Link: Invisible illness - 'I'm fed up of having to perform my disability'

[davidgillon]

Invisible illness - 'I'm fed up of having to perform my disability'

This one really nails the point: non-disabled society expects us to behave in a specific way, and if we don't, then will take that as full justification to abuse us. Thematically very similar to the s e smith article I saw at the start of the month.

(And really good to see pieces like this appearing on Mumsnet, which used to be a really nest of nasty comments from mums with buggys about wheelchair users taking up 'their' spaces on the bus).

Comments

[jesse_the_k]

Oh this is such a good piece. I could only read comments page 1 of 5 before I was reduced to tears. Feling like one must perform disability in ways which nondisabled people will approve of seems to be an all-too-common impluse.


Tobin Seibers wrotes a great essay on this topic called "Disability Masquerade"; it's in his recent book Disability Theory. he basically reiterates the stories from mumsnet, use the sort of academic language which amkes itm ore ikely thay future scholars will be able to WHAT will I see i nthre eyearsk or the?

ETA I was commenting late last night and truly fell asleep while I wrote that last paragraph. I wish I knew what I was trying to say, but future scholars will remain confused.

[davidgillon]

I figured it was something along those lines, just glad it wasn't anything more serious!