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The Stigma of Disability

What can Murphy teach us?
Definition of Stigma
Sign of social unacceptability: the shame or disgrace attached to something regarded as socially unacceptable
Three part process reflecting the way we think about groups of people.
- stereotypes, prejudice, discrimination
Murphy...
Disability is defined by society and given meaning by culture; it is a social malady (Murphy, p. 4).
Theory of social construction

If I lived in a society where being in a wheel chair was no more remarkable than wearing glasses and if the
community was completely accepting and accessible, my disability would be an inconvenience and not much
more than that. It is society which handicaps me, far more seriously and completely than the fact that I have
spina bifida (Harris, p. 95, 2000).
Murphy...
For the disabled are a not a breed apart but a metaphor for the human condition (p. 5).
Romans 3:23
Irving Zola: We are all temporarily abled.
Terminology
(for roughly 30% of the population)
Impairment?
Handicap?

Disability?
Definitions of disability
from Nagi and Dr. David Creasey
Medical definition
Economic definition
Sociopolitical
Focus:

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Focus:
Emphasis:
...fundametal restrictions of a disability may be located in the surroundings that people encounter rther than
within... a person with a disability (Hahn, 37).
Could we eventually eliminate disability as we now define it?
Stigma Theory
Proposed by Erving Goman
Greek practice of branding or marking slaves
Social practice in which particular human traits are deemed to be not only dierent but deviant
It is the dominant group that determines which dierences are inferior and to perpetuate these judgements.
Stigma, cont.
Goman distinguishes what he terms the normate-the standard by which we all are measured. He asserts that
the normate in our society is young, married, white, urban, northern, Protestant, college educated, fully
employed, of good complexion, desirable height and weight and athletic!
Dierence is viewed as deviate
influence of disability-related factors
Level of severity
Degree of visibility
Degree of cosmetic involvement
from Livnehs Origins of Negative Attitudes
Personality variables associated with stigma
Self-concept
Body image
Anxiety
Intelligence
Fear: DAngerous
Social groups sometimes interpret the anomalous as dangerous
Think of examples in the media or in literature
Bodies that are out of control seem dangerous to us
In fact, often the people in danger are those with disabilities!
We look for order because it makes predictability possible, and we seek predictability to avoid danger in an

In fact, often the people in danger are those with disabilities!

We look for order because it makes predictability possible, and we seek predictability to avoid danger in an
essentially perilous world (Murphy, p. 33, ch. 1).

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Fear: feeling vulnerable

The disabled serve as constant, visible reminders to the able-bodied that the society they live in is shot through
with inequity and suering, that they live in a counterfeit paradise, that they too are vulnerable. We represent a
fearsome possibility (p. 117, Ch. 5).
Fear: make assumptions
Power of a dierent or even deviant characteristic to overwhelm all of the persons other characteristics,
especially positive ones.
Power of a single characteristic to evoke inferences (assumptions) about a person is called the spread eect!
Fear: Result of sin?
Social groups sometimes correlate sin with disability
If something bad happens to someone, then there must be some reason, such as divine justice.
John 9: 1-3; 34
As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, Rabbi, who sinned? This man or his
parents, that he was born blind?
3Neither this man nor his parents sinned, said Jesus, but this happened so that the work of God might be
displayed in his life.
If this man were not from God, he could do nothing. (spoken by man who was blind)
You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us! (Pharisees)
John 9: 35-38
:Jesus had heard that they (Pharisees) had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, Do you believe in
the Son of Man?
Who is he, sir? the man asked. Tell me so that I may believe in him.
Jesus said, You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.
Then the man said, Lord, I believe, and he worshipped him.

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Then the man said, Lord, I believe, and he worshipped him.

Fear: social confrontations
One of my earliest observations was that social relations between the disabled and the able-bodied are tense,
awkward and problematic (Murphy 86-Chapter 4).
Any social confrontation of people in which there is some great flawrobs the encounter of firm cultural
guidelines, traumatizing it and leaving the people involved wholly uncertain about what to expect from each
other (Murphy 87-Chapter 4).
So pronounced and widespread is the aversion of the eyes(Murphy 119). Called Pattern of Avoidance
(Chapter. 5).
A disabled person could enter my field of vision, but my mind would fail to register him-a kind of selective
blindness quite common among people of our culture (p. 86-Ch. 4).
Tips for interactions
Dont assume what the person can or cannot do
Ask the person to repeat info if you dont understand
Dont lean on a persons wheelchair
When oering assistance, ask first
Treat adults like adults-use last name unless given permission to use first name
Speak directly to the person with a disability rather than through a companion
Dont be shy about shaking hands
What is a person to do...
...an unconscious defense mechanism whereby a socially illegitimate impulse (to get away from the person with
the disability) is transformed into an acceptable and valued oftentimes exaggerated positive reaction toward him
or her (qtd. in Vilchinsky et al., p. 169, 2010).
Anonymous
Blessed are you who take time to listen to dicult speech, for you help us persevere until we are understood.
Blessed are you who walk with us in public spaces and ignore the stare of strangers, for we find havens of
relaxation in your companionship.
Blessed are you who never bid us to hurry up, and more blessed are you who do not snatch our tasks from our
hands, for often we need time-rather than help.
Blessed are you who stand beside us as we enter new and untried ventures, for the delight we feel when we
surprise you outweights all the frustrating failures.
Blessed are you who ask for our help, for our greatest need is to be needed.

Blessed are you who ask for our help, for our greatest need is to be needed.
Found in Receiving the Gift of Friendship by Reinders

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Fear: Remove!
Social groups sometimes cope by ejecting or removing the anomalous element
Out of sight, out of mind mentality
Brief history of segregation
Early Greeks
Middle Ages
changing attitudes in the U.S.
World wars
FDR
Polio epidemic
Segregation of people with intellectual and emotional disorders
Fear: Eliminate!
Social groups try to eliminate or extinguish the anomalous element
Eugenics=a science that deals with the improvement of hereditary qualities of a race or breed. MerriamWebster dictionary
Historic examples
Nazi Germany
Withholding treatment
Gender selection
Marriage laws
Forced sterilization laws
Other examples of eugenics in America today?
From the book Living Gently in a violent world
We develop policies and practices that welcome people with disabilities into our communities, oering them
rights and responsibilities, and at precisely the same time we develop forms of genetic technology designed to
prevent them from entering society in the first place (Hauerwas & Vanier, p. 11).

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We develop policies and practices that welcome people with disabilities into our communities, oering them
rights and responsibilities, and at precisely the same time we develop forms of genetic technology designed to
prevent them from entering society in the first place (Hauerwas & Vanier, p. 11).
Influence of Cultural Norms
Sociocultural conditioning regarding the body beautiful
Childhood influences
Emphasis on personal achievement
A Cure for down syndrome?
Video Clips
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GFuy6wsZaw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4foXehDmWs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVN9-f4obcI