The World Turned Upside-Down

[Federica]

How effective is Finkelstein's account of an 'upside-down' world in arguing that social factors effectively disable certain people?

[Alexpecko]

In todays society I feel that Finkelsteins account is somewhat dated. It may demonstrate how certain social factors disable people, low ceilings etc, but i dont think these factors are as relevant today, as a great deal of consideration, time and effort is put into making ' the world' as easily accessible as it can be for all people.

[lady123]

I strongly agree that social factors play a huge part in disabling certain people.  Firstly, to have a disability is what Finkelstein believes to be socially constructed.  I don't necessarily agree with how society as a whole deals with 'disability' but there is no doubt today, accessibility and treatment of disabled people is gradually improving.  I think 'AlexPecko' is correct in pointing this out.  However, through these modes of practices and 'time and effort' being put into it, society is putting a label of those in need, disabling them further.  Take a 13 year old boy for example who has recently been in a car crash and unfortunately lost feeling and use in both of his legs.   I ask society this, why not simply call him a boy in a wheelchair, why is there a sudden need to label him disabled?  What are other people's thoughts on this? 

[gerrberr]

to me it seems that our society tends to labels people only to give them negative features...having the label disables makes somebody an outsider as the is not other label for people who are considered able... one could argue that it is for the purpose for helping the people who might be on wheelchairs but does the label really have this effect or does is constructs being with problems so to speak?? I can only imagine being a wheelchair user and trying to ender a shop which is not adjusted for a wheelchair used and having to press the buzzer to wait for assistance would make me feel even more disabled  and more depended on others...are we really helping wheelchair users or are we making them feel even more awkward?

[Karla]

I do think that society is the main culprit for disabling people. The main reason being because of the 'disabled' label that people are given if they do not have full usage of their bodies. While the 'rest' of society are given no label at all, almost implying that it is the 'norm' (and thus that disabled is then the 'abnormal'). A clear divide is definitely made between the abled/ disabled, but I don't think you can fully understand what it's like to be 'disabled' until you have been in that position yourself. As lady123 mentioned, entering a shop and having to wait for assistance because there are no disabled facilities would make me feel constantly dependent on others, which isn't the greatest feeling. Things that should be simple in life, such as traveling, work, and having a social life are not made easy. And as much as you try and lend a hand, e.g. opening a door, I have that awful feeling that i am being slightly patronizing. Although you are trying to help, there is that unintentional feeling of implying that they are not capable to do it themselves.

[chunnu]

Finkelstein's illustration of the 'upside-down' world is very effective, no matter in the past or the present. His idea of disability is not confined to only physical imperfections (the way most people interpreted it in modern days) - whenever an individual is put under an inferior status applied by society, he/she is disabled by social constructs.

Disability encompasses two parties: the superiors and the inferiors. Take men and female as an example. In the past, women were always portrayed in adverts as housewives, who were dependent on men. Women's place was in-house doing house chores and satisfying men's needs. Women can be said to be disabled by society as they were represented as subordinates to men which were excluded from the business environment and making important decisions for their lives.

Even in the present age, women are often shown in adverts as sex objects of men. They are thinly-veiled and sexually appealing and these advertising gimmicks serve to gratify men's needs. The sexist trend in the advertising industry reflects how women are hugely disabled under the influence of media and the society.

In short, social factors have huge contributions in disabling certain people.

[katievolone]

I agree with Alexpecko. Our society is so occupied with rules and regulations, health and safety and being politically correct that the almost every place we go is fit for anyone. There are always ramps for disabled people or hearing facilities etc etc. It is quite hard to go somewhere now that not everyone can feel comfortable with.

[supernoodle275]

I would have to say that I agreed strongly with the previous comments, being apart of such a culture that strives to be politically correct in all areas, the unfortunate circumstance of being 'disabled' is facilitated extremely well compared to what it used to be. Society evidently tries to always keep up with the ever- rising difficulties that individuals have within in it. Alongside political correctness, is the need for society to make people feel like we are all equal, regardless of ethnicity, disability, disorders etc, therefore if such measures were not available to those who need to be able to feel 'normal' within their society, would surely be an act of hypocrisy?

[smiles]

i would argue that society may play a small role in 'disabling' people, however ultimately they would have had to have that disability in order to be labeled.
similarly i would also argue that in order for society to make individuals lives as manageable as possible, doesn't it have to recognise individuals as disabled?

Although i understand that socially society can be seen as disabling individuals, in environmental ways which might restrict their freedom. i would argue that the society has to suit the dominant category in order for it to run effectively. For example, able-bodied individuals are the dominant category in society and therefore by creating a society based around disabled people the majority wouldn't be able to live their normal life?

Although it sounds harsh, society has to respond to the masses which is ultimately what has resulted in this world we live in today.

[Millie]

In my opinion Finkelstein's illustration of the 'upside down world' was effective, I think he is trying to make people more aware and for us to put ourselves for one moment in the position of someone who is disabled.  I also agree that in todays society we are all under lot's of pressure especially by the media, whether it's to look good, employment, family matters and friends etc in doing so we all pretty much want to fit in to society and to what is perceived as being 'normate'. 

The problem is not being labelled as disabled the problem lies with socities perception of disablement and all the encompassing  issues. I do beleive that today the disabled are treated much better than in latter years however there are innumerable places that are still inaccesible to the disabled. Whereas being impaired is quite another matter especially for those with visible impairments who are categorised as 'almost normal' (Swain & Cameron).  However there are many forms of impairments visible and non-visible impairements which some people prefer to keep private.  As suggested by Goffman(1968) ...'we all have some stigma of our own'...  Therefore it is no wonder that the 'coming-out' process is psychologically and and emotionally disturbing especiaaly when someone is likely to be excluded and discriminated aggainst.

I thought 'Supernoodle 275' made some valid points on being politically correct.

[fourtwenty]

I agree that Finkelstein's use of example, at illustrating this idea, is indeed effective. However, I think that he made an interesting point in this example when he stated that the 'able-bodied disabled' noted that some of their problems had a solution. These solutions had not occurred to the 'able wheelchair users' because their approach to looking at the problem was different to that of the 'disabled able-bodied' group. This perhaps suggesting that, in today’s society, approaching problems that disabled people have through their own perspective may narrow down the causes.

In also concur with his thoughts in terms of establishing the idea that social related factors can effectively disable an individual. The example of a formed Charity, collecting for the 'disabled able-bodied' people, shows the distinction between the labels normal and abnormal in society. The 'able wheelchair users' categorised the 'disabled able-bodies' as almost inferior, to the extent that they felt as if they needed to support them - as they were unable to do so independently.   

[gerrberr]

I would agree that is it people making other disabled or make other to stand out, it can be in any sense...calling somebody an immigrant can be disabling them as  we are putting them out of the equation and making them a mismatch

[chunnu]

I think Finkelstein had developed a convincing argument. Social influence is among one of the strongest determinants that influences how one perceives the world. Especially in a collectivist world, e.g. Asian countries such as Taiwan, Hong Kong and China, people have the tendency to 'follow the crowd' and believe in what they are told by the media and society. Even if it meant to turn the world 'upside-down', many choose to obey to the majority so as to avoid being discriminated against, or be seen as social outcasts.

In short, Finkelstein's argument is dated back in the 1970s yet it is still relevant to the present age.

[honeybunny]

His example has certainly brought up key points for his argument that society takes part in the disabling of an individual. This very idea that society discriminates disabled people is something that is very new to my understanding of disabled people. i guess i have always taken for granted the fact that i am an able-bodied person and therefore have mistakenly never looked further into what it feels like to be physically impaired. His example has definitely proved to me that society can play a large role in categorising someone disabled.

[Silver]

I agree that disability is socially constructed, in large due to imagery. All the successful people that we have and all the role models that we are presented with are all able bodied people. If we were say in a wheel chair then we are automatically seen as less able to lead the group, or take someone  out. Society has brandished with this label so we become it. It prevents us from doing certain things, but this is only due to that fact that other people do not think you able to do them. Thus, for this reason i do believe that disability in a large part is created by society.