Disability and Identity

• For those who are not living with impairment, disability may not seem as a significant aspect of identity. However, those living with a physical impairment may often find that it's the most significant aspect, especially in the terms of how they're seen by others.
• Events such as the Paralympics raises awareness in positive achievements in relation to disabled people.
• The 1995 Discrimination Act gave legal protection and rights to disabled people, which strengthened their identity.
• Medical model


  Sees disability as a medical problem, focusing on the limitations caused by impairments, this has been the prevalent approach taken by society. This approach leads to defining a disabled person by their disability or impairment. The problem is that this leads to a 'victim blaming' mentality, where the problem lies with the disabled individual rather than a society which doesn't meet their needs.
• Social model


  Focuses on the social and physical barriers to inclusion which needs to exist, such as the correct facilitation of buildings and public spaces which deny access to those with mobility problems. This approach leads to the view that disability is socially constructed, since those with physical impairments are negatively stigmatized.
• Shakespeare argues disabled people are socialised into seeing themselves as victims and blame their failures for being disabled
• Disability charity 'Scope UK' found that two thirds of people feel awkwardness when talking to a disabled person, the survey also suggested that 43% of people don't know anyone who is disabled, this can mean that not all disabilities are visible, and not all disabled people require a wheelchair.
• Master status


  The label 'disabled' carries a social stigma which affects all interactions between the disabled person and people they meet. This means that it exceeds the limits onto all aspects of identity, and becomes a significant characteristic in how someone is judged.
• When someone is disabled, their whole identity resolves on their disability, and ignores their nationality, sexuality or age.
• Zola argues that the vocabulary people use to describe disabled people is borrowed from discriminatory able-bodied people in society. For example, de-formed, dis-eased, dis-ordered, ab-normal.
• Learned helplessness


  This shows how disabled people may internalize the idea that they are incapable of changing a situation, and failing to take action themselves. This leads to a self-fulfilling prophecy, since they believe the negative labels which are said about them and become what they feared.
• Keating and Santuzzi argue that people downplay their disability because of fear and rejection, which leads to a lower self-esteem.
• Hunt argues that the media portrays disabled people as pathetic or as a burden.
• Positive identity


  A disabled person has the ability to construct a self identity that rejects their negative labels, this is when they accept their impairment and become independent of it. This means that they see themselves as a person first, and see their disability as one of their many characteristics.
• Watson illustrates this point by saying, ''I know this is going to sound very strange to you, but I don't see myself as a disabled person''
• The 1995 Discrimination Act highlighted that disabled people can form a positive identity without fear or discrimination.
• Scope's ''End the Awkward' campaign highlights how negative stigmatization towards disabled can end, because of acceptance, activism and pride.
• Historically, disabled people were looked down on in society, and often made fun of and excluded. Nowadays, disabled people have the ability to perform a positive identity without fear.