Disability: a pejorative ^umbrella^

Blog Intro
These posts are written in the (relatively) raw form of an iterative brain dump.
This is to provide an insight into my thought patterns and processes.
It also allows me to challenge traditional forms of publishing and assessing.
The intention is to allow research, writing, pause and reflective practice leading to praxis.
As such it will be tangental, anecdotal, contradictory and subject to change.
It is also important to acknowledge harmful normative ideologies often lie latent and so I apologise in advance for any offence of harm caused in the course of this exploration.
^This denotes an addition/amendment/comment.^

Fore-rant
Dis- or Dys- prefixes come from New Latin & Ancient Greek. (‘Hard, Difficult, Bad’)
How can we possibly approach each other as equals when our language is embedded with notions of hierarchy, idealised forms and traditionalism. 

My positionality (with respect to disability.)
My father suffers from a physical disability.
Words have always been harder than shapes and numbers.
Neurodiversity is under diagnosed in POC.
My mental health ‘problems’ could be considered a disability.

Aside:
One second there buddy…remember Mark Fisher & Capitalist Realism.
Toil & trouble, pain & strife are not side effects, they are features of capitalism.
Inability to function as a cog in said system does not imply fault with the ‘cog’.
The assumptions made by the framing device must be interrogated.
Who defines this system of normativity by which we judge ability?

Given my interest in Artaud’s physical knowledge of images and the interdimensional nature of images: mental, still, moving and sonic, Christine Kim’s work into the physicality of sound struck a chord.

(Speculation)
Kim’s exploration of a personal understanding of the worlds generates a world of knowledge that is beyond the access of the traditionally abled. (In my opinion, this label of disability constitutes a problem – tautology/paradox?). Does this new dimension of knowledge adjust our entire frame of understanding, rendering us as the disabled for lacking the ability to access this world of knowledge.

The resonance goes beyond a personal creative interest into the academic. In conversation with Dr Kwame Baah, I noted the notion of learning styles.

(Tangent incoming) Is the 'dis-' in disability ignoring the innate creativity of the diverse spectrum of ability. Consider that ideas and technologies emerge from interaction with the natural world. Encountering challenges has led to technical and technological innovation of today. Many creatives and entrepreneurs are neurodiverse; with dyslexia and ADHD being common amongst creative individuals. That dyslexia has led to many creative ideas through an alternative reading of a given stimulus provides evidence of a new way of seeing.
Taking a historical perspective, technological advances in portable lens systems mounted to the bridge of the nose mean we no longer consider short-sightedness to be a 'disability'. 
^Carrying this thought to the sci-fi absurd: how will biohacking and human enhancement alter our perception on ability? See N£tflix's Altered Carbon. For the financial elite, the super-capitalist cosmetics industrial complex crafts supermodel sleeve-like-bodies with porn-proportions. In this universe, gratuitous nudity is a display of wealth. Under this premise, what constitutes 'disabled'? Apart from being poor, of course, which blocks you from accessing the market.^

^This is not to ignore the obvious challenges of those who suffer visible and invisible access challenges, mental or physical health issues. These examples must be considered specifically and structurally in order to bridge access gaps and provide adequate support. There is much to be challenged in the above analog, but this final point is pertinent, it is the responsibility of the institution to counter this through an act of bridge building. See Sara Ahmed.^

Thinking in terms of relation of this resource to my teaching practice.

What if instead of considering ability as in relation to a normative baseline, we considered it a preference or inclination akin to learning styles. As such, those who have clear access issues such as a visual impairment, would rely on other senses to engage in knowledge exchange (braille and touch, auditory learning styles and problem based activities) can provide an embodied understanding of a thing.

Building on learning styles, experience has taught me that large blocks of text scare me (ironic I know) but is also the easiest way to explore the super-ego in an economical fashion. I learn primarily through audio, which is another reason why conversation is so vital to my pedagogic practice. It is through verbal exchange and working through examples (kinaesthetic) that I have been able to form muscle memory.

In this way we are looking to merge multiple forms of thinking.
An orientated mind with relative characteristics, abilities and personal preferences. These can subsequently be used to refine methods of delivery.

