Simi Linton's Memoir, My Body Politic

Simi Linton’s memoir, My Body Politic, illustrates her journey as a young vibrant woman whose life altering tragedy left her in an unknown state, of which she needed to grow into a whole new body. As a 23 year old in 1971, Linton was a vivacious and passionate individual. Her memoir shares the transitions and experiences she faced, while offering us a deeper understanding of the disability culture and associated politics. Linton shows us how she “absorbed disability” and learned how to identify herself as someone who now had a foreign body to learn and a new life to adjust.
Linton acquired her injury on her way to Washington, DC for a Vietnam protest. She wanted to show that she wasn’t just a hippie and wanted to participate in something

She decided not to discuss her feelings towards it all or the discrimination she encountered. Doorways were too narrow, she dealt with having to use only one bathroom in school, there was no way to use public transportation, and rather than deal with the pity she internalized her anger. Traveling to classes was challenging as elevators were frequently not functioning or she needed to locate alternate routes to classes. She rarely asked for assistance, in order to avoid interrupting people. At times, she was ashamed of asking for things though they should have already been offered or implemented. Most presumed her leading issue would be the physical aspects of her disability, when in fact the greatest challenge was learning to get around using this new method of mobility in a not very accessible world. She shared her experiences from traveling, to driving a car, to having sex, and using public transportation. Many of the familiar places she knew such as the library, post office, and restaurants were no longer

People often referred to her in the third person rather than speaking to her directly. In Paris, she was denied a taxi and told “this is not an ambulance (p.75)” The video, Invitation to Dance, discussed one instance at a party, where a woman opened the door, looked past Linton, and said “ you can put her over there”. She had to deal with the language of disability and people referring to her as “handicapped”, “a person with special needs”, and “crippled”. This misuse of language towards individuals with disabilities relates to the article by Britt Hamre and Celie Oyler, discussing the models of disability. It relates to the social model in which “disability is viewed in terms of an individuals’ inability to function (p.92)”. Her chair allowed people to make the assumption that she was incapable and lacked control over her situation. Her disability did not display the socially recognized normal characteristics of a healthy person and so she was often