Kylie's Project: Cultural Differences

Society is driven by norms and obligations that leads us to having negative perspectives and attitudes toward disabled individuals. We have internalized the physical appearance has a social standard. When the physical differences are not conformed by members of society, individuals with those differences tend to be rejected. For example, in the movie “The Butterfly Circus”, Will was being treated almost like he was not human because he had no arms nor legs. In addition, members