Unpopular View

After reading the blog responses from the class, I found the amount of dislike for the phrase “crip drag” to be extremely interesting. I personally did not feel that the phrase was meant to be disrespectful to anyone, but rather to evoke an emotion. And evoke an emotion it did! The phrase brings out the discomfort associated with disability in society, while emphasizing this “no big deal” discourse. Since actors have portrayed disabled peoples in the past, what should stop them today, right? The underlying messages, which are delivered through media outlets, are not only shaping our generation, but also shaping the societies of the world. I think that the American public tends to make most opinions based on personal experience, which is very natural. But shouldn’t some opinions have consideration for “the other”? For argument sake, let’s put ourselves in the shoes of a disabled child. How many disabled heroes or heroines are in the American public for us to idealize? Disabled celebrities that able bodied people are aware of? A change in American media, for the sake of respect and understanding is long overdue, but why not start with a popular show like Glee?

I found that most of the class chose to comment on the arguments that they did not agree with, but I’m interested to know if anyone agreed with any of the points the authors were making in the readings. One of the topics brought up in The Social Construction of Disability reading, is the theme of expectation. How do expectations differ between groups of people in a society? I mean, it is perfectly acceptable (or expected) for a student to be offended by a harsh critique of a seemingly harmless show, but is it not allowable (or expected) for a person with a disability to be offended by how disability is portrayed?

I am enjoying this area of critique, but I feel that I need to do more research before I can form a personal opinion on what a disability entails and who would fall into this category.