Social Construction Of Disability

Disability, a word that has the power to mean a variety of things to many different people, depending on the context. To some people, having a disability strictly possessing a physical impairment. To others, having a disability is something that is rooted much deeper. Around the world, disability is viewed in a plethora of different ways. From places seeing disability as something that is rooted in folklore and fables, to other places that believe that disability is not something that should even be considered. This paper will examine the ways in which disability, and the definition of what it means to be disabled, is culturally dependent. By taking a look at the definition and the societal construction of this definition, as well as the social
Overall, this paper will challenge the contemporary thoughts of the Western world by providing alternative opinions surrounding culture, and how culture plays a large role in the construction of disability.

One of the main questions surrounding the study of disability pertains to the definition of disability, and what this really means in terms of a few things. The aim of this paper is to delve a little bit deeper into this meaning, and to take a look at what disability means cross-culturally. Coming from both a sociological and an anthropological background, disability is an interesting concept to look at in
By examining these cultures, it will become clear that disability is something that is socially constructed and is consistently changing, based on the social context on which it is rooted. There are two models within disability studies that are used to view the ways people examine disability, and from there make educated opinions about. This paper will take a look at the medical model of disability, as throughout the research process, it became clear that many of the cultures around the world examined disability through this model. From the required reading by Lisa Egan, titled I’m not a “person with a disability”: I’m a disabled person, she provides us with her view on the medical model. Egan states that, “a person is prevented from functioning in our society by their body or brain and it’s just tough luck. If they can’t handle it, it’s not the world’s problem.” (Egan, 2012) This excerpt from this article really exemplifies the medical model, and the ways in which it basically puts disability down to being an illness or a disease, or something that needs to be medicated or treated in order to be fixed. This, in many cases, is not the completely dominant worldview, especially in the progressive society that Canadians currently live in. However, this medical model does happen to be a very