Hello All,
I have been following this thread with interest and have been wondering
whether my thoughts might be of interest. I raise my voice in trepidation
as I usually avoid such explosive debate , but here goes. Also I am
thinking out loud so please bear with me as I try to explain..........
It seems that so much stands on definitions and an expectation (sometimes
stated but more often implied) that people will adopt certain 'positions'
in their viewpoint. It seems fair to say that in both society and academia
this is rife.
This then creates polarities/ opposites/ dichotomies (call it what you may)
which exist in conflict and friction with one another. This is seen in
disabled/non-disabled, competent/incompetent, mature/immature, child/adult,
complete/incomplete. People are allocated categories by society, history,
medics, cultural perceptions, themselves and many others.
Within this discussion there has been debate about whose position is more
worthy or deserving, whose voice is right/wrong (yes another dichotomy),
who should be in or out of the disability movement.. It seems to me that
while all these categories exist and are supported by those within and
outside the disability movement (activists and academics) they will always
remain contested and argued over. Is it not possible to view the
interdependencies within society and within the disability movement
instead? What comes to mind is Goodley and Rapley's (ref below) discussion
about the definition of impairment and people with learning
disability. Here they suggest deconstructing the either/or distinction
which is so commonly used within discourse. It has certainly been heavily
used in this debate. Similar suggestions are being made in other arenas in
relation to child/adult and essentialist notions of agency.
Maybe by rejecting the existence of us/them (wow I know this might sound
naive and optimistic), more disabled/less disabled, competent/incompetent
it would be possible to portray the intricate dynamic which is constantly
moving within society which results in the discrimination of many people
with all sorts and levels of impairments. Rather than perpetuate
conflictual debate this sort of thread could begin to address ways of
supporting all the different groups within the disability movement and find
a positive way forward.
I accept that some may call me an idealist for thinking this way , but I
feel uneasy with discussions which perpetuate the very discourses which the
disability movement is meant to be challenging.
Ali Cocks
PhD Student
Department of Sociology
University of Surrey
Guildford
Surrey
reference
Goodley D and Rapley M (2002) Changing the Subject: Postmodernity and
People with 'Learning Disabilities' in Corker M & Shakespeare
T Disability/Postmodernity: Embodying disability theory. pp127-142.
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