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The trounle with you is thatit appears to me that in common with others you have not grasped the similitude of disability and impairment linguistically that I can percieve of, however you might make the distinction of disability as the consequence of a verb, but impairment merely re-adopts the old notion of disability as it existed prior to the social model. Words have no meaning except what we make of them and they are certainly not constant in what they purport to convey. I a paradoxical absolute relativist deny that there is any norm in anything and that number and value do not really exist outside of human construction and interpretation. I care not that this is too philosophical and airy for some people I was never that much a part of the world to care about that. Of course I do not constantly think of my cognition as different, it is the way I think. The degree to which I can hide my "condition" is debatable, the fact that I am presently walking with the assistance of a stick is visible but not at all consequential to my identity for I am aware of the riddle of the sphinx. My "mental" and "intelectual" differences however I am aware of as both disabling and impairing (the impairment being as subjectively and externally imposed as the disability because if we were all to speak latin we might construct, verbalise and mentalise otherwise) when I am confronted with arbitrary and traditionally set criteria which are supposed to measure competence but in reality only measure conformity So nobody much gives a shit what I say a lot of the time, I am too eccentric and outside to be taken seriosly, well I claim the fools licence. "And let those that play your clowns speak no more than is set down for them" Bollocks will I ! Larry > -----Original Message----- > From: The Disability-Research Discussion List > [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of T W Shakespeare > Sent: 06 January 2003 13:17 > To: [log in to unmask] > Subject: Re: Obstacles to identity formation > > > >In my opinion, there is one big difference between young gay/lesbian > people and young disabled people. Disabled people can't 'hide' their > identity as well gays/lesbians. In a way, they are /forced/ to 'come > out'. > > You are right - many, but by no means all, impairments are visible. But > I was also distinguishing between someone's impairment identity and > their disability identity. By 'coming out', I would mean claiming a > disability identity - i.e. membership of a minority group etc. > > >Disability is always present. You can minimise all you want, but you > are confronted with your >disability so many times a day, it seems > almost impossible to keep minimizing it. Have you >actually seen this in > the field? > > I experience it every day! Many of us with visible, congenital > impairments are so used to the impairment, that we are not constantly > aware of it. We have minimised it totally! In my experience, people > with restricted growth, for example, do not constantly think of > themselves as different, and it is a shock when you are presented with > evidence of your difference (mirrors, photos, other people with the same > condition). I suspect many other disabled people experience something > similar. > > > I think it is an interesting question how best to raise a disabled > > child to be confident and secure and positive in their identity - > > whether to minimise impairment, or to celebrate a political disabled > > identity. I think people should have disabled and non-disabled role > > models. > > >Why choose? In my opinion you have to develop a disabled identity AND > minimise impairment. > > In my view, you cannot easily minimise impairment AND develop a disabled > identity. As Helen Liggett says, the price of disability politics is > that you are always speaking from the position of someone with an > impairment... > > Happy new year, > > Tom > > ________________End of message______________________ > > Archives and tools for the Disability-Research Discussion List > are now located at: > > www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/disability-research.html > > You can JOIN or LEAVE the list from this web page. > ________________End of message______________________ Archives and tools for the Disability-Research Discussion List are now located at: www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/disability-research.html You can JOIN or LEAVE the list from this web page.