Susan Wendell's The Social Construction Of Disability

Nancy Mairs, a feminist writer who has Multiple Sclerosis, defines the terms in which she interest the most with the world. Nancy Mairs will name herself a cripple and not be by others. She will choose a word that represents her reality for example in the beginning of her story she mentioned about her being in the bathroom trying to come up with a story about cripples. She was in the handicap bathroom and when she tried to open the door she fell, landing fully clothed on the toilet seat with her legs splayed in front of her and she said “the old beetle -on-it’s back routine.”

At the end of her chapter, “Body in Trouble”, Nancy Mairs notes that all too often individuals with physical disabilities are excluded from moral life. In her words, she says “people don’t generally expect much of a cripple’s character” and describes the difficulty of helping in normal charitable activities (such as serving at a soup kitchen). Mairs is realistic about her ability to contribute to certain charitable activities—she cannot chop vegetables or scrub dishes. If a life of service is a Christian calling, like the church affirms, how can we expand our idea of what “service” is so that all people can engage with it? What ways can those with disabilities provide care for non-disabled people, so that the direction does not strictly flow

Reflection on the article, “The Virtues of Ballpark Normalcy” by Lisa Blumberg Lisa Blumberg defines ballpark normalcy as “ life that is not quite normal-but is ‘in the ballpark.” My question is what is normal? Every person young or old has strengths and weaknesses; this is true to anyone, whether they have a disability or not. The word ballpark in this context refers to a range.

Waist High In the World is a novel that focuses on the importance of accepting everyone with dignity and respect despite their disabilities and differences. The author of the book, Nancy Mairs purpose when writing the book was to create awareness and share her experience as a “cripple” in order to create consciousness and understanding of those who are going through the same process. Mairs uses different persuasive strategies to convince readers to want a world with people like her in it, this includes the use of pathos, logos and ethos.

Murphy lacks mobility and sensation in his lower body other than the feeling of occasional muscle spasms, and has limited movement in his upper body below the neck including his arms. Murphy writes the story as it recounts events throughout his entire life, from childhood onwards. He was sixty-two when he wrote the novel. The story provides Murphy’s anthropological commentary on the life of a person with a disability and how society views and treats people with disabilities (Murphy, 1990). Murphy’s performance patterns both support and inhibit his occupational engagement.

In the essay, “On Being a Cripple,” Nancy Mairs uses humorous diction and a positive tone to educate people about life as a cripple and struggles of people with disabilities. She does this to show how hard it is to be disabled and how it differs from the life of someone without a disability. She talks about the struggles and the fears that disabled people must deal with on a daily basis. Mairs use of rhetoric creates a strong sense of connection and understanding for the reader. Nancy Mairs is successful in using detailed imagery, diction, and tone to educate her readers about the difficulties of living with a disability.

In “Unspeakable Conversations” she details her experience. Harriet McBryde Johnson effectively uses the rhetorical appeals of ethos and pathos, along with her uses of first-person narrative and descriptive language, to support her argument that contrary to stereotypes, a person living with a severe disability can live a happy and fulfilling life. Harriet McBryde Johnson was born in 1957 with a neuromuscular disease. At the time of this essay, she had been disabled for over four decades. Born to parents who both taught foreign language, they were able to afford hired help but she knew it could not be for her whole life.

When people hear handicap they think not able to care for themselves. Nancy wants to be known as a tough individual able to take care of herself. The reader can feel the agony of what Nancy is feeling. The tone of this passage is determination and agony. Nancy feels that cripple is more stronger word than “handicap” or ‘disabled.”

Each text contains interest while I read them, they also focused ideas regarding disability but the points that’ll receive attention don’t necessarily relate to each other. In Johanna Hedva’s piece, Sick Woman Theory, she discusses concepts revolving around her chronic illness and the effects of that illness on her life. For Robert McRuer, he wishes to explore ideas that explain the relationship between heterosexuality and able-bodiedness. While each text displays engaging thoughts, this paper will respond to them in different ways. For this response paper, interest lies in adding ideas to the first section of Sick Woman Theory as well as critiquing what McRuer wants to accomplish with his paper.

Words are very powerful. They have enormous power to convey with a purpose of insult which may have a devastating impact. The most astonishing characteristics about words is they can mean completely different from one person to another person. In Nancy Mairs, "On Being a Cripple" she uses the words cripple to describe herself. Nancy is a powerful women who insist that this word is her choice and a way of accepting the fact of her disables.

Scott Hamilton once stated, “The only disability in life is a bad attitude.” Disability is only an obstacle in a person's life, but it does not set the identity of that person. John Steinbeck's novel shows how disabled people are treated differently by writing about their heartbreak and sorrow. Many individuals with disabilities feel that a disability is a wall blocking them from achieving their goals. In our society, people are told what to be and what to do with their disability, but one should have the choice to carve their pathway to success.

n Nancy Mairs essay, “Disability”, she illustrates the lack of representation of people with disabilities in the media. While disability plays a major role in Mairs’ life, she points out the various ways her everyday life is ordinary and even mundane. Despite the normalcy of the lives of citizens with disabilities Mairs argues the media’s effacement of this population, is fear driven. She claims, “To depict disabled people in the ordinary activities of daily life is to admit that there is something ordinary about the disability itself, that it may enter anybody’s life” (Mairs 14). Able bodied people worry about the prospect of eventually becoming physically impaired.

“Single-Handed Cooking” by JJ Goode speaks about his disability and how although he acknowledges it as an obstacle it isn 't one they aren 't continuously ready to overcome. He uses the example of cooking. It 's a task that for most does not require the intense focus that he needs ,yet it doesn 't stop him from cooking dishes ranging in difficulty. With each dish he successfully creates its a way to prove himself, while the mistakes no matter the cause are a failure. Which is why he continues to tackle demanding recipes because each time he achieves a great end result its another accomplishment.

The story is set in America in the year 2081, where the United States government has finally achieved equality for all its citizens due to the 211th, 212th and 213th amendments in the constitution and the Handicapper General agents. However, instead of raising the standards of those with learning disabilities and defects it in fact considers this the new criterion. The main characters George and Hazel Bergeron are sitting in their living rooms watching ballerinas dancing on a television program. George’s intelligence is way above normal so he must keep a mental handicap radio in his ear to disrupt any unnecessary thoughts to ensure he is no smarter than the average citizen such as his wife Hazel - who is good natured but rather feeble-minded (Vonnegut

Australia is known as a country of freedom and fairness, however many groups such as youth, the unemployed, aged, and ethnic groups tend to become marginalised because of their minority status. Certain groups are marginalised because they are perceived as being different or undeserving of equality in society. This is called stereotyping and it leads to prejudice and discrimination. This essay explores three marginalised groups and discusses some of the reasons why they are marginalised and the effects on those within these groups. Exclusion from areas such as employment and other services and opportunities that other Australian 's take for granted, is a result of the marginality of indigenous Australian 's, woman, and those with