Disability Identity

Constructed by medical professionals or by mass media

Biomedical model of health has dominant shaped by physical or mental impairment that unable to lead a normal life

Equal Act 2010 disability is defined as having a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term negative effect on everyday life

Shakespeare and Barnes (1996)

Socialised into seeing themselves as victims such as the person with impairment may have an investment in their own capacity due to it becoming rationale for own failure

Prejudices = disabled create social barriers that discriminate against people with disabilities and prevent from leading independent lives as mass media representation of disability are often negative

Built environment often not suitable for the needs of disabled people although this is improving

Employees are reluctant to employ disabled people as 6x more likely to be refused a job

Evidence of widespread bullying that hate crime in care homes and wide society

In 2011 there was 1’788 recorded incidents of disability hate crime in UK

8 in 10 children mainly with learning disorders have been bullied

Medical Model

Medical problem

Defined person by disability

Leads to victim blaming mentality

Medical professionals who see victims of impairment which can prevent them living a full life

Deserving pity and charity

Encouraging non-disabled people to judge and stereotype disabled people

Personal tragedy

They are called inferior

Suggest the only way a person with a disability can achieve ‘normalisation’ is with the use of dock care so mean that an individual would depend on others

Best (2005)

Def. a person’s inability to fully participate in various activities that the rest of us granted

Disabled are dependent of able-bodied and unable to function effectively without constant help

Goffman

Prejudice and discrimination against people with disabilities can have significant effect on their identity and self-esteem

Result in a disabled identity becoming a master status in eyes of both able-bodied and not

A self-fulfilling prophecy as internalised and start to believe in negative labels

Produce dependency

Scott

Produce dependency

Disabled learned to depend on sighted people

 

Disabled sociologists more positive identities should be promoted stressing independence choice and autonomy

Believe that state should invest in disability, friendly social environment and should address prejudice

1995 – disability discrimination act was passed and legal protection and enforceable rights to disabled people

Social Model

People living with mental or physical impairment often find that non-disabled people fail to look beyond the impairment or disability during interactions

Focuses on social and physical barriers to inclusion that may exist so design of buildings and physical spaces that deny access to those with mobility problems

Assumed by non-disabled people that the identity of disabled people is shaped by their physical or mental impairments

Negatively labelled or stigmatised as a social problem

Judged in terms of their disability

Becomes a master status such as dominate the way they are treated

Disability can be socially constructed

Live on benefits and state on poverty

Negative attitudes and stereotypes held by non-disabled people about disabled people

Prejudices create social barriers that discriminate against them, so environment is more suitable

Evidence of widespread bullying

Employees reluctant to employ

Shakespeare

Major obstacles to forming a positive disabled identity

Often socialised to see themselves as inferior

Isolated from one to another to form a strong, collective identity is different

Lack of positive role models in positive life and media

 

A self-fulfilling prophecy can result

Disabled people internalise and start to believe in these negative labels so produce learned helplessness

Disabled carries with it a stigma affects all interactions between the disabled person and others and creates interactions and known as master status

Capitalism

Wants profits so they want healthy workforce to gain the most profit

Disabled people are less likely to have a job

Adapted to the needs of the disabled, a disabled person would be able to work so cost of money which creates social barrier

Frankelstein

Capitalist society would rather have a healthy workforce to generate profits

Seen as an economic burden

Oliver (1996)

Society which disabled physically impaired people because the disabled are excluded from full participation

By stereotypical attitudes held by able-bodied people

Best (2005)

Society generates forms of discrimination and exclusion that disabled people have to cope with

The problem is to be found in social construction of prejudice

Zola (1982)

Disabled through policy

Lead to a form of learned helplessness so internalise the idea of they are incapable of changing a situation and this fails to act

Low self-esteem and a highly structured life in which decisions are often made for disabled people and contribute

Argued to policies such as segregated schooling encouraged learned helplessness even if we intentions were well meaning

Murugami (2009)

Argues that a disabled person has ability to construct a self-identity that accepts to construct a self-identity and see themselves as a person and disability is a characteristics social barrier are produced from stereotyping and negative stigma brought on by able bodied

Barns

One of the most persistent stereotypes and major obstacle to disabled people’s successful integration into the community such as portrayed as a superhero or villain

Seligmans

Learned helplessness caused by classical conditioning

Links to disability as the impact of negative labelling can lead to learned helplessness

Meaning that’s an individual has a constant assumption that they are helpless and dependent so developing low self-esteem and worth