It seems difficult for nondisabled people to write about disability without reflexively imagining what disabled people are missing or how difficult their lives must be. Rod Michalko, a sociologist who is blind, writes that sighted people typically conceive of “blindness in terms of ‘lack’-lack of sight. But this conception does not really help us understand ...

I have an injury – animal bites on my face, forearms and hands from a skirmish with a feral cat outside my office building. I’ve got quite a black eye with puncture wounds on my cheek, so my injuries are immediately visible. I’ve also got severe swelling in my left index finger so I can’t ...

Note that a number of blog links, media reports, and the comments therein may contain questionable language and/or clear descriptions of abuse. A comment on Meloukhia’s post on Glee’s “Hairography” episode: Coming from a hard-of-hearing family, I was excited to see the deaf choir perform! I thought about going to find my little sister, who is profoundly ...

A word of caution: This review is going to be quite short, as I have been struggling with “getting words out” for the past few days. Regardless, I think this is an important book, and might be of interest to my fellow FWD-ers (bloggers and commenters!). I touched upon the whole positive thinking movement (and why ...

The disabled, therefore, are not a tangible and unproblematic collection of people but, rather, a population that is assumed to exist, a category into which able-bodied people can slot others who pose a threat to their own normal view of the world and to those who inhabit it, and into which those who identify themselves ...

“Special needs” is one of those phrases that just kind of irks me. I see it most commonly used in reference to children or developmentally disabled adults; the implication in both cases is that the “special needs” individual can’t function without someone else’s help. That this person is totally dependent. And it carries, to my ears, ...

Note that a number of blog links, media reports, and the comments therein may contain questionable language and/or clear description of abuse. Upstart Magazine: Social media – a barrier or tool for inclusion? Alex Varley, CEO of Media Access Australia, a not-for-profit devoted to promoting access to media for people with disabilities, says: ‘Social media are the ...

9th feminist blog carnival! Goodie! More ways to procrastinate getting my essay done!

Optical illusions are one of those things that seem fun and frivolous but actually illustrate deep insights into how brains function. I recently saw an illustration of the “hollow mask illusion” over at the Wired Magazine Blog and it made my jaw drop. In the illusion, a person viewing a concave face (like the back ...

Recommended Reading for Wednesday, December 9, 2009