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Hello everyone, my name is Carol Marfisi.
I'm an instructor in Disability Studies, and
today I want to talk about the meaning of disability identity
and why disability identity has become
an integral topic in disability studies.
When disability scholars and activists talk about "disability identity,"
we are not referring to the identity of a person;
we are talking about a group of shared beliefs, shared priorities, shared experiences.
Disability culture -- or the disability population - is considered,
politically at least, a minority.
And by that I mean it is treated in society in a different manner
than society approaches and relates to the general "normal" population.
Disability is considered a state in which there is some disruption of normal functioning, normal behavior,
[and] normal ability to navigate and do what is necessary for a person
to go through their daily life in a satisfying way.
Society, throughout the decades, has considered people with disabilities in many different ways.
Most of which have not been empowering, or advantageous --
by that I mean, people with disabilities, as you may know, receive a lot of negative impressions.
Those negative impressions come from the fact that our society and the way we are trained to think
is that there is a normative way of functioning, a normative way of behaving, a normative way of being able to care for one's self;
a normative way to learn, to work, to have relationships,
to assume social roles like marriage, like parenting.
Those [are] major activities that we in the Western society strive to achieve.
Those [are] major activities that we in the Western society strive to achieve.
So, disability identity is a way of talking and writing about...
that there are different modes of being a person...
of fulfilling life responsibilities, and enjoying life rights.
So, in summary, disability identity is a reaction to the ideal of "normal."
It is the writing and the study of how people with disabilities identify
with each other as well as with non-disabled [people.]
It is saying, "We have our own identities, and it is integrated,
it is not the only identity we have. We have many other identities.
We have the identity of being a citizen, of being a student,
of being, in some cases: a friend, a lover, an employer, an employee... the list goes on.
But disability identity is a reaction to being stereotyped in one impression.
In other words, that all people with disabilities are like this,
or that all disabled individuals could do this, this and this, or cannot do this, this, or this.
It is not showing the diversity in disability culture that people may have a different normative behavior,
and may have to collectively advocate for the same type of accommodations,
but that we are as different in our personalities, in our backgrounds,
in our perspectives as people without disabilities.
Thank you.