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Discrimination against disabled people
Essay on disability and our media culture
Discrimination against disabled people
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Introduction: Tim Rose and his wife Natalie Rose have experienced many assumptions and stereotypical comments solely based on their appearances. Natalie is able-bodied, and Tim was born with cerebral palsy (Verstraten, 2014). The Roses have created the “Rose Centre for Love, Sex, and Disability” which aims to promote disability in a positive light, and educate disabled and able-bodied people around the topics of love, sex, and relationships (Verstraten, 2014). The chosen cultural artifact addresses the conversation of a romantic relationship between an able-bodied and a disabled person, and touches on the stigmatization surrounding this relationship. The cultural artifact is a Toronto Star news article titled “Surprise! Disabled People Have …show more content…
The article provides Tim and Natalie Rose a platform to share their story, promote their centre, and break stereotypes along the way via the reporter Katelyn Verstraten and the Toronto Star. Katelyn Verstraten uses a social model of disability lens in her writing. The Toronto Star is Canada's largest daily newspaper, it is published seven days a week in the Greater Toronto Area (The Toronto Star, 2015). The Star's main principle is to provide the public population with the most accurate transmission of news and opinion through the highest standards of journalistic integrity (The Toronto Star, …show more content…
Similarly, in Western cultures masculinity is associated to having an able-body, the physically disabled male is often referred to as feminine (Scott, 2014). In Scott's (2014) article he mentions a man named Kale whose colleague asks if the semi-attractive woman was his nurse, Kale called him an asshole and told his colleague it was his wife. This is related to Natalie’s experience of people asking if she is Tim's Mother, sister, friend, or nurse, she explains that no one has ever asked her if she was Tim's wife (Verstraten, 2014). Both scenario's reiterate how society culturally positions men with physical disabilities as “other”, and upsets the dominant understandings of gender performances (Scott, 2014). Additionally, this can be connected to the YouTube video “Shit Able-bodied People Say to People With Disabilities”, questioning and making assumptions regarding the relationship between Natalie and Tim is a complete violation of their privacy. The couple view themselves as role-models due to the lack of support, and not seeing many people similar to their situation. Together they are working to break down the myths and misconceptions that people with disabilities are not sexual beings (Verstraten,
As human beings, we like to make sure never to offend or judge anyone. We even have sayings like “never judge a book by its cover”. A metaphor that is often said whenever trying not to judge someone based on their outward appearance; however, it is not often that people practice what they preach. We judge people based on external factors within seconds. Even though we know what people see on the outside is not a defining factor or who we are as people. Nancy Mairs, author of On Being a Cripple, has to live through this every day. She knows this truth very well, and lives proudly with the fact that as she is disabled. Mairs is admirable for choosing to call herself a “cripple” and not be ashamed of it. Though the word is derogatory and a word that is avoided by society, Mairs identifies herself as a cripple because that is what she is. In explaining her disability, she says, “I haven’t always been crippled, ... to be whole of limb is ... infinitely more pleasant and useful. and if that knowledge leaves me open to bitterness … the physical soundness I once enjoyed is well worth the occasional stab of regret” (Mairs 186). What really
Joan L. Griscom outlines the struggles of oppression faced by the couple Sharon Kowalski and Karen Thompson in her article “The Case of Kowalski and Thompson: Ableism, Heterosexism, and Sexism”. The injustices these women faced were due to exactly that: ableism, heterosexism, and sexism. With Karen Thompson’s help, her and Sharon’s story is brought to light and shows that fighting the system can lead to making things right. Ableism was the first mode of oppression the women faced.
All these and more evidences used in the book support Peterson’s thesis and purpose—all of them discuss how having a disability made Peterson and others in her situation a part of the “other”. Her personal experience on media and
Gender has been broadly used within the humanities and social sciences as both a means to categories dissimilarities, and as a logical concept to give details differences. In both the humanities and social sciences. Disability studies has appeared partly as a result of challenges to give details gendered experience of disability and partly as a challenge to contemporary feminist theory on gender which fails to take description of disability. Disabled people have frequently been standing for as without gender, as asexual creatures, as freaks of nature, hideous, the ‘Other’ to the social norm. In this way it may be taking for granted that for disabled people gender has little bearing. However, the image of disability may be make physically powerful by gender - for women a sense of intensified passivity and helplessness, for men a dishonesties masculinity make by put into effected dependence. Moreover these images have real consequences in terms of
Education is why people attend college, hundreds of thousands of students are thrown onto campuses across the world and get involved in various campus clubs; however, despite their vast amount of differences, these kids share one similarity, they all brought their video game console. On move-in day almost every dormitory has some kind of gaming console. It is a common denominator that students share, that they can bond over. The PlayStation 4 is of the latest generation of consoles and by some considered the premiere gaming console. The Sony PlayStation plays all the latest games in stunning quality, run apps seamlessly, and can play almost any media, it is the perfect media device for college.
