The Experience of Disability in Current Society and Social Policy Response to It

Author: J Doyle.

Full Essay Title: "To fully appreciate the experience of disability in current society and social policy as a response to it, an understanding of history and its relationship to culture is vital". Discuss.

To explore the premise of this essay we must have an understanding of culture and its place in society. Culture can be defined as " the well-bound containers of coherence that mark off different kinds of people living in their various ways, each kind separated from the others by a particular version of coherence, a particular way of making sense and meaning". (McDermott and Varenne 1995 p325)

Accordingly, the coherence of culture depends on many individuals together and what they manage to achieve. What place has the experience of disability had within this shared Western culture, from historical times to the present day? Disabled people have endured "historically intense and still largely unacknowledged devaluation." (Longmore 2003 p207) In this essay it will be demonstrated how in cultural history the "abnormalities" of disabled people were stressed.

"Recent estimates suggest that there are around 8.5 million disabled people in Britain, 50 million in the European Union and 500 million worldwide." (Barnes 2003 p1) We must question how the disabled are culturally portrayed in contemporary society; the combination of barriers to education, work, health, transportation and housing "and the devaluating of disabled people through negative images in the media - films, television and newspapers...[has created] the cultural environment in which we all grow up usually sees impairment as unattractive and unwanted." (Oliver M, in Barnes and Mercer 2004 p21)

The "norm" for the portrayal of people with disabilities in literature and film is the adherence to the 'personal tragedy' viewpoint. The disabled person is more often than not depicted as someone to loathe, fear, pity or admire for achievements. These media messages tend to reinforce and consolidate already existing bias towards the disabled. (Albrecht, Seelman & Bury 2001 p519)

Is there a separate Disability culture distinct from mainstream culture? If there is, it presumes a sense of commonality between all disabled people. Views of traditionalists, modernists and post modernists diverge regarding this. The rise in political activity within the disabled community suggests this sense of commonality exists and is at odds with the widespread perceptions of them as passive and dependant. Organisations for disabled people are increasingly being run by disabled people rather than non-disabled people. Nevertheless "[t]here is a great deal of uncertainty amongst disabled people whether [they] want "[their] own culture". (Viv Finkelstein cited in Campbell & Oliver 1996, p111) and current social policy at national and international level introduces measures to further the integration of disabled people and abolish discriminatory barriers that exist.

"It seems likely that in Western Society, until the early modern era, disability was viewed as an immutable condition caused by supernatural agency". ( Longmore 2003 p42) In ancient Greek and Roman society, individuals with congenital impairments were seen as suffering from "the wrath of the gods", and were often put to death. However, those who acquired their disabilities later in life were assimilated into society. Being a disabled person meant being marginalized and deprived.

Infanticide was common in Sparta, where babies born with physical deformities were killed. Stiker (1997) mentions infants with hearing and vision impairments were not put to death. Later Roman law listed the rights of people with disabilities (the Justinian code 6th century A.D.)

The 4th and 5th centuries marked the emergence of hospices for disabled people within religious enclaves. At this time begging was a common way for the disabled to support themselves.

In the Middle Ages conflicting beliefs co-existed - impairment was a supernatural curse (demonology) inflicted on the impaired while religious movements compassionately embraced the disabled. Between 13th and 17th England differentiated between the intellectually disabled ("natural fools" and "idiots") and the mentally ill "non- corpus mentis" ("lunatics"), placing them in asylums, a practice that became common throughout Europe. (Albrecht, Seelman & Bury 2001 p19) Preachers John Calvin and Martin Luther both claimed persons with mental disabilities were "possessed or created by Satan". Cures and treatments were fantastical (e.g. boring holes in the head of the disabled person) but marked the move toward the medical model of disability. (Albrecht, Seelman & Bury 2001 p21)

In early modern times, the scientific method influenced how disability was understood and treated. With the prevalence of scientific inquiry a more medical approach to disability evolved, but this new approach reinforced common ideas and bias about the divide between the "normal" and the "abnormal" in society.

In the 18th century the medical model emerged, with its policy to cure the disabled so that they could perform tasks in an "acceptable manner". (Longmore 2003 p42) The As noted by Foucault the "Age of Reason" influenced by thinkers such as Francis Bacon, Isaac Newton and John Locke, saw a distinction between the intellectually disabled and mental illness "idiots and madmen". (Foucault 1967)

The Medical Model came to be fully accepted in the 19th century. The English 1899 Education Act led to the growth of Institutions for the intellectually disabled. Segregation led to a group identity among the disabled. By the end of this century deaf persons formed the first political action group and controlled their own schools.

Right up to the 1940's disabled people were exhibited in circus's fairs and expositions "Freak Show" attraction. Those disabled people with unusual attributes were seen as "monsters". The public paid visits to Bethlem (an asylum in existence for 500 years) to be "entertained" by the inmates.

The start of the 20th century saw a significant rise in the number of residential institutions for people with mental disabilities and children and youth with disabilities were segregated in public schools.

The eugenics movement was growing at the start of the 20th century. Social reformers sought prohibitions on marriage and procreation by people with disabilities. Institutionalism expanded and included poor farms and almshouses.

The sterilization of institutionalised residents was commonplace - it was deemed