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¶ … Disability
The concept of disability continues to confound our society. Whether it is Barnes & Mercer (2010) just randomly throwing out an absurd straw man that lumps all of Western society into a singular hate-filled ball that they can tear apart, or it is just government and business seeking to find reasonable, compassionate solutions to a complex social issue, disability is something that we collectively have a hard time understanding. Thus, it seems that even though we have umpteen definitions already, we need another. This essay will attempt to seek out such a definition, by understanding what exactly a disability is.
The paper will begin with a brief overview of some of the issue that challenge us when seeking a definition of disability. Some of these issues are objections to current frameworks, while others simply reflect that there are many different lens through which disability can be examined. The paper will then present a definition of disability that will hopefully be workable, and an improvement over current definitions. The next phases of the paper will outline why this definition will be useful for society. A conclusion will be presented at the conclusion of the essay.
Challenges in Defining Disability
There are a number of perspectives that help to frame the definitions of disability that we as a society currently work with. Davis (2013) argues that we "live in a world of norms," and that anything beyond these norms is termed a disability. This is not 100% accurate, of course, because exceptional ability is never categorized as a disability. This is true even when exceptional ability is disabling, such as a...
The term disabled, as Davis understands it, seems reserved for those whose differences challenge them, a deviation from the norm in a specifically negative context. Even then, not all negative contexts are included -- the intellectually-stunted buffoon may be called many things, but disabled is not one of them. This illustrates the problem with the very word "disability," because there are many things that hinder us from doing things, and only a few are singled out for this negative word, while we allow other negative traits to avoid being viewed in the same negative light.
As such, the term disability comes to some extent with stigma attached to it. Someone who is labelled as "disabled" -- and it is usually an externally-applied label -- is ultimately seen as inferior in some way, and in need of extra care and accommodation from society. I argue, as the basis of my definition of disability, that it need not be this way. The stigma need not apply -- we can accommodate others without any stigma at all. We help the elderly cross the road without any stigma attached to their frailties. We apply no label to them. So why do we need a label for those whose bodies and minds function differently than our own, even when those differences render them challenged to make productive contribution to society?
Definition of Disability
I propose to eliminate the use of the word disability. The reasoning is simple, and divided into two parts. The first part is that disability as a concept makes no…
References
Barnes, C. & Mercer, G. (2010). Exploring disability: A sociological introduction. Polity Press.
Davis, L. (2013). The Disability Studies Reader. Routledge.
Gibson, O. (2012). Drop the word 'disabled' from Games coverage, demands Paralympics committee president. The Guardian. Retrieved October 18, 2014 from http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2012/aug/26/paralympics-philip-craven-disabled-disability
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