Susan Wendell's The Social Construction Of Disability

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

“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. Even though the achievements seem minor to other examples of people overcoming their disabilities it 's a victory nonetheless.

And if “Had anyone been there with her, she’d have been still and faint and hot with chagrin, (Mairs 259).” Instead of pitying herself, Mairs is able joke about her hardships in her day-to-day life despite having physical incapabilities. She then continues with a steady, yet uplifting tone as she explains the reasoning behind why she labels herself as a “cripple”, stating that it is a “clean word, straightforward, and precise, (Mairs 260).” She believes that words like “disabled” or “handicapped” are words that are “moving [her] away from her condition, to be widening the gap between word and reality, (Mairs 260).” By using these euphemisms for her condition, people tend to view her as something she isn 't. She believes that these words characterize no one because "Society is no readier to accept crippledness than to accept death, war, sex, sweat, or wrinkles, (Mairs

A life of severe disability, is not a life worth living. Therefore, an infant born with a severe physical or cognitive impairment should not be allowed to live. Or any person for that matter, regardless of age who suffers from a severe cognitive disability should be lawfully killed. At least that is a belief held by a certain professor at Princeton University. Harriet McBryde Johnson, a disability advocate and lawyer had the opportunity to debate these beliefs with Professor Peter Singer. 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.

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.

I appreciate Lisa Blumberg, sharing her views on her experiences of being a child with a disability. Consequently, she wrote the article solely based on her own experiences and needs as a person with a physical disability. However, Lisa's beliefs may not offer an accurate interpretation of every person that has a disability wants and needs. For instance, when she says, “excessive praise for doing something normal is not a spur to further achievement. Instead, it just makes a person feel like a freak." I would argue that excessive praise is not healthy for anyone. However, I don’t agree that everyone praised or

“2.2 million people in the United States depend on a wheelchair for day-to-day tasks and mobility. 6.5 million people use a cane, a walker, or crutches to assist with their mobility”. Every single day, people varying in ages, struggle to live their lives due to conditions out of their control. Whether it be life threatening or not, it can have effects that are both socially and emotionally harming. Although some of them may change appearances on the outside, other people cannot forget that all people, not matter the disability, have brains and personalities of their own that may not be seen to the human eye. The book Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper, shares the story of Melody, a girl who is much more than her cerebral palsy: she is brilliant.

As an individual who developed a serious case of multiple sclerosis, Nancy Mairs begins to see herself in a different way, not as a normal person but as a “cripple”. As she opens with “I am a cripple.”. The disease ripped away her ability to walk. The disease allowed her to realize the deeper meaning of derogatory terms, such as “disabled” or “handicapped, especially the term “cripple”. The disease redrew her personal sketch, becoming something though physically lacking, yet resilient beyond comparison. By combining rhetorical strategies with rhetorical appeals, Mairs presents herself in a way that invokes an emotional response from the reader.

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. In John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck portrayed a political statement by looking at mental and physical disabilities through different characters such as Curley's Wife, Crooks, and Lennie.

In the passage Nancy Mairs calls herself cripple. She uses different rhetorical mode and devices such as similes to the reader an emotional appeal. In the passage cripple is used to symbolize handicap and disabled. This gives the reader an emotional appeal to how she’s feeling. Nancy Mairs being called handicap lowers confidence, making her feel weak. 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.” The word word cripple gives Nancy hope and strength and makes her a strong individual. But her having to go through agony and pain of being called handicap or disabled, doesn’t give her the confidence she needs. Even though Nancy calls herself cripple to give hope and strength. Cripple symbolizes weak, meaning not being able to take care of herself but in this passage cripple symbolizes confidence and strength.

People with disabilities are often viewed as less capable, less intelligent and not available to cope well in society. Mairs uses the different persuasive strategies such as ethos, logos and pathos to create a conscious awareness to build a world in which despite the differences everyone is treated with equality and dignity. She imagines her body as something other than problematic, but a reason to fight to build a world in which people wants her in. Mairs mentions in page 169 “I imagine a world where people, allowed the space to accept- admit, endure, embrace- their diverse and often difficult realities.” As Robert M Hensel, a famous Guinness world champion and a man with spina bifida said once “There is no greater disability in society, than the inability to see a person as

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).

In her essay Nancy gracefully articulated her perception of her situation and chooses to label her as “Crippled”. The struggles that she goes through to in a day to day bases, for example when she starts off the essay by describing her experience in a bathroom stall and how she laughs at her own situation. She insightfully defines her being crippled in the way she pursues and interacts with the world. As I defined the word in a sense of being incompetent in day to day societal procedures which is exactly proven in the essay. She is slow and struggles in her day to rituals and she accepts it. The words has been brought for ages as an insult it is often referred to someone who is slow and weak. Throughout history it has a negative connotation and Mairs has many comments to make about how disability does not fit well in our youth-oriented, physical-fitness-obsessed culture, and on how social expectations influence whether she adapts or fails to adapt. It simples represents Mairs

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

The appearance is not important for our lives. Most people would say that yes. Appearance is important, but it’s not everything to know who they really are. Lucy Grealy in, Autobiography of a Face, has cancer on her face, and she has to remove the part of her face. That ruins her childhood. In her college years, she learns the way how she looks is not the only thing to her life. Nancy Mairs in, On Being a Cripple, suffer from a disability, and has uncomfortable movements. Although Grealy and Mairs suffer from their illness, at the end, the way how Grealy and Mairs look is not everything to them. No matter how people view their illness that cause their appearance doesn’t change who they are.