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Essay On Disability And Identity

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Interlinking Youth, Disability and Identity
The concept of identity for people with disabilities is a new phenomenon. As discussed in the above section, disability is a multilayered concept and the notion of disability in the post modern world is difficult and varies across cultures making it a tedious task for transnational organizations to have a neutral definition of disability [Peters, 1993]. Thus, the idea of having a unitary identity for people with disabilities is impossible task and therefore, disability as an identity is often a personal construction. Thus, creating an identity is a purposive attempt made by disabled individuals to make meaning of the self in the world. People with disability often have a limited range of identities …show more content…

They place disability at the core of their identity in order to ‘reclaim the body’ from the models that diminish the value of people with physical disabilities. as a valued concept in identity formation has largely been the result in the shift from the medical to a social discourse on disability[ Peters and Chimedza 2000, pp. 248].
Some individuals (youth with disabilities)assert outright pride in their disability. This can be explained by emulating it with the phrase "black is beautiful". This particular phrase reengineered the way African Americans viewed themselves and their images, similarly some disabled pride individuals sees beauty in disability [Fleisher & Zames, 2001].
As metioned above, most people with disabilities do not identify solely with their impairment rather, they(similar to people without disabilities) identify themselves through multiple descriptors i.e an impairment itself may have many connotations attached to it. Fleisher & Zames (2001) noted that ‘disability is at once source of pride or a source of scorn. It is conjointly a catalyst for empowerment and a source of

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