Lisa: “You probably think I’m either delusional or in denial. I’m not, I just have a real problem with the phrase, ‘person with a disability’, and the notion of ‘having a disability’.”
Teresa: I am not sure I know exactly what you mean by that?
Lisa: “I am disabled. More specifically, I am disabled by a society that places social, attitudinal and architectural barriers in my way. This world we live in disables me by treating me like a second-class citizen because I have a few impairments -- most obviously a mobility impairment.”
Teresa: No, Lisa, I don’t think you are delusional. I can’t imagine not being able to travel as I please or go to my favorite places and hang out with family and friends due to architectural barriers. And as a black woman, I definitely understand what you mean by social attitudes that prevent (disable) a person from moving forward. Just as with you, I sometimes feel like a second- class citizen too! It seems as though we are both dealing with the multiplicities of intersectionality.
Lisa: What do you mean by intersectionality?
Teresa: …show more content…
Egan’s definition of disabled extends beyond the traditional sense of disability limited to physical capabilities only, “most people look at the word disabled and assume it means less able. It means prevented from functioning.” Egan definition is applicable to oppressive constructs such white and gender privilege that oppress and prevent upward mobility. It is powerful in the sense that already, existing socially constructed definition of disability relates to lack of mobility in the physical sense, conferring this term to privileged systems assist in “visually seeing” the lack of mobility imposed by systems of
Teresa: I am not sure I know exactly what you mean by that?
Lisa: “I am disabled. More specifically, I am disabled by a society that places social, attitudinal and architectural barriers in my way. This world we live in disables me by treating me like a second-class citizen because I have a few impairments -- most obviously a mobility impairment.”
Teresa: No, Lisa, I don’t think you are delusional. I can’t imagine not being able to travel as I please or go to my favorite places and hang out with family and friends due to architectural barriers. And as a black woman, I definitely understand what you mean by social attitudes that prevent (disable) a person from moving forward. Just as with you, I sometimes feel like a second- class citizen too! It seems as though we are both dealing with the multiplicities of intersectionality.
Lisa: What do you mean by intersectionality?
Teresa: …show more content…
Egan’s definition of disabled extends beyond the traditional sense of disability limited to physical capabilities only, “most people look at the word disabled and assume it means less able. It means prevented from functioning.” Egan definition is applicable to oppressive constructs such white and gender privilege that oppress and prevent upward mobility. It is powerful in the sense that already, existing socially constructed definition of disability relates to lack of mobility in the physical sense, conferring this term to privileged systems assist in “visually seeing” the lack of mobility imposed by systems of