Exercise: Consider various subalterns and speculative questions that arise*

Jewish Latinx Trans Non Binary Sex Worker MA Fine Art @ CSM
Disclosed Mental Health condition
Disclosed dyslexic
Medication for transition
Stigma & interpersonal safeguarding - sensitive nature of artistic practice
Deportation fears resulting from employment
The institution should pay special attention to any latent stigma concerning the intersectional nature of this individual. 
^Pastoral confidentiality and strict safeguarding procedures. Check ins during 1:1s where suitable.^
^Direct towards appropriate resources when/if necessary.^

Wheelchair bound Queer South African international student, MA Fashion Futures @ LCF
How to bridge access gap?
To what extent are in person events fully accessible? 
If this is not possible, why not? Can this be escalated further (change room/location) as learning opportunities should be equally accessible to all students. 
Do they have access to peers/tutors with a similar lived experience of intersectionality?
As a student coming from a country not clearly affiliated with UAL's international 

Persistently absent student, BA Course @ UAL
Are they okay? 
They've never turned up but they hand in work?
Any access or personal problems?
Are they commuting from another city or working to survive?
Is there a long term (physical/mental) health issue?
Do they require further support?
Are online resources sufficient?
Can online support be offered to support remote tutoring?
Are they satisfied with this level of engagement?

These are not entirely fabricated personas, but are adaptations and speculative imaginings intended to briefly illustrate questions that may result from considering delivery for a particular cohort

We cannot make assumptions but only provide an opportunity for the provision of evidence. Following said evidence, appropriate steps can/should be taken to scaffold the learning of the individual concerned.

Given the challenging nature of arts education and connections to the highest level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, it is vital to pay special attention to the mental wellbeing of students.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs | Simply Psychology

Get Intersectional
Kimberlé Crenshaw’s work in American Automotive employment disputes launched by African American Women has provided the basis for considering the structural failure in providing opportunities to those who belong to multiple groups of marginalised peoples.
#DisabilityTooWhite is another example of intersectional failings. That this campaign has spread through social media, as opposed to traditional/legacy media, is pertinent. It speaks to the right wing press of the UK & its processes to mute, distract and divert attention away from reality. Personal experience from advertising has highlighted how the capitalists and their puppeteers will strategically utilise the image of Black athletes and disabled fans to promote their capitalis-tech platform. This is a cynical attempt at communication with the masses, in a one-to-many format, that belies the truth.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/confronting-the-whitewash_b_10574994?guccounter=1

^ The resource shared takes me back to a pop culture icon deserving of iconoclasm (imo). And that is Friends. For those that don’t know, this is a blatant rip off of Living Single. First aired in ’93, it didn’t take long before Capital and its agents mined Black American culture, not for the first or last time.

This launches questions over appropriation and white eurocentricity in anglophone broadcast media. Taking this example and coming back to the question of #DisabilitySoWhite, and the afore-quoted tweet, where would a Black Disabled Woman protagonist come from? Who would air such a show? And ultimately, is appropriation by the mainstream inevitable? (Q: what is the mainstream? Digital/Physical? Western. Anglophonic. Eurocentric…etc)

The answer has emerged throughout this Inclusive Practices unit. A cynical media executive may have retroactively labelled one character as having a hidden disability. But good creative work comes from truth and at the intersection of disability and race, lived experience of both is crucial to an authentic representation in creative media…it is not enough for me to imagine my situation as medically disabled and create from that imagined position. Similarly a disabled individual cannot imagine their way into a lived experience of being racialised.

How to move forward? Encourage the next generation to lean into their own positionality. Let it frame their thinking and give them direction. Let questions light the way.

Page 11, Disabled People (2020) By Shades of Noir

References:

Blahovec, S. (2017) “Confronting the Whitewashing of Disability: Interview with #DisabilityTooWhite Creator Vilissa Thompson”, HuffPost. Available at: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/confronting-the-whitewash_b_10574994?guccounter=1 (Accessed: 11 May 2022).

Richards, A. and Finnigan, T. (2015) ‘Embedding equality and diversity in the curriculum: An art and design practitioner’s guide.’ York: Higher Education Academy. Available at: https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/system/files/resources/eedc_art_and_design_online.pdf (Accessed: 11 May 2022).​

Todd Selby x Christine Sun Kim (2011) Directed by T. Selby. Performance by Christine Sun Kim. Available at: https://vimeo.com/31083172 (Accessed: 11 Mar 2022)

Living Single Official website (archived). (1993-2005). Available at: https://web.archive.org/web/19961023004723/http://www.foxworld.com/singindx.htm (Accessed: 24 May 2022)

UAL Disability Service Webpages (2022). Available at: https://www.arts.ac.uk/students/student-services/disability-and-dyslexia (Accessed: 24 May 2022)

Disabled People (2020) By Shades of Noir et al. Available at: https://issuu.com/shadesofnoir/docs/disabled_people (Accessed: 24 May 2022)

Disabled People, Diversity Questions: