Hello all it was interesting to hear Stella's talk. she has highlighted a much needed point of disability is not an exception and of course the way it is used to portray inspiration. the girl without the hands is objectified to inspire and push the child who perhaps has both hands but not the patience or temprament to paint or write his lessons etc. in this process the child is subconsciously given the message that he is not only lucky but also superior to the other girl in a fashion.
I too ascribe to the social model of disability defined by Mike Oliver which says that it is not the disability itself but the environment which is disabling the individuals with an impairment. with hostile infrastructure, constant struggle for basics like education etc, the nondisabled world makes simple usual things in a life an achievement and the hell they are... but rather than them lauding us and our everyday struggle they should be ashamed of the disabling conditions they dish out. i would like to share an example here. when i topped the postgraduate media course the head of my department told everyone with great pride that i had topped and you know what without any extra favours from them. the favours she referred to was simple accommodations like accessible study material etc. they had practically made my life hell with their non cooperation and they were proud of me overcoming all those challenges. well kudos to me for facing the challenges but shame on them for their behaviour. so the point is that sometimes we are forced to combat ordinary situations which are made into extra ordinary hurdles and then made out to be exceptions having achieved the ability to live life, learn, work, grow. on the other hand if we were to consider the disabled and the nondisabled world together, whoever has achieved something should be appreciated irrespective of their disability. so when a politician, a CEO of a MNC, a sports person etc can be my inspiration, i do not know why a disabled person who has achieved something in life should not be marked as an inspiration! the only difference is these people will be looked up to and definitely not with the condescending idea with which the girl without hands was being considered. lastly, something i have noticed happening in reality- we as disabled people sometimes live in a dualism. We want to be the norm but at the first chance of receiving special treatment, or a word of praise, or the title of an inspiration or a celebratory award, we jump like school children do on free ice cream. Like Stella said it is for us to decide if we really have achieved something or are we being complimented for existing and remembering our name. if latter is the case and we allow this to happen simply because we love the attention and awards etc, then we would play a major role in perpetuating a deeply embedded discriminatory attitude. so it is not all about them changing, it is about us mending our ways as well. Just my thoughts, thanks for reading. Regards, Nidhi Goyal disability and gender rights activist MSC Development Studies, LSE twitter @saysnidhigoyal -----Original Message----- From: AccessIndia [mailto:accessindia-boun...@accessindia.org.in] On Behalf Of payal Sent: Monday, August 04, 2014 4:34 PM To: 'AccessIndia: a list for discussing accessibility and issuesconcerning the disabled.' Subject: Re: [AI] I am not your inspiration- Stella Young on deglorifyingdisability! Yes Avinash. Often it is the easiest thing to do. give them a consolation prize of being right up there, an ispiration and then grumble about the idol having feet of clay. If only they could just accept us for who we are, life would be a better place for all of us! This video was fantastic! -----Original Message----- From: AccessIndia [mailto:accessindia-boun...@accessindia.org.in] On Behalf Of avinash shahi Sent: Monday, August 04, 2014 3:45 PM To: AccessIndia: a list for discussing accessibility and issues concerningthe disabled. Subject: Re: [AI] I am not your inspiration- Stella Young on deglorifyingdisability! Wonderful. Enjoyed listening. agreed, people with disabilities are not the 'objects of inspiration'. On 8/4/14, payal <payal.thereside...@gmail.com> wrote: > Hi, > > > > This is a fascinating video posted on Ted talks and is of course available > on youtube as well. However as some of us have had trouble being able to > access it from Ted, I am posting a youtube link here as well. Take your > pick. Stella young tries to bring home the truth that disability does not > make us exceptional through this talk. > > Stella Young: I'm not your inspiration, thank you very much > > http://t.co/zVZfvoGIYV > > > > youtube link: > > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8K9Gg164Bsw > > > > Stella Young is a comedian and journalist who happens to go about her day > in a > > wheelchair - a fact that doesn't, she'd like to make clear, automatically > > turn her into a noble inspiration to all humanity. In this very funny talk, > Young breaks down society's habit of turning disabled people into > "inspiration porn." > > > > Register at the dedicated AccessIndia list for discussing accessibility of > mobile phones / Tabs on: > http://mail.accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/mobile.accessindia_accessind ia.org.in > > > Search for old postings at: > http://www.mail-archive.com/accessindia@accessindia.org.in/ > > To unsubscribe send a message to > accessindia-requ...@accessindia.org.in > with the subject unsubscribe. > > To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please > visit the list home page at > http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in > > > Disclaimer: > 1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking of the > person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its veracity; > > 2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the mails > sent through this mailing list.. > -- Avinash Shahi Doctoral student at Centre for Law and Governance JNU Register at the dedicated AccessIndia list for discussing accessibility of mobile phones / Tabs on: http://mail.accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/mobile.accessindia_accessind ia.org.in Search for old postings at: http://www.mail-archive.com/accessindia@accessindia.org.in/ To unsubscribe send a message to accessindia-requ...@accessindia.org.in with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in Disclaimer: 1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking of the person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its veracity; 2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the mails sent through this mailing list.. Register at the dedicated AccessIndia list for discussing accessibility of mobile phones / Tabs on: http://mail.accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/mobile.accessindia_accessind ia.org.in Search for old postings at: http://www.mail-archive.com/accessindia@accessindia.org.in/ To unsubscribe send a message to accessindia-requ...@accessindia.org.in with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in Disclaimer: 1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking of the person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its veracity; 2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the mails sent through this mailing list.. Register at the dedicated AccessIndia list for discussing accessibility of mobile phones / Tabs on: http://mail.accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/mobile.accessindia_accessindia.org.in Search for old postings at: http://www.mail-archive.com/accessindia@accessindia.org.in/ To unsubscribe send a message to accessindia-requ...@accessindia.org.in with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in Disclaimer: 1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking of the person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its veracity; 2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the mails sent through this mailing list..
