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Social Constructing - Race and Disability

            The ideas of disability and race (much like the idea of gender used in previous discussions) are socially constructed. Many of the articles read in Women's Studies 302 discusses the idea in which race and disability are not biological issues but ideas prevalent in society only because of the modern day definitions around them. Many of the authors show that when using this kind of thinking it becomes more evident that social, physical, and environment play a major role in what gets defined as a disability or race. Depending on the definitions used, it leads to very different outcomes for these individuals included or excluded in each category. These inclusions and exclusions are the implications which make it important to discuss these definitions and social thought processes. .
             .
             During class we read the first two chapters of a book by Susan Wendell called "The Rejected Body". The first chapter we looked into was "Who is Disabled? Defining Disability"". In this chapter Wendell looks into what is considered to be a disability versus a handicap in certain parts of the world and the distinction between the two. The important part for her is that while she is pointing out these bureaucratic definitions of disability it seems in all of them there is the stigma that there is something wrong with the individual being defined. She also points out that these definitions speak of certain situations which may seem to disable a person in places such as Kenya, but may not do so in North America. .
             The definition of what a disability is then comes down to context of the situation and in turn the environment that person is in. A specific example she uses to explain this would be that of an individual needing to walk five miles every day in Kenya to get clean drinking water. Wendell feels this is a likely occurrence in their environment, so someone who could not walk these five miles at one time would suffer from a disability.


Essays Related to Social Constructing - Race and Disability

1. Definition of Race

Definition of Race Framing a definition of race is an intimidating task as both biological and social considerations factor into the concept. ... Thus, the social construction of race is presented and contrasted with biological implications of race. Evidence which primarily supports race as a social construction is presented herein. ... In this respect, race is determined more from a social perspective rather than a biological one (Lopez, 1994). ... Hinged on the ever-changing social effects of everyday choices, race can be defined as a social phenomenon and construct rather than a consisten...

  • Word Count: 945
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

2. How We Perceive the Deaf Community

There are many different viewpoints, and the issues today are similar to groups related to race, color and sexual orientation. ... All the mentioned writers have different ways they interpret disability. Some causes for this could be because of different time periods, different personalities and different social views. ... Lane argues that hearing individuals socially construct deafness as a deficit and see deafness from their perspective. ... Linton complicates Lane position by pointing out that the terms used by the able bodied to describe the disabled construct them differently than they...

  • Word Count: 1080
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3. ada

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  • Word Count: 2232
  • Approx Pages: 9
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

4. Cyber Communities

These people have a chance to have some type of life and identity where they can be greeted and welcomed without their race, gender, disability, or appearance being an issue. This does not mean, however, that anybody regardless of race, age, creed or other personal characteristics would be welcomed or included in all cyber communities. ... Issues of honesty and deception become apparent with the ease of constructing multiple identities and associated personalities. Each different identity, or social mask, allows a person to stay "in character" within the social context of each community of ...

  • Word Count: 1841
  • Approx Pages: 7
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: Graduate

5. Advertising and Psychological Identity

Some factors include "race, age, gender, physical or mental disability, ideology, religious conviction, someone's region, digital technology" (Cesmat, 2013), sexual orientation, family background, etc. ... There is no doubt women feel the need to conform to the socially constructed idea of beauty. ... The idea of beauty is socially constructed, which constructs the psychological identity as well. ... People try to identify themselves with perfection, beauty and other socially constructed ideas that are not attainable. ... This is why we have to steer away from socially construc...

  • Word Count: 1201
  • Approx Pages: 5
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

6. Advantages of Diversity

People seem to forget that a ripe mixture of cultures, religions, and social status founded the United States. ... Content is presented in a manner that reduces all students' experiences of marginalization and, wherever possible, helps students understand that individuals' experiences, values, and perspectives influence how they construct knowledge in any field or discipline. ... No matter the color of your skin, your ethnic background, your religion, your race, your disability, and anything else that make you who you are. ...

  • Word Count: 566
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7. Canadian Hate Crime Laws

Hate crimes are triggered by an individual's or group's race, national or ethnic origin, language, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation, mental or physical disability. ... The Criminal Code section 718.2 outlines aggravating factors as "evidence that [an] offence was motivated by bias, prejudice, or hate based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age mental of physical disability, sexual orientation or any other similar factor" (Renke, 2014). ... Canadian Statistics and Cases Chart 1- Approximately 700 of the reported cases were motivated by ha...

  • Word Count: 1330
  • Approx Pages: 5
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

8. Prejudism, Discrimnation and Racism

Prejudice and discrimination toward differences in race, ethnicity, gender, spirituality and disability have had negative psychological consequences, and they continue in primarily covert forms. ... Race is a socially constructed category of people who share biologically transmitted traits, language and religion. ... In addition, racism is born from an ideology that gives a certain ethnic group or race a position of power over others on the basis of features like physical attributes and the superior race exercises domination and control over all of the others. ... Social power theory suggests ...

  • Word Count: 994
  • Approx Pages: 4
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9. Post-War Welfare Settlements of the 1980s and 90s

The implications of the organizational settlement as reflected in the social settlement were that recipients of welfare services were socially constructed as passive, deferential and dependent. This is because the role of the state was socially constructed as paternalistic and its bureaucrats and professionals were seen as the powerful experts whose expertise in decision-making could not be challenged. ... Consequently in the Beveridgean social welfare settlement the normal citizen was socially constructed as the employed, married, white, able-bodied, insured male worker. ... Williams, ...

  • Word Count: 3818
  • Approx Pages: 15
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

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