Social Model of Disability
• Social Model of Disability
Morris explains that the social meaning of “disability” doesn’t refer to just physiological impairment but rather disabling barriers of prejudice, discrimination, and social exclusion. The cornerstone of social model of disability should be, Morris states, separating out impairment from disability. Disability includes unequal access to education and housing, higher living costs, and negative attitudes, and Morris affirms that recognition of differences is basement of creating equal rights and ethical care.
• 2 Disability examples:
1) A couple with disabled man and non-disabled woman; people often look at them and ask the woman with curiosity why and how she chose a disabled man. And people easily assume and judge that the woman is pitiful because she may not be protected by her boyfriend because he is a disabled person.
2) Dramatizing very “unreal” lives of people with disability which conveys a (wrong) model of what and how disabled people should pursue. I came to this example by watching a TV show of South Korea which drew on a woman’s life and love living with a visual impairment. She is depicted as a pretty, rich, and cool person. (This “cool” personality probably means what Korean society sees a woman as fit in recent days –independent, not asking for help, able to afford everything she needs and not depending on men.) This TV show got compliments for drawing a closer attention to disabled people’s lives, but also suggested an unrealistic model particularly to disabled women, that rich and pretty disabled women can achieve what they
Morris explains that the social meaning of “disability” doesn’t refer to just physiological impairment but rather disabling barriers of prejudice, discrimination, and social exclusion. The cornerstone of social model of disability should be, Morris states, separating out impairment from disability. Disability includes unequal access to education and housing, higher living costs, and negative attitudes, and Morris affirms that recognition of differences is basement of creating equal rights and ethical care.
• 2 Disability examples:
1) A couple with disabled man and non-disabled woman; people often look at them and ask the woman with curiosity why and how she chose a disabled man. And people easily assume and judge that the woman is pitiful because she may not be protected by her boyfriend because he is a disabled person.
2) Dramatizing very “unreal” lives of people with disability which conveys a (wrong) model of what and how disabled people should pursue. I came to this example by watching a TV show of South Korea which drew on a woman’s life and love living with a visual impairment. She is depicted as a pretty, rich, and cool person. (This “cool” personality probably means what Korean society sees a woman as fit in recent days –independent, not asking for help, able to afford everything she needs and not depending on men.) This TV show got compliments for drawing a closer attention to disabled people’s lives, but also suggested an unrealistic model particularly to disabled women, that rich and pretty disabled women can achieve what they