The Whole Mess

I believe change always begins with awareness. We do not know what we do not know until it is pointed out to us. Unfortunately, I’m not sure that any of the performances relayed in the article Bodies in commotion: disability & performance (2005)¹ necessarily provided that.

I’ve found that those who attend disability-focused performances tend to self-select people already aware of ableism, if they are not disabled themselves.  Even the article admits this, stating, “…many of whom [in the audience] were disabled themselves.” The authors claim to have placed the audience in the “other” position, but I know that I personally would have felt a kinship with the disabled performers, not a distancing.

Critique aside, the concept of giving out a memento and the end of the performance to remind nondisabled people of their role in change-making is a virtuous one. After all, without sustained focus on any social issue, the unoppressed population is not likely to make a dedicated effort to maintain that awareness and commit to the work it takes to overcome all the isms.

I do not believe nondisabled folks should see change as something they may “elect” to do. It is our mandate as relational social human beings to do our best to effect change once we are aware of how we are perpetuating ableism (and all the other isms).

Ableism is interwoven into every aspect of our culture and society. I speak here from an American perspective, as I am not well-versed in how ableism perpetuates in other cultures. There are a multitude of ways in which nondisabled people can do their part in dismantling it.

From the most basic level, such as calling ahead to a restaurant to check if it is wheelchair accessible for your friend in a chair, to lobbying for change at the local, state, and national government levels.

While it is not the responsibility of nondisabled people to engage in all these acts, every person must find their thread to pull at unravelling the larger fabric of ableism.

1. Sandahl, C., & Auslander, P. (Eds.). (2005). Bodies in commotion: Disability & performance. University of Michigan Press. ↩︎