The medical system is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it has historically, and too often still in the present, been utilized as a means to “fix” that which is perceived as broken; namely, anyone who does not conform to the culturally assumed idealized body. At the same time, medical advancements have proven to be beneficial to humans in terms of increased lifespan and reduced incidence of harmful diseases. As far as it is applied to disabled folks, the medical establishment far too often crosses the line in assuming that what is different must equate to a lower quality of life.
I personally struggle with this conflict as someone who takes pride in my identity as a disabled person while at the same time finding relief in medicine created to soften my severe chronic pain. The medical establishment has moralized my pain – seeing it as something “bad” and “wrong” when in reality, pain is simply information. That said, I have received my pain’s message, found its source, and nothing can be done to notify my brain that it no longer needs to bring something to my attention. Therefore, I use medicine to quiet the message because, for me, the volume of that message in fact does lessen my quality of life.
As Kafer says in her book Feminist, Queer, Crip (2013)1, “As much joy as I find in communities of disabled people, and as much as I value my experiences as a disabled person, I am not interested in becoming more disabled than I already am.” (p. 4) It is a tricky balance, wanting relief while also coming to self-acceptance and even pride.
- Kafer, A. (2013). Feminist, queer, crip. Indiana University Press. ↩︎
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