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Discrimination against disabled people
Discrimination against disabled people
Discrimination against disabled people
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In history, stereotypes in society have been negative towards people with disabilities and that often led to discrimination. Colonial Americans, in the 1700s, referred to people with handicaps as “lunatics”. “Lunatic” by today’s definition is someone crazy or insane. However, the root word, lunar, means, “moons”. Back then, people thought that a full moon had something to do with the mental illness that the child was born with. Some thought that the baby could be affected by being conceived, being born under, or sleeping in the light of a full moon. Whenever a child was labeled as a lunatic, it was most likely going to be locked up away from society. During their imprisonment, patients were often given a variety of treatments in hopes of “curing” them. These treatments included, induced hypothermic fainting by immersing the patient in tubs of ice water, induced vomiting, and sometimes even cutting a patient as to remove all of the “dirty blood” in their body. Many of the treatments resulted in the need for lifelong care and occasionally even ended a patient’s life. Majority of the...
The world of today is a relatively primitive one, even with every advancement that humanity has accomplished we remain primitive in this aspect. There has been progress, even as slow in comparison to that of todays, it is progress.The ignorances and other human flaws are still very existent within every society, regardless of the boundaries between them be it geographical or cultural. Stereotypes and misconceptions exist in the modern society. Stereotypes arise when there is a single radical group who are accepted as the representation of their apparent subculture. Then the ignorant and misinformed take these “representatives’” behavior as a generalization of the entire group. While the less common misconception is made by some incomprehensible anomaly where an entire assumption is based around a single social group, that has never even proved to be true. There is a stereotype that is attached with the College educated community, they are believed to be almost guaranteed success. The fact that they have a degree in their respective field has built a stereotype of the “successful ones.”
But if you were different, suffering from a mental disability, you would have been given the job title of Court Jester or Village Idiot. Society mocked intellectually disabled individuals because they were different from the norm, but that is not the worst of it. Carter and VanAndel (2011) leading professionals in the field of Therapeutic Recreation explain the appalling treatment of the mentally disabled during the Middle Ages. These individuals were locked away in dank, dark cells within the walls of the dungeon, hidden from society, (p. 29) all the while tethered to the wall like a wild animal. Even though the times were primitive, little regard or medical attention was awarded to the mentally disabled. French Physician, Philippe Pinel (1745-1826) did not like the treatment the mentally ill received so he decided to advocate on their behalf. He felt all individuals had the right to live as productive members of society. Carter and VanAndel highlight how Pinel ventured out to change the living conditions for the intellectually disabled. (p. 30) Unfortunately, during the Victorian Era society felt demon possession caused the mental illness. In some instances, individuals were killed in the process of exorcism. Many years later intellectually disabled individuals were housed in prisons with murderers and thieves. They were treated like common criminals just because they were different. In later years, they were segregated from society and institutionalized. (Carter & VanAndel, 2011, p. 31) Throughout the years, the treatment of the mentally disabled individuals changed. Today, in some areas the mentally disabled are still segregated; however, the stigma is still present. They attend schools that are specifically designed to support their needs and teachers trained to instruct individuals with disabilities. The living conditions have also
Before Kirkbride's standardized methods for mental hospitals, those with mental illness suffered crude and inhuman treatment. Beginning in Colonial America society, people suffering from mental illness were referred to as lunatics. Colonists viewed lunatics as being possessed by the devil, and usually were removed from societ...
In the 1800’s people with mental illnesses were frowned upon and weren't treated like human beings. Mental illnesses were claimed to be “demonic possessions” people with mental illnesses were thrown into jail cells, chained to their beds,used for entertainment and even killed. Some were even slaves, they were starved and forced to work in cold or extremely hot weather with chains on their feet.
A stereotype is defined as ‘an exaggerated and often prejudiced view of a type of person or group of people’ (Novak, Campbell, & Northcott, 2014, pg. 5). Stereotypes often develop from observations/information that tend to not be true. If they turn out to be true then they are exaggerated and distorted. Further, if someone is found who does not fit the stereotype they are considered to be an exception. Some stereotypes positively portray the elderly but most have a negative impact. This can create prejudice and discrimination towards the elderly which can negatively impact their quality of life (Novac et al., 2014).
