‘Non-disabled’ – an oxymoron?
Exploring the foundations of a
divisive label
Jennifer Harris
University of York
Why is the term problematic?
1. Few people enjoy ‘total health’ today
2. The term is half of a dichotomy
(disabled/non disabled). Cannot cope with
fluctuating impairment statuses
3. It has divisive and exclusionary effects
4. ‘Non-disabled’ cast as oppressors
Will the non-disabled stand up?
Term is a relational concept within social
model of disability, ‘either/or’ disabled/nondisabled
Combinations of pollution, workplace stress
family pressures and accidents ensure most
people experience disablement over the life
course
Is the term an oxymoron?
Disabled/non-disabled –
it’s all relative
Dichotomy cannot cope with fluctuation in
impairment
As a labelling system, it is crude and
misleading.
The ‘stickiness’ of labels
Are such people disabled one day and not
the next?
The effects of the non-disabled
label
‘Non-disability’ is associated with oppressor
role
Applying this dichotomy is an oversimplification of complex relations in
society
If most people experience impairment in
life, then theoretically all social policies
would use the social model – why not?
Border crossing between disabled
and non-disabled statuses
Burchardt 2000.661/2
‘Only a small proportion of working-age
people who experience disability are longterm disabled…the common perception that
disabled and non-disabled people make up
two entirely distinct and fixed groups in the
population is misleading’
Problems of ‘non-disability’
In a given year one tenth of working age
population are limited in daily activities
In a 7 year period, one quarter experience
some limitation (only 10% of these are
disabled throughout)
Therefore, disabled status is much more
widespread than one-off surveys suggest,
disabled category is more fluid than thought
and ‘border crossers’ in fact form the
majority of the ‘disabled’ population
Conclusion
Social model theory does not adequately
describe an experience of the majority
classified as disabled – border crossing
Viewed from a border crossing perspective
the social model is a crude analytical tool
Requirement is for a sophisticated
framework that adequately describes social
relations without resorting to a dichotomy