...car, and yet the car is parked in a designated handicap parking spot, the presupposition would remain the same. The logical mind would further assume that the individual in the car and parked in that designated spot would be somehow disabled. Such expectations are learned only through social experiences and interactions. Human beings learn through experience how to attach specific meanings to words or symbols, and thus act on their own interpretation of that language or symbol in a given situation, and not the situation in and of itself” (Basirico et al., 2014 p. 45). This theory, known as symbolic interaction, is an approach to understanding the relationship between humans and society…the basic notion of symbolic interactionism is that human action and interaction are understandable only through the exchange of meaningful communication or symbols (Boundless, 2015). Such an example of this theory was demonstrated by this event in York, England. A recent article contributed to Fox News by Tribune Media Wire explained that a woman “went to her local supermarket where she parked in a handicapped spot…when she returned she found a note on her windshield that read: ‘Being fat and ugly doesn’t count as disabled – park elsewhere’” (Tribune Media Wire, 2015). The article continues by saying the woman “recently...
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...For the purpose of this assignment I am going to discuss the social construct of disability by focusing on eugenics and language. In addition to the medical and social model of disability, segregation and the oppression of disability. Furthermore the Medias influence on social constructs. Within the United Kingdom there are an estimated 9 million disabled adults. (Office for Disability Issues updated Department for Work and Pensions estimates based on Family Resources survey 2009/10). Despite the high number, people with impairments are treated as a separate homogenous group to the rest of society. Firstly, to understand where we are today with disability as a social construction I will provide a historical account of disability in western society. To pinpoint precisely the origins of society’s attitude towards disability and disabled people would be almost impossible (Barton 1996). One theory that has been suggested, is that the view that our perceptions of impairments and disability are influenced by psychological fear of the unknown, the anomalous and the abnormal (Barton 1996 cites Douglas 1966). Historically, disability has been a source of oppression where disabled people have been socially excluded from many areas of social life. The exclusion can be traced back to an era when biblically ideas formed of society. The religious model of disability produced notions of what was acceptable and not acceptable; this included the exclusion of imperfections of the body. Imperfect...
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...throughout the course of history, but continues to be pushed to the side. Society tries its best to avoid disabled people all together, or if that is impossible looks down on their lesser life with pity. First hand accounts of this treatment is seen in disabled authors Kenny Fries, Nancy Mairs, and Harriet McBryde-Johnson. Fries brings to light the need for society to look at disability through the social model. This model focuses on the physical and attitudinal societal barriers that exclude disabled people from the community. The disabled experience does not just stem from the physical impairment itself, but society's reaction to it as well. Mairs discusses the barrier created by society's rejection...
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...Handicapped Does not Mean Handi-can’t Media Portrayals of disabled Americans Monica Franklin University of the Rockies Abstract This paper will discuss the way the media portrays people with disabilities. One aspect of our culture that has been misrepresented in the media is the portrayal of people with handicaps or disabilities. Unfortunately people with disabilities have been given a bad rap due to negative images displayed by the media, thus leading to negative perceptions. These perceptions lead to isolation and ridicule. The paper will also focus on the negative effects of stereotypes used to describe this group. Images will also be displayed throughout the paper that represents what the media would like society to see as disabled in America. Key Words: Disability, isolation, perceptions, misrepresentation, negative , images disabled. Handicapped Does not Mean Handi-cant Media Portrayals of disabled Americans Television has been a part of our lives since the early 1920’s and mass media has been instrumental in the portrayals of American culture, but what do you envision when you hear the word disabled? What do you envision when you hear handicap? One aspect of our culture that has been misrepresented in the media is the portrayal of people with handicaps or disabilities. According to the portrayal in the media, rumor has it that people with disabilities are needy, dependant, submissive and always the center of distasteful jokes. Disability by definition...
