‘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/non-disabledCombinations of pollution, workplace stress family pressures and accidents ensure most people experience disablement over the life courseIs 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 roleApplying this dichotomy is an over-simplification of complex relations in societyIf 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 long- term 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 activitiesIn 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 crossingViewed from a border crossing perspective the social model is a crude analytical toolRequirement is for a sophisticated framework that adequately describes social relations without resorting to a dichotomy