Toward a Feminist Theory of Disability
The fact that more than half of disabled people in the world are women and approximately 16% of
those are disabled women indicate towards a situation where a majority of disabled population
comprises of a single gender group which fights against not only physical but social disability as well.
The relation between being physically impaired and being women can be drawn from the attitude
the society adopts towards them, sheer ignorance and consideration towards their situation and
condition and the society’s behaviour towards them as an unequal member of the society refrains
both the groups from walking on a similar sociological pedestrian. The impression that has been
marked is multifaceted in nature with social, psychological and physiological factors in play. The
need for Feminist Theory to adopt the issue as one of its main agenda will help the vexed group to
tackle the problem on two consecutive fronts.
To define a disability would require to indulge in social, experiential and biological components, that
too couldn’t be awarded as the perfect illustration as disability needs a much critical understanding.
U.N. has defined impairment, disability and handicap in a somewhat limited fashion where although
it brings out some element necessary for the better understanding about the issue, but fails to
deliver in a more generalised form. Societies draw comparison on what is normal , and when an
individual doesn’t fall in that category they are caged under “the Other”, the interpretation of
disability and from that of handicap is depended upon how evolved the society is, how much
cognizance does it adhere to the ability than the disability.
The attitude of the world towards the disabled is more of conservative in nature than reformative.
Shaking the ability in them would not only bring meaning to their existence but also provide them
opportunity in contributing towards the development of their society. The physiological aspects with
which the women undergo is unusual in nature to man, however their troubles of child birth and
menstruation are accepted as a way of their life rather than a disability, and the society draw
unparallel comparison to the other sex, which ultimately then puts them under the same umbrella
as a weaker section.
The stature given to an “ideal body” and its idealization has marginalised the people with disability
as it’s tough to impossible for them to fit in the “perfect body” crafted out by the society. The ability
to control the body is of paramount importance. The worst effect is upon the female than the man
and they even refrain from being seen let alone compared. The structure and shape of the deformity
has always engrossed the attention of society and medical science but the experiences of the people
with such ailments have eluded the other sciences. The fear to think of the size of the shoes worn by
them makes the world close its eyes to the reality, the pain is suffering is very much real.
With time the society came up with new terminology for the disabled than “other”, in a subtle way
the term “differently abled” was coined along with “disabled heroes”. Both these terms challenged
the paradigm on which the humans were scaled, apart from recognizing the positive side of
disability, they still were remark of “difference” with the major chunk of population. Some of the
disabled have an issue with respect to the independence over oneself, in a society which gives
utmost respect to independence the feeling of dependence paves a way for loss in confidence, at
such times its necessary that the knowledge which the disable have is integrated in the cultural
aspect of the society.
The nature restores a balance, the disabled are unable to perform the various bodily functions which
the abled are, as a result without any inclination to achieve the “idealization” the mind of this
specially abled individual is able to dwell on deeper human emotions, on concepts and
understandings which might be of more significance to the abled body yet such ideas remain
mundane to them. The illness and disability of Susan Wendell helped her and the entire community
to look things from other perspectives. When she talks about how the voice of the disabled is
silenced she presents how the inability of able bodied to comprehend things about their own body
are better experienced by the differently abled, as a result of which concepts which could be of great
importance for the society falls short at the blind grasp at “idealization”.