Dear list mates
Nice to meet you, my name is Masakuni Tagaki in Japan. I subscribed to
this list serve recently. I have physical disability because of birth palsy.
Today I would like someone to tell me works on interaction of physically
disabled in development or frame of reference they use when they regard
other physically disabled as “peer”. I am doing research on life-span
development of persons with motor disabilities by qualitative method. On the
process of disabled persons’ development, interaction with friends or
“significant others ” who have also disability contribute for the person
to have self-esteem, shape identity, and protest against negative images and
devaluations. This theme may be linked to group dynamics or identity of
participant in self-help/mutual support interest groups. Especially, I am
interested in how participants in a self-help group deal with
“difference ” of each other. Participants in any self-help groups have
common backgrounds or attributes, on of which always given stigma or
negative image by society. Therefore they can share their experiences each
other. However, it is impossible for all members to have the same background
completely.
For example, in my fieldwork experience in self-help groups for spinal
cord injured, many participants told me that they distinguish themselves
from persons with congenital motor disabilities. The reason was that persons
with acquired disabilities had participated and contributed to society in
the past, on the other hand congenitally disabled had not. Maybe this is
similar to the controversial concept (or a social movement) “Deaf culture”
, in which many deaf persons make differentiation between themselves and
persons with mild or acquired hearing impairment. Of course, this reasoning
seems discriminatory, I would never foster discrimination of minorities for
minorities by minorities, though, and I think that we should focus on the
phenomena before criticizing.
Distinction does not always mean discrimination. If a person with
disabilities want to understand himself/herself, comparing his/her situation
with other’s that is necessary. In the comparison process the person
naturally make distinction. Another example is an interesting story a friend
of mine told me, who has cerebral palsy, who told me. Though he
enthusiastically had wanted his classmates to treat himself and the able
bodied equally, after joining a self-help group he stopped his strong desire
and started to deliberate his position in the physically disabled, what to
do as a persons with physical disability. But, his meaning of “disability”
mainly include motor disabilities. Hearing impairments, mental retardation,
and mental disorder (Is this appropriate expression?) are excluded.
This argument is not limited to disability, so, please regard disability
as stigmatized something. G.H.Mead’s idea or collective identity (story)
and inner/outer group discussion in social psychology will be helpful.
Though I did psychoinfo with the key words something like collective
identity (story) and disability, I could not find useful information. I
would appreciate any comments. Because it’s hard for me to make myself
understood in English, which is not my mother tongue, if anyone has any
thing to question about the topic I mentioned above, please don’t hesitate
to ask.
Thank you.
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