For millions of impoverished African American youths across the nation, the journey from the projects to success is few and far between. Rather than focusing on education and personal development, young children are introduced to violence and “the struggle” from a young age. However, for a few lucky stars such as Michael Oher, athletics provide an avenue to reach stardom. “The Blind Side” is a 2009 film following the true life story of Oher, his rise from a tough upbringing in Memphis project housing to his eventual fate as a first round draft pick to the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens. Growing up in a broken family, Michael was separated from his crack-addicted mother at the age of 7 and never knew his father. After bouncing to multiple foster homes, Michael finally is given an opportunity when he is living with his friend Ryan. At the head football coaches urging of the school’s administration, he is given the opportunity to attend Wingate Christian school - despite his poor academic record - due in part to his extreme size and athleticism. Michael’s fortunes increase further when the Tuohy family, who aids Michael’s forthcoming success immensely, takes him in. In utter contrast to his upbringing, the Tuohy’s are a multi-millionaire, Keeping Up With The Jonses, white family. The family takes Oher in as one of their own, buying him
Sheryl Sandberg, an American technology executive, activist, author, and Chief Operating Officer of Facebook, once said, “We can each define ambition and progress for ourselves. The goal is to work toward a world where expectations are not set by the stereotypes that hold us back, but by our personal passion, talents and interests.” Sandberg mentions how people’s expectations are set by stereotypes, which the media reinforces. The stereotypes of social class are extremely prevalent in the media through the way the wealthy, the middle class, and poor class are portrayed. Dianne Kendall, a professor of sociology at Baylor University, wrote the 2005 book Framing Class: Media Representations of Wealthy and Poverty in America with the excerpt “ Framing Class, Vicarious Living, and Conspicuous Consumption” that analyzes how the media
The BBC documentary, Mental: A History of the Madhouse, delves into Britain’s mental asylums and explores not only the life of the patients in these asylums, but also explains some of the treatments used on such patients (from the early 1950s to the late 1990s). The attitudes held against mental illness and those afflicted by it during the time were those of good intentions, although the vast majority of treatments and aid being carried out against the patients were anything but “good”. In 1948, mental health began to be included in the NHS (National Health Service) as an actual medical condition, this helped to bring mental disabilities under the umbrella of equality with all other medical conditions; however, asylums not only housed people
Aging is universal and it is a process that everyone has to go through. The only difference is that everyone goes through this process at their own pace influenced by factors that will be discussed later on in this paper. When we think about factors that have an influence on older adults and how their life may be affected, we must consider the different social institutions while analyzing influences from social factors, cultural factors, and personal values. Abuse to older adults, stereotyping and informal care and technological advancements that affect older adults are the three topics that will be discussed in this reflection. Furthermore, will connect the three topics I have chosen to the knowledge that I have gained from my interaction
In the modern era, stereotypes seem to be the ways people justify and simplify the society. Actually, “[s]tereotypes are one way in which we ‘define’ the world in order to see it” (Heilbroner 373). People often prejudge people or objects with grouping them into the categories or styles they know, and then treat the types with their experiences or just follow what other people usually do, without truly understand what and why. Thus, all that caused miscommunication, argument or losing opportunities to broaden the life experience. Stereotypes are usually formed based on an individual’s appearance, race, and gender that would put labels on people.
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In a growing world, relying on education and intelligence, judgments in a social environment are still continuously based off of appearance. A study of the importance of outer looks was produced through a TV game show. Contestants fought to answer questions correctly to improve their personal score. At the end of the game, the player with the highest score was asked to eliminate a team member. Although many times an unattractive player would have higher scores and could be more beneficial than another teammate, only 27% of unattractive members were chosen to advance to the next round (Belot, Bhaskar, and van de Ven 852-853). When society overlooks qualities and characteristics of high value for looks, discrimination conquers.
According to the Center of Disease Control, “About 1 percent of the world population has autism spectrum disorder” (CDC 1). While this may not seem like a large number, one percent of the population equates to about seventy-three million people. Of these seventy-three million people, there are countless individuals who have made an appearance in the news, on television, or in major companies. The daily lives of these individuals include a plethora of challenges that many people would not give second thought about. One form of Autism that is frequent in the celebrity population is Asperger Syndrome. This disease inhibits an individual’s social skills and emotional control, two traits that are usually required when in the public eye. Asperger
Discussing the intimate details of personal lives is shunned of those above the age of 55, especially in women. With the growing number of senior citizens, I believe their representation should be accurate and not based on stereotypes caused by media, television, and film. In 1903, there were only 3 million Americans who were fifty-five or over. This year the figures reached 60 million and plans to double by the 2030. Senior citizens make up 21% of the United States population (Wikler 210). However, with the life span increasing, more and more emphasis is placed on youth.
Living my life with a brother with disabilities has never been easy. It has been difficult throughout my life watching him grow up and encounter more and more struggles in life because of his disabilities. Our biggest question throughout the years, though, has been what our plan will be for him later in life. How will he live his life as an adult? Will he work? Where will he live? Will he have friends? How happy can he be? People with children with disabilities have to explain, “How do people with disabilities really fit into American society”? It’s not just families discussing this question; experts as well are debating this unknown by looking at the same questions I mentioned before. Looking at where disabled people are living, whether they are working, and the relationships they have with other people are ways to understand how disabled people fit into American society. This topic should not only matter to people close to disabled people, but to everyone. In some way, every one of us is affected by this topic; we want everyone in our family to lead “successful” lives (have a job/have somewhere to live). The same goes for families with people with disabilities.