In this week’s materials, we’re exploring key concepts associated with disability and disability rights. Something you may have noticed as we have examined different kinds of diversity in this course is that in all these categories, there is an assumption about which state is “normal.” Last week, we saw that many white people don’t necessarily see themselves as having a race, because white is the “normal” category. Because of this, the experiences of Black, Latinx, Asian, Native American, and other non-white people can be invisible. In a similar way, our culture views non-disabled people as normal and may make the experiences of disabled people invisible. I encourage you to consider this idea as you work through the material this week.
Using at least 2 of the required resources this week, and 350 words or more not including learning resources please answer the following questions:
BEHS 220 Week 7 Required Resources
Adams, R., Reiss, B., & Serlin, D. (2015). Disability. In Keywords for Disability Studies, edited by R. Adams, B. Reiss, & D. Serlin. Pp. 5-11. http://ezproxy.umgc.edu/login?
Davis, L.J. (2015). Chapter 19: Diversity. In Keywords for Disability Studies, edited by R. Adams, B. Reiss, & D. Serlin. Pp. 61-64. http://ezproxy.umgc.edu/login?
Ridgway, S. (2013, March 5). 19 Examples of Ability Privilege. Everyday Feminism. https://everydayfeminism.com/
Texas Council for Developmental Disabilities. (n.d.). People First Language. https://tcdd.texas.gov/
Zayid, M. (2014, January). I got 99 problems … palsy is just one [Video]. TED Conferences. https://www.ted.com/talks/
Answer preview
The topic of disability is neglected when discussing diversity, equity, and inclusion mainly because of ignorance among people. Disability is not distinct as an identity category; thus, people are not knowledgeable enough to recognize this group of people. Davis (2015) argues that constitutional changes such as the Disabilities Act of 1990 focused only on the practices and abuses towards people with disabilities but did not address disabilities perception in relation to diversity. Disability can only be included in discussions about diversity, equity, and inclusion when sources of information empowerment encourage conversations around disability and how other topics such as gender and race are prioritized. Furthermore, the idea of diversity tends to suppress the less known categories such as disabilities, crack addicts, and obese people. At the same time, it celebrates other groups such as race, gender, sexuality, and ethnicity (Davis, 2015).
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