Why a Social Understanding of Disability Matters

While the need for enacting legislation and improving technologies were in the frontier of disability rights advocacy for decades, social roadblocks formed by the intersectionality of identities that have been long overlooked.

What mental image do you see when you hear the word “disability”? A person in a wheelchair? Someone with down syndrome?  Generally, our first instinct is to focus on the medical condition of disabled individuals, and we let personal characteristics like age or gender fade into the background. But, while discussions of inclusivity typically make the one-size-fits-all solutions seem as advantageous to all disabled people, the complexities of social realities paint a different story.

Because people with disabilities are a very diverse group that makes up 15% of the world’s population, it is problematic to assume that the road towards social justice is the same for them all. We often miss how inclusivity efforts are incomplete without also considering the effects of other forms of discrimination (like sexism, racism, classism) on disabled individuals’ lives.

Considering other social identities, in this case, is important because disability can be viewed as a social construct with meanings and connotations that vary depending on the context. For instance, children with disabilities are vulnerable to their parents’ cultural interpretation of their medical conditions because it plays a role in the resources invested in treatments, education, and expectations of their future. Likewise, depending on the culture, some parents might not consider certain medical interventions as effective; they would resort instead to spiritual explanations or may not perceive their child as disabled to begin with.

Beyond cultural interpretations, some social constraints that disabled people experience are universal. For disabled people at the bottom of the income distribution, the challenge lies not only in access to resources but also in the perspective which views them as economically unproductive. As such, impoverished disabled people were historically one of the most vulnerable groups to institutional discrimination and even violence. The most illustrative example is the so-called “Ugly Laws” which were enacted in the United Kingdom and later in several American States in the 18^th and 19^th century. While they were supposedly aimed at combating street begging, the laws decreed that anyone who was deformed or diseased “so as to be an unsightly or disgusting object” should not be exposed to public view. By specifically targeting disabled and poor people, the laws deepened the economic segregation that this demographic already suffered from.

Gender is also a powerful force that shapes many disabled individuals’ lives.  In patriarchal societies where women are marginalized, gender dynamics create a double discrimination system for disabled girls. A UN report concluded that because of cultural biases against girls and disabilities, literacy rates among females with disabilities are far lower than their male counterparts. Globally, the largest gap is in Mozambique, where only one in every six women with disabilities is literate compared to one in every two men with disabilities.

Such issues are not only relevant in developing countries, however, as they can also be observed in the UAE. For instance, one study found that some Emirati families’ attitudes towards protecting women are exacerbated when it comes to their disabled daughters, which can hold them back from leading an independent life. In addition, improving disabled people’s socio-economic standing is complicated by the fact that 93% of disabled Emiratis are unemployed.

Unfortunately, for many disabled individuals, access to resources and opportunities is also influenced by race, age, and other social categories. Therefore, discussions of inclusion must take a more nuanced understanding of how social dynamics influence disabled people’s experiences. If anything, examining how forms of discrimination overlap highlights how real inclusivity is unlikely to be achieved without addressing all persisting social ills that have long plagued societies and continue to induce injustices.