Society must realize the “collective obligation and responsibility to treat people with disabilities not as recipients of charity and goodwill, not as objects of compassion, but as the primary subjects of justice” (Kuick 292). Every individual deserves the opportunity to be sexually active, regardless of his or her physical or mental abilities.
Interestingly, the Medical Model of disability starkly contrasts how other forms of discrimination are typically viewed in society. For example, most individuals believe that the social ailments surrounding racial and ethnic minorities, women, and sexual minorities stem not from any sort of physiological abnormality, but rather from societal environments that breed discrimination. Thus, discrimination against these minority groups are often viewed as unreasonable. Moreover, attempts at justifying the discrimination against any of these groups is deemed socially deplorable. In contrast, many people seem to view discrimination against disabled individuals as not only rational, but also morally acceptable (in the RGT context specifically). The result, therefore, is that individuals who strive against discrimination in other contexts may be apt to justify discrimination against disabled
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
Stephen has helped to shape society by connecting with able bodied people in an attempt to remove ‘stereotypical’ (Havard, 2014, p.76) values concerning wheelchair users. Stephen Sweetman’s experience provided firm examples of some of the ways in which connections and disconnections ‘produce differences and inequalities’ (Havard, 2014, p.79).
Transition: Just as the music score has many meanings as there symbols and markings on the sheet, I will talked about how I see myself in the classical music culture.
There are some aspects that are displayed in the article freaks and queers by Eli Clare. These aspects include disability, exile and pride, liberation, and queerness that are discussed through some words that describe people who ae disabled. Clare is one of the disabled people who is suffering from a disability known as cerebral palsy. Hence, he accepts some words that are used to describe him such as queer and cripple. This acceptance helps him to be strong as well as proud rather than having a feeling of worthlessness and weakness. Also, Clare finds out the definition of the words with an aim of understanding why the disabled people embrace some words while there are words that are termed as offensive and unacceptable. However, he declares that he had not yet accepted the use of the word freak that was used to refer to the disabled people in the community whereas, there are other people in the same community who accept the word. The other people declared that the use of the words helps them to have self-assurance as well as have a sense of pride. As a result, Clare explores more on the aspect of the word and associates it with some connotations that are negative meaning.
From the sources that are used within this essay they are all secondary sources. Without first person experice of someone who is LGBTQ and/or a person with disabilities. Nancy J. Hirschmann examines fear felt towards or about disabilities and LGBTQ. Her examination of fear links in well with Jan Zita Groves look back on the AIDS crises of the 1980s and how ableism was a way of expressing the fear of the disease along with LGBTQ identity. The overarching secondary source is David M. Halperin’s examination of ancient societies and how their sexual behaviors can be seen similar to what is known today as homosexuality.
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. As Mairs wrote: “The fact is that ours is the only minority you can join involuntarily, without warning, at any time.” Looking at the issue from this angle, it is easy to see that many disabled people were ordinary people prior to some sort of accident. Mairs develops this po...
The newspaper dailies, have the ability to link persons with disability to the world. Still, no research has been found specifically on persons with disabilities and their portrayal in the newspaper daily in India. Many studies have focused on the more general topic of disabilities in the news (Mick 1996; Power 2006; Haller, Dorries, and Rahn 2006). Person with disabilities are also part of the society. The newspaper dailies depict the persons with disabilities, as reflection of the society’s perspective about them. Content analysis of media is a traditional mass communication research method used to assess a wide range of media content trends (Poothullil J.M.Martin 2008). This research paper advocates for increased newspaper analysis within the disability studies field. Using a short term media research study about Hindustan Times (HT) Newspaper daily and its news coverage of disability issue. This paper explores the shifting nature of recent disability coverage in Mumbai newspapers, for a period of 3 months in 2012. Content analysis based research found that the newspaper under study reported sensational and gender biased news related to disability issues.
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.