Psycho is Not Okay Words such as crazy, psycho, and retarded are part of everyday vocabulary for millions of Americans. Ableism is the discrimination and bias against disabled members of society, and ableist language is words such as psycho, crazy, insane, and spaz that can be found offensive by mentally or physically handicapped individuals. “Nearly 1 in 5 people in the United States has a disability, according to a 2012 Census Bureau report.” (Zeillinger). Zellinger is an American writer and blogger. Ableism is the result of a desensitized society, is prevalent in everything from the classroom to transportation. As a result of a desensitized society, ableist language is present everywhere from online articles to family conversations. “common …show more content…
“Accommodations can also include "braille, seeing-eye dogs/assistant dogs, ergonomic workspaces, easy to grip tools, closed captions ... class note-takers, recording devices for lectures" and other services and alterations.” (Zeillinger). Students with disabilities are at a huge disadvantage because a majority of college classrooms do not have a class notetaker and are not open to service dogs ;accordingly, people with learning disabilities feel they are not receiving the same opportunities as everyone else. Inspiration porn is another form of ableism on the internet, which is objectifying and bothering disabled people by essentially and unintentionally saying that they cannot live life the same as able bodied people so when they do it must be celebrated; this is mistaken for common courtesy often because in most households from a young age it is taught to celebrate disabled peoples achievements. “Inspiration porn, in a nutshell, is when a disabled person is viewed as “inspirational,” “brave,” or “special” for achieving ordinary, everyday tasks. Inspiration porn is particularly insidious on the Internet, where it takes the form of glib memes branded with absurd slogans like “The only disability in life is a bad attitude.” (Liebowitz), a disabled rights activist, further explains how inspirational porn can be harmful or demeaning to a disabled person,
As defined from the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, ableism is “discrimination or prejudice against individuals with disabilities”. After Sharon’s life-altering accident, she was labeled as “helpless” and “incompetent”. An example of what Sharon faced with these labels
While differentiating instruction and being able to design lessons geared towards the needs of diverse learners are currently highly prized skills for teachers, this has not always been the case. The history of education in the United States is a history of segregation. Even today, schools and curriculum are designed to meet the needs of a core group of students, which does not include students with disabilities (Hitchcock, Meyer, Rose, & Jackson, 2002). In the past, learners who were different, out of the mainstream, or did not fit into the mold to which teachers taught (were not part of the core) learned how or lost out on learning. This is not to say that teachers of the past did not care about their students, about being effective teachers, or about student learning. However, as schools are mirrors reflecting mainstream societal norms (Chartock, 2010; Delpit, 2006)—and, given that our society has not always valued diversity in people, be it due to disability, class, culture, or race—teachers in the past have largely focused their efforts where they could earn the largest return on their investment: the average student .
In “A Movie, A Word, and My Family’s Battle,” by Patricia Bauer makes an emotional argument that you cannot use the word “retard”, no matter how you mean it, without offending a large group of people while also setting back years of progress.
In this passage, Nancy Mairs makes it clear that she cares about the names people give her. She prefers the word “cripple,” to describe herself, rather that “handicapped,” and this is show to be true because of the sheer amount that Mairs repeats it. To emphasize this, Mairs uses rhetorical devices, like tone, word choice and comparisons.
To achieve this goal, I compelled my family to join my practices. I informed my brother that instead of using the r-word, he should say nothing at all if he is using it in the incorrect context, or say “an individual with an intellectual disability” if he intends to use it in the correct context. Even though the r-word had a place within a medical context, it has become tainted by its recurring use, to denigrate others. Even political figures have become attuned to the outdatedness of the word. For example, President Obama signed Rosa's Law: a bill regarding wording in federal health, education, and labor policy that replaces "mentally retarded" with "intellectual disability" and "mental retardation" as "individual with an intellectual disability." This sort of people-first language has inspired me to take action among my friends and family. Although President Obama opened the door for awareness, I believe that the next step to end the r-word should come on a personal level. Those who are aware of the cruelty associated with the r-word need to have the courage to stand up and fight against its
For example, the dualism of sexes, the idea that there are only women and men, oppresses non-binary and trans* people. As a matter of fact it was not until recent history that there was language to describe non-binary and trans* people 's identities. It is just the tip of the oppression iceberg to deny someone a label for their identity. In a similar fashion, people with disabilities face a dualism too, the idea that there are able-bodied or normal people and disabled people. While at first glance this may seem to make sense there are multiple problems with the dualism of disabled and able-bodied people. Firstly, it groups all disabled people into one category. There are a plethora of ways in which a person can be disabled and the conversation should not boil down to one homogeneous identity for disabled people. The second problem is the idea that people with disabilities are not normal. In American society the idea of "normal" is a middle-class, white, cisgender, heterosexual, able-bodied man. This quiet obviously excludes many groups of people who are left to feel as though they are not "normal" and these ideas of "normalness" oppress people. Another item that is added to the list of "normal" characteristics is being sexually active. In America, the ideas of sex and sexuality are extremely important to the average person. Through socialization and enforcement with the media the American people are told that their sexuality is where they derive their self-worth. When a person is told that the larger society does not view them as a sexual being then they can infer that they have no worth within larger society. Jennifer Bartlette discusses the importance of being sexual and feeling sexually attractive in her article "Longing for the Male Gaze." Bartlette has cerebral palsy, and although she is attractive men do not harass her when she walks down the street. Bartlette expresses
Nancy Mairs, born in 1943, described herself as a radical feminist, pacifist, and cripple. She is crippled because she has multiple sclerosis (MS), which is a chronic disease involving damage to the nerve cells and spinal cord. In her essay Disability, Mairs’ focus is on how disabled people are portrayed, or rather un-portrayed in the media. There is more than one audience that Mairs could have been trying to reach out to with this piece. The less-obvious audience would be disabled people who can connect to her writing because they can relate to it. The more obvious audience would be physically-able people who have yet to notice the lack of disabled people being portrayed by the media. Her purpose is to persuade the audience that disabled people should be shown in the media more often, to help society better cope with and realize the presence of handicapped people. Mairs starts off by saying “For months now I’ve been consciously searching for representation of myself in the media, especially television. I know I’d recognize this self becaus...
Similarly, Steve adopted denial as a way to defend himself from labeling and stigma. Brandell (2010), “Defense is a term used to describe struggles of the ego, unconsciously employed, to protect the self from perceived danger” (p. 141). In denying his sensitivity to the feelings expressed about special education by peers, Steve was hoping he could ignore being placed in the “sped” (special education) category. The increased absences were a di...
She told her readers that she has a muscle-wasting disease and she could only move three fingers on her right hand. She wrote that the reactions she got from most people were “Decidedly negative” (Johnson p.98) She wrote that she would hear thing such as “I admire you for being out; most people would give up.” And “You don’t let the pain hold you back do you?” (Johnson p.98) There is often talk about how popular culture teaches people to both see and not see the people with disabilities. Comments such as these are an example of such blindness. When a child sees a disabled person a parent’s first reaction would be to tell them not to stare. We teach children that it is impolite to be curious about people who live life differently than others. We carry the “its-not-polite-to-stare” idea into adult hood therefore when we come across a disabled we try not to make eye contact not as if we are being rude but because we are taught that it would offend them. All curiosity and attempts to understand are shut down at a young age for fear of offending someone. Therefore, any attempt to encourage is met with a deep misunderstanding of how the life of someone with disabilities truly works. Just because a person has a disability does not mean they are incapable of enjoying
This tone is also used to establish an appeal to pathos which he hopes to convince the audience of the fact that handicapped people are still people and not less than anyone else. A very prominent example of Peace’s emotion is displayed when he says, “Like many disabled people, I embrace an identity that is tied to my body. I have been made to feel different, inferior, since I began using a wheelchair thirty years ago and by claiming that I am disabled and proud, I am empowered,” (para. 15). This declaration demonstrates to his audience that Peace is honored by who he is and what disabled people can do and that he is tired of being oppressed by the media. Peace also makes this claim to support his thesis in the first paragraph that states, “The negative portrayal of disabled people is not only oppressive but also confirms that nondisabled people set the terms of the debate about the meaning of disability,” (para. 1). This is Peace’s central argument for the whole article and explains his frustration with society’s generalization of handicapped people and the preconceived limitations set on them. Peace’s appeal to pathos and tone throughout are extremely effective in displaying to his audience (society) that those who have disabilities are fed up with the limits that have been placed in the
In” Disabling Imagery in the media “Barnes asserts,“Disabled people are rarely shown as integral and productive members of the community; as students, as teachers, as part of the work-force or as parents. “(11). Popular culture excludes women with disabilities because they are different. Through Joanne’s character, Nussbaum demonstrates how women with disabilities operate in their daily lives.Nussbaum description of Joanne’s daily routine shows that women with Nussbaum 's character Joanne also demonstrates how women with disabilities are not burdens on
This is the underlying theme in the essays “Disability” by Nancy Mairs, “Why the Able-Bodied Just Don’t Get it” by Andre Dubus, and “Should I Have Been Killed at Birth?” by Harriet Johnson. In the essay “Disability,” Nancy Mairs discusses the lack of media attention for the disabled, writing: “To depict disabled people in the ordinary activities of life is to admit that there is something ordinary about disability itself, that it may enter anyone’s life.” An ordinary person has very little exposure to the disabled, and therefore can only draw conclusions from what is seen in the media. As soon as people can picture the disabled as regular people with a debilitating condition, they can begin to respect them and see to their needs without it seeming like an afterthought or a burden.
One of the most controversial issues facing educators today is the topic of educating students with disabilities, specifically through the concept of inclusion. Inclusion is defined as having every student be a part of the classroom all working together no matter if the child has a learning disability or not (Farmer) (Inclusion: Where We’ve Been.., 2005, para. 5). The mentally retarded population has both a low IQ and the inability to perform everyday functions. Activities such as eating, dressing, walking, and in some cases, talking can be hopeless for a child with mental retardation.
Today in the United States, we are experiencing a movement to recognize and appreciate a diverse array of sexual identities and epistemologies. Amazing progress is occurring at an unprecedented rate. While there is of course pushback against our growing acceptance and celebration of difference, the long arc of the moral universe bends toward justice. However, the current state of popular sexuality discourse does not include everyone. People with intellectual disabilities are often left out of the conversation. Oftentimes, generalizations of intellectual disability and ability to consent strip any notion of sexuality from disabled individuals. These generalizations are a form of sexual ableism, a system which, according to Michael Gill in Already
Every day in America, a woman loses a job to a man, a homosexual high school student suffers from harassment, and someone with a physical or mental disability is looked down upon. People with disabilities make up the world’s largest and most disadvantaged minority, with about 56.7 million people living with disabilities in the United States today (Barlow). In every region of the country, people with disabilities often live on the margins of society, deprived from some of life’s fundamental experiences. They have little hope of inclusion within education, getting a job, or having their own home (Cox). Everyone deserves a fair chance to succeed in life, but discrimination is limiting opportunities and treating people badly because of their disability. Whether born from ignorance, fear, misunderstanding, or hate, society’s attitudes limit people from experiencing and appreciating the full potential a person with a disability can achieve. This treatment is unfair, unnecessary, and against the law (Purdie). Discrimination against people with disabilities is one of the greatest social injustices in the country today. Essential changes are needed in society’s basic outlook in order for people with disabilities to have an equal opportunity to succeed in life.