Johnson wrote:
>
>Not to be overly critical, but as I've said before, part of coming to
>disability identity for some is rejection of stereotypes and that this
>sometimes means rejection of parental influences/notions.
>
>While I cannot speak about your son and his influence on you, I think it is
>worth mentioning that something like 'inspirational' is a stereotype that
>is contested by some -- Anne Finger in Ragged Edge comes to mind; Nancy
>Mairs in Waist High, or the rebelling against the whole poster-child
>syndrome.
>
>I do not of course mean to critique anyone's parenting skills-- having had
>the same kind of conversation with my Dad recently, I've come to realize
>that I can't "change" him, beyond baby shifts, and that his perspective on
>what parents should do --"cure" make better"--though different from my own
>interpretation of my impairment/disability is nonetheless valid. To argue
>otherwise means for me a forry into "right/wrong" binarisms I don't desire
>to get into with him.
>
>But I mention this here because I think it's important for parents who take
>this view of inspiration, what-not to attempt to recognize the limits on
>that thinking and what that may impose on a child who might not view
>him/herself in terms of these labels.
>
I very much agree with Johnson. When I 'hear' terms like 'positive',
'inspirational' and 'proud' they tend to grate as much as the reverse
terminology. The point about these terms is that they are all labels of one
kind or another and there are different motivations behind the labelling.
Even the 'positive' labels can be a guise for normalising tendencies (and
remember that both hegemonic society and the disability movement are both
founded on different 'norms'). I was thinking also about Tanis' comments
about depression and how depression can be conceptualised both in terms of
chronic illness and in terms of disability (social oppression). I think one
of the biggest factors in the social creation of depression is the
expectation to deny that oppression is institutionalised and that we feel
bad about it.
In counselling, I've seen as many Deaf people collapsing under the strain
of maintaining the positive, proud image of the Deaf community as I have
Deaf people who feel inherently 'negative' about themselves and hide behind
a 'positive' public face. I therefore have to be skeptical about the wisdom
of promoting such an image as the be all and end all of everything. So far
as children are concerned, disabled children are in a process of becoming
and though there are many on this list who don't like social psychology,
all accounts suggest that 'strong' identities come from *a range of* social
identifications and social choices which are played out in social
interaction. Identities which are 'foreclosed' - that is, the degree of
commitment to a particular set of values is high but the degree of
exploration and crisis is low - can only remain *strong* if they remain
within the context foreclosed upon (which is why so many adult members of
the Deaf community went to residential schools). We can do a lot to foster
empowerment in disabled children by encouraging access to a range of social
experiences - and unconditional support when things go wrong.
Best wishes
Mairian
*********
"To understand what I am doing, you need a third eye"
*********
Mairian Corker
Senior Research Fellow in Deaf and Disability Studies
University of Central Lancashire
Postal Address:
111 Balfour Road
Highbury
London N5 2HE
U.K.
Minicom/TTY +44 [0]171 359 8085
Fax +44 [0]870 0553967
Typetalk (voice) +44 [0]800 515152 (and ask for minicom/TTY number)
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