The discussions around disabled identity seem to echo what I found in the
research I undertook last year. There seems to be some reluctance to claim a
disabled identity, even a suggestion that to do so is somehow making us more
disabled or making a fuss. This troubles me as it seems that our society
creates this dicotamy of disabled V non disabled and some of us may be able
to disguise our membership to the former for some time but the devision adn
prejudise still exists. It seems that an attitude of keepign quiet about it
all, happy in the knowledge we can either minimise our impairments or
'prblem slve our way through life misses the point a little. I feel that in
order to help fundemental change that will allow every day access adn
rights to all in our society a conserted effort is needed from all of the
physically diverse , and I suspect this group will be bigger than imagined
in fact it may be relised ther is no such thing as 'normal'!).
However I feel there is a problem , much of the positive disabled identity
litratuer seems to presume that such an identity should be primary, I feel
this is a big part of the problem. I don't think in order to identify
oneself as disabled it should have to take over other aspects of ones self.
Here there seems to be a dichotemy of sorts. That is, I was never aware that
there was such a thing as a disabled identity before getting into accademia,
I think this is true of many. However it would have been easy for me to get
scared off on arrival at such an identity if I had thought it would have to
be my primary identity. I feel a little balance is needed, finding strength
together whilst keeping room for diversity. Regards, Sarah Supple.
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