Although often overlooked, being able-bodied is a privilege in which one can benefit from mainstream culture, as they can easily mold to the standards of a capitalistic and ableist society. The one-dimensional culture that simplifies and diminishes the complexities of the handicapped, eerily mirrors that of the simplification and “ghettoization” of youths in working-class communities. Within, Lulu Miller and Alix Spiegel’s podcast, “Invisibilia” they provide a radical analysis on the social construction of blindness, and how society’s low expectations of the blind are translated and inculcated into physical reality. In conjunction with the theme of “low expectations” placed on a marginalized community, we similarly discussed how poor people …show more content…
To frame the rampant generalization and simplification of minorities, our critical discussion on how culture is not a simplified and unitary model, but actually a way people draw from other perceptions and make interpretations of their own world, provides a multidimensional perspective on culture. Within their podcast, Miller and Spiegel highlight the certain ways social institutions hinder and discourage the visually impaired by placing an extremely low bar on their capabilities. When they discuss Daniel Kish’s observation on how the blind are mentally capable of “seeing” but are inhibited through the perceptions of others, he states that the visually impaired are “slaves to others thinking [and perceptions]” and distresses that they are somehow “comfortable with that”. This exemplifies how organizations that are perhaps trying to aid them in their development, are actually acting as a detriment to their growth and are causing the blind to internalize this “helpless” cultural identity that they are constantly associated with. Many blind people are identifying with these powerful perceptions of them not being able to do everyday things, and are thereby limited by the constraining beliefs