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..."Disability", she explains how the media fails to accurately portray individuals living with a debilitating disease. This causes people with a handicap to feel inadequate, isolated, and lonely. Consequently, the media's lack of depiction hinders the able-bodied person's ability to understand, interact, and accept disability as normal. Mairs wants disability to be portrayed in everyday life that way others can be aware of those who have handicaps and realize that they are just like everyone else. Mairs succeeds to get her point across by drawing in the reader with her strong diction as well as using personal experiences and humor in support of her statements. Mairs shocks the reader when she refers to herself as "crippled". Our culture shuns the use of this word when describing someone that is disabled because it is known to be disrespectful. Yet she chose this word, as offensive as it may be, as a strong acknowledgement of her condition and as a message to those who want to use her disability to define her. She uses this dysphemism to describe her reality and to say that pity is the very last thing that she wants from anyone. What she wants is to feel like she belongs by representation. Not only does Mairs use shocking words but shocking examples. She states how she "hasn't noticed any women like me on television" (13). This makes the reader feel her isolation and her need to find a positive reflection of herself in the media. Mairs then expresses her disappointment...
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...society, i.e. blindness, deafness, mental disability and other physical impairments. It is a sign that can be used in various mediums such as on signposts, in the electronic media and communicates the message effectively since it is just simple. According to the Oxford English Dictionary (2013), disability can be defined as “a physical or mental condition that limits a person’s movements, senses or activities.” From this definition alone, disability is seen as a limiting factor or problem. There are two models that view disability from different points of view. The medical model sees disability as a problem that needs fixing, more like a malfunctioning machine. The social model emphasizes that disability is a problem created by the society and not actually existing in the individual by creating unequal outcomes for physically impaired people as compared to able bodied persons. It brings out the difference between disability and impairment (Carson, 2009). The fact that society itself views them as a minority group is the reason I chose this group (I personally have a passion for taking care of the disadvantaged in the society). The society is responsible for all the stigma and stereotyping that is associated with disabled people thus making their lives unnecessarily hard. Taking care of such people in the society can bring joy and add value to both the care giver and receiver or appear as a burden to the care giver, depending on the attitude one has towards the issue...
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...These essays about disability, written by people who are physically disabled, epitomize the triumph of the writer’s duty: to create a powerful impression of the ever-present hardships, passions, and enduring conflicts of the soul in the present and future; to not write of humanity’s false truths, but to help man endure, prevail, and restore pride in itself. All of these pieces of writing share the same general subject matter, but what connects them even further is an intricate and skilled composition of language. This is evident in their diction and syntax; they articulate particular messages and achieve certain aims in a way much more deep and complex than simply stating it. The authors’ messages are evident in not only the content of their...
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...(relating to the assessment criteria) | | | You are advised to see an Academic Peer Mentor edu.academicpeermentors@ntu.ac.uk | Yes (tick) | | No (tick) | | Marker’s signature | | Module learning outcomes | Assessment Criteria | Success Criteria | Knowledge and Understanding | | Exceptional First | First | Upper Second | Lower Second | Third | Marginal Fail | Fail | Zero | 1 | Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of key issues affecting the lives of disable people | Critically discuss key issues that affect disabled people’s livesWhere relevant, identify connections between different issues. Show awareness of the views and perspectives of disabled people. (WA; OP) | Discussion shows exceptional understandings of issues that affect the lives of disabled people and there is an exceptional level of criticality evident throughout The work draws on an extensive range of literature to support points (EF) | Discussion shows excellent understanding of issues that affect the lives of disabled people and there is a high level of criticality evident throughout The work draws on a wide range of literature to support points(H/M/L) | Discussion shows very good understanding of issues that...
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...examples. Throughout the course of the media and its ever-growing development, people with disabilities have been misrepresented countless times. In this essay I will be analyzing two examples from media advertising while also drawing ideas from Rosemarie Garland-Thompson (2002) in the modes that disabled people have been portrayed, touching on two main modes: The wondrous to which their physical differences are depicted as admirable and amazing, depicting every achievement in their lives as something extraordinary and the sentimental which invokes sympathy and pity towards the person with the disability and also invokes a sense of responsibility and the need to protect. I will also make reference to Samantha Murray and her idea that perceptions are engrained in an individual over a substantial amount of time due to their exposure to the norms of society. The first advertisement is a short video from the National Disability Awards day of 2010 in accordance with the United Nations International Day of People with Disability and the second advertisement is from a United Kingdom organization for Down syndrome. The first advertisement is from the National Disability Awards day of 2010, the opening scene is of boxing bags and a kickboxing ring and training room, the first words from Dawson Ko in the ad are “Don’t tell me I lack vision, I see things most people cannot” He then explains his desire to accomplish his dreams despite what other people, his diagnosis and his doctors say....
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...illustrates the life of a teenage surfer after becoming an amputee due to a shark attack through an inspirational parable. The film inspires the non-disabled community while alienating the disabled community due to the simplistic undertone of a tragic event and the glossing over a crucial process for amputees; healing and recuperation. Although the film accurately illustrates the psychological effects and the acceptance of the amputation, the director prioritizes the audience’s emotional attachment to the moral lesson of the narrative by utilizing the “supercrip” stereotype. The “supercrip” stereotype leads society to objectify people with disabilities, due to the constant use of these inaccurate...
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...importance on identity. Moreover, I believe media marketers are partly responsible for the increasing sexualization of little girls. They are partly responsible for propagating images and advertisements to the youth. On the other hand, I also believe parents are also responsible for dictating what their children are exploited to. 2) Personally, I think the...
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...By definition, media bias means, “Media bias is the bias or perceived bias of journalists and news producers within the mass media in the selection of events and stories that are reported and how they are covered.” There are several types of sources, such as technology and articles, that is efficient at spreading information through media. However, society is negatively affected when media portrays bias and non-credible information through technology and published articles. There have been several resources on the problem regarding wage gaps due to ethnicity and genders. In the article, It’s Time We Talked About the Ethnicity Pay Gap, Sadiq Khan uses her personal experiences to prove that blacks and women have a more difficult time trying to...
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...one who has some condition that markedly restricts their ability to function physically or mentally or socially while an elderly person may be defined as someone who is old or past the middle age. In today’s society both of these persons are considered disabled. These are people who have had little or no experience of physical activity or exercise and they firstly need to develop their motor skills through adapted physical activity programmes. However, appropriate opportunities for these people must be developed especially in physical education and sports. In addition there are some barriers that greatly contribute to low levels of their participation in physical activity and sports this includes poor provision of physical education (PE) in the community , negative experiences from society, low expectations from teachers, families and peers, lack of knowledge of what is available, lack of information and expertise, poor community facilities and lack of access to facilities and programmes, transportation difficulties, lack of coverage of a wide range of sports in the media, lack of experience of the benefits of physical activity, untrained staff and lack of accessible facilities, lack of companions who can facilitate/assist people with disabilities to access facilities and programmes when required, inadequate sponsorship and coaching and a lack of a culture of general participation in physical exercise and sport. In order to successfully address these range of barriers...
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...In an article titled 'HERS: "Disability"', author Nancy Mairs fights for the integration and recognition of disabled people in the media. Mairs discusses the hardships faced mentally when one is physically disabled and how to fix this. She states, "it will be a good bit easier psychologically if you are accustomed to seeing disability as a normal characteristic, one that complicates but does not ruin human existence," (para. 6). Mairs argues that, having a physical disability herself, she feels extremely underrepresented and wishes for those already affected by their diseases and those soon to join them to be aware that although it is a new lifestyle, they are still people. To make her point, Mairs proposes, "to depict disabled people in the...
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...Everyone has experienced a stereotype directed towards them once in their life whether it be based on race, gender, status, physical ability or appearance. People who use stereotypes fail to realize the impact it could have on the receiver of the statements. In most cases, stereotypes are not accurate and marginalize people, making them feel distanced from society. The essays “Disability” by Nancy Mairs and “Fatso” by Cheryl Peck both deal with women who have been pushed to edges of normal society due to their stereotypical identities. “Disability” is about a woman who has trouble walking and uses a wheelchair, due to being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. The author is disappointed by how she is seen as physically dependent on people and...
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