and models of a diversified democratic polity. Second, it is re–signified by attending to its actual unfolding over the past two decades and the self–understandings of its activists. Third, is problematized with reference to exogenous pressures towards bureaucracy and oligarchy, and endogenous pressures towards essentialisms and exclusions.
This article will examine the ways in which disabled people, world-wide but especially in the USA and Britain, have emerged as a coherent political force in the last 20 years. Furthermore, in looking at disability from the perspective afforded by new social movement arguments, I wish to explore the implications of this development: the fact that disabled people in the 1990s are ‘doing it for themselves’, and to develop comparisons between the disabled people's movement and the movements of black people, women, and gays and lesbians, for autonomy, recognition and resources. I will suggest that new social movement theory, while useful in the analysis of environmentalism, post-materialism, and some varieties of nationalism, cannot fully grasp the essence of liberation politics.
This paper considers the significance of self-organization for black and minority workers in trade unions. It embodies a review of the theoretical and empirical evidence in support of black self-organization within unions; that is, a strategy of relative autonomy rather than separatism or submersion within a race-blind union. The theoretical support is derived from arguments concerning identity, participation and power. Much of the empirical material is based upon interviews with black and white lay members and shop stewards from three branches (‘Helthten’, ‘Shaften’ and ‘Mounten’) of the National and Local Government Officers union (NALGO) and with NALGO national officials between 1989 and 1990.
Social Postmodernism defends a postmodern perspective anchored in the politics of the new social movements. The volume preserves the focus on the politics of the body, race, gender, and sexuality as elaborated in postmodern approaches. But these essays push postmodern analysis in a particular direction: toward a social postmodernism which integrates the micro-social concerns of the new social movements with an institutional and cultural analysis in the service of a transformative political vision.
The issue of trade union democracy has been the subject of considerable controversy in recent years. The government has pursued a policy designed in part to 'give unions back to their members' and the decline in the numbers of employees joining unions raises the question of whether trade unionism is losing its relevance. This book presents research papers which deal with these issues and reveals how the unions are adopting to legislative and other changes as they enter the 1990s.
With the collapse of the Leninist project in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe and the fluid relations between market and state consequent upon the New Right project of the Reagan and Thatcher eras in the West, citizenship analysis has assumed a central place in the political sociology of democratic societies. However, such analysis is presently characterized by a variety of divergent and, on occasion, contradictory positions. This article proposes that the debates around citizenship can be clarified by recognizing the existence of two conceptions of citizenship. The first of these, state citizenship, involves the identification of citizenship with the elaboration of a formal legal status, co-terminous with the emergence of nation-states and their diverse lineages. The article discusses the two main forms in which this conception appears in the relevant literature: that of full formal membership of a nation-state and that of a distinctive welfare-rights version. Some limitations of the status conception of citizenship are considered and recent political developments in relation to its use in the British context are discussed. A second conception, that of democratic citizenship, is then proposed which involves the elaboration of citizenship around shared membership of a political community, in which conception citizens are political actors constituting political spaces. Some implications of this alternative conception are discussed and exemplified with reference to the possibilities for a European political community.
This article considers 'self-organisation' as a survival strategy for marginalised groups within the British trade union movement. It arises from an ongoing research project into the 'self-organised groups' for women, black members, disabled members, and lesbian and gay members within the public sector unions NALGO and UNISON. Initially, I provide an overview of the relevant literature on trade unions and their marginalised memberships, and argue that the absence of disabled people bears the hallmarks of discrimination. The remainder of this article is intended as a first step towards remedying this injustice. It draws upon interviews with disability activists to highlight critical moments in the creation of the disabled members' group in the 1980s; key themes inscribed on their agendas and activities in the 1990s; and dilemmas which will impact upon the future survival of the group. Finally, I offer some suggestions for future work in this arena and interrogate my own position in this project.
Drawing on debates in lesbian and gay periodicals and writings from and about post-structuralist ''queer theory'' and politics. this paper clarifies the meanings and distinctive politics of ''queerness,'' in order to trace its implications for social movement theory and research. The challenge of queer theory and politics, I argue, is primarily in its disruption of sex and gender identity boundaries and deconstruction of identity categories. The debates (over the use of the term ''queer'' and over bisexual and transgender inclusion) raise questions not only about the content of sexuality-based political identities, but over their viability and usefulness. This in turn challenges social movement theory to further articulate dynamics of collective identity formation and deployment. While recent social movement theory has paid attention to the creation and negotiation of collective identity, it has not paid sufficient attention to the simultaneous impulse to destabilize identities from within. That tendency, while especially visible in lesbian and gay movements, is also visible in other social movements. It calls attention to a general dilemma of identity politics: Fixed identity categories are both the basis for oppression and the basis for political power. The insights of bath sides of the dilemma highlighted here raise important new questions for social movement theory and research.
This paper draws parallels between disability politics and the gay pride movement, in order to illustrate how different minority groups share experiences in common whilst retaining distinct qualities. Through exploring this relationship, issues such as normalisation, passing and challenging prejudice will be presented in a wider context. The social model of disability will be applied to experiences within the gay and lesbian community and the experience of dual oppressions will be addressed. The paper concludes with a focus upon the concept of the personal as political and the force of collective power.
Identity, authenticity, survival: m ulticultural societies and social reproduction M ulticultu ralism. Exam ining the Politics of Recognition
- A Appiah
APPIAH, A. (1994) Identity, authenticity, survival: m ulticultural societies and social reproduction, in: A. GUTMAN (Ed.) M ulticultu ralism. Exam ining the Politics of Recognition (New Jersey, Princeton University Press), pp. 149± 163. BARNES, C. (1991) Disabled People in Britain. A C ase for Anti-D iscrimina tory Legislation (London, Hirst & C o).
Dramaturgy and social m ovements: the social construction and communication of power Socia l M ovem ents. C ritiques, Concepts, Case-S tudies
- R D Benford
- S A Hunt
- J Am Pbell
- M Oliver
BENFORD, R.D. & HUNT, S.A. (1995) Dramaturgy and social m ovements: the social construction and communication of power, in S. M. LYMAN (Ed.) Socia l M ovem ents. C ritiques, Concepts, Case-S tudies (London, Macmillan), pp. 84± 109. C AM PBELL, J. & OLIVER, M. (1996) Disability Politics. U nderstanding O ur Past, C hanging O ur Future (London, Routledge).
A proud label: exploring the relationship between disability politics and gay pride On the movement
- C Orb Ett
- J Davis
C ORB ETT, J. (1994) A proud label: exploring the relationship between disability politics and gay pride, D isability & Society, 9, pp. 343± 357. DAVIS, K. (1993) On the movement, in J. SWAIN, V. FINKELSTEIN, S. FRENCH & M. OLIVER (Eds) Disabling BarriersÐ Ena bling Env ironm ents (London, Sage Publications), pp. 285± 292. DREDGER, D. (1989) The Last C ivil Rights M ovem ent. Disabled Peop le' s International (London, Hirst & Co).
Gay politics, ethnic identity: the limits of social constructionism
- S Epstein
EPSTEIN, S. (1987) Gay politics, ethnic identity: the limits of social constructionism, Socia list Review, 17, pp. 9± 54.
Eds) (1990) Trade U nions and their M em bers. Stud ies in U nion Democracy and Organisation
- P Fosh
- E Heery
FOSH, P. & HEERY, E. (Eds) (1990) Trade U nions and their M em bers. Stud ies in U nion Democracy and Organisation (London, M acmillan).
Postmodernism and the interrogation of m asculinity Developm ents in the disabled people' s m ovement
- Gutterm An
- D S Hasler
GUTTERM AN, D.S. (1994) Postmodernism and the interrogation of m asculinity, in H. BROD & M. KAUFMAN (Eds) Theorizing M asculinities (London, Sage Publications), pp. 219± 238. HASLER, F. (1993) Developm ents in the disabled people' s m ovement, in J. SWAIN, V. FINKEL-STEIN, S. FRENCH & M. OLIVER (Eds) Disabling BarriersÐ Ena bling Env ironm ents (London, Sage Publications).
Feminist encounters: locating the politics of experience
- H Ant Y
M O H ANT Y, C.T. (1992) Feminist encounters: locating the politics of experience, in M. BARRETT & A. PHILLIPS (Eds) Desta bilizing Theory. Contem porary Feminist Debates (Cam bridge, Polity Press), pp. 74± 92.
Social Postm odernism Beyond Identity Politics Downloaded by [University of Leeds] at 15:11 The politics of disability identity The space of justice: lesbians and democratic politics Coalition politics: turning the century
- M Uf Fe
- C J C Peters
- S Phelan
M O UF FE, C. (1995) Feminism, citizenship and radical democratic politics, in L. J. NICHOLSON & S. SEIDMAN (Eds) Social Postm odernism. Beyond Identity Politics (New York, Cambridge University Press), pp. 315± 331. Downloaded by [University of Leeds] at 15:11 18 October 2014 18 8 J. C. H um phrey PETERS, S. (1996) The politics of disability identity, in L. BARTON (Ed.) Disability & Society. E merging Issues and Insights (London, Longman), pp. 215± 234. PHELAN, S. (1995) The space of justice: lesbians and democratic politics, in A. R. W ILSON (Ed.) A Sim ple M atter of Justice? Theorizing Lesbian and G ay Politics (London, Cassell), pp. 193± 220. REAGON, B.J. (1983) Coalition politics: turning the century, in B. SMITH (Ed.) H om e G irls. A Black Fem inist Antholog y (New York, Kitchen Table W omen of Color Press), pp. 356± 368.
Lesbian politics and AIDS work M odern H om o-sexualities. Fragm ents of Lesbian and G ay Experience
- B E Schneider
- A Scott
SCHNEIDER, B.E. (1992) Lesbian politics and AIDS work, in K. PLUMMER (Ed.) M odern H om o-sexualities. Fragm ents of Lesbian and G ay Experience (London, Routledge), pp. 160± 174. SCOTT, A. (1990) Ideology and the N ew Social M ovem ents (London, Routledge).
Disabled people' s self-organisation: a new social movement? Power and prejudice: issues of gender, sexuality and disability The Sexual Politics of Disability
- T Shakespeare
- T Shakespeare
- K Gillespie-Sells
- D Davies
SHAKESPEARE, T. (1993) Disabled people' s self-organisation: a new social movement?, Disability, H andicap and Society, 8, pp. 249± 264. SHAKESPEARE, T. (1996) Power and prejudice: issues of gender, sexuality and disability, in L. BARTON (Ed.) Disability & Society. E m erging Issues and Insights (London, Longman), pp. 191± 214. SHAKESPEARE, T., GILLESPIE-SELLS, K. & DAVIES, D. (1996) The Sexual Politics of Disability. U ntold Desires (London, Cassell).
M inorities in con¯ ict: the politics of distraction Two conceptions of citizenship
- G Short
- A Stewart
SHORT, G. (1995) M inorities in con¯ ict: the politics of distraction, Patterns of Prejudice, 29, pp. 43± 52. STEWART, A. (1995) Two conceptions of citizenship, British Journa l of Sociology, 46, pp. 63± 78. SWAIN, J., FINKELSTEIN, V., FRENCH, S. & OLIVER, M. (Eds) (1993) Disabling BarriersÐ E nabling E nvironm ents (London, Sage Publications).
Beyond communitarian unity in the politics of identity, Socia list Review
- L Tessman
- Un
TESSMAN, L. (1995) Beyond communitarian unity in the politics of identity, Socia list Review, 24, pp. 55± 84. UNISON (1994) UN ISO N Rules. As Am end ed at the 1994 C onference (London, UNISON ).
Conference Pack. The Fourth Nationa l D isabled M embers
- Unison National Disabled Mem Bers Comm
- Ee
UNISON NATIONAL DISABLED MEM BERS COMM ITT EE (1997) Conference Pack. The Fourth Nationa l D isabled M embers' Conference (London, UNISON ).
M inutes of the Second Nationa l Lesbian and Gay C onference
- Unison Lesbian And Gay
- Committee
UNISON NATIONAL LESBIAN AND GAY COMMITTEE (1994) M inutes of the Second Nationa l Lesbian and Gay C onference (London, UNISON ).
M inutes of the Fourth N ational Lesbian and Gay C onference
- Unison National
- An
- Gay
UNISON NATIONAL LESBIAN AN D GAY COMMITTEE (1996) M inutes of the Fourth N ational Lesbian and Gay C onference (London, UNISON ).
Com-munity responses to HIV and AIDS: thède-gaying' and re-gaying' of AIDS
- W Eeks
- J Agg Leto N
- M Evitt
- C Parkinson
- K Taylor-Laybourn
W EEKS, J., AGG LETO N, P., M CK EVITT, C., PARKINSON, K. & TAYLOR-LAYBOURN, A. (1996) Com-munity responses to HIV and AIDS: thède-gaying' and re-gaying' of AIDS, in J. WEEKS & J. HOLLAND (Eds) Sexual Cultures. C om m unities, Values and Intim acy (Basingstoke, M acmillan Press Ltd), pp. 161± 179.
Eds) (1997) Debating C ultura l H ybridity. M ulti-C ultural Identities and the Politics of A nti-R acism
- W Erbn Er
- O Do O D
W ERBN ER, P. & M O DO O D, T. (Eds) (1997) Debating C ultura l H ybridity. M ulti-C ultural Identities and the Politics of A nti-R acism (London, Zed Books Ltd).
- GUTTBRMAN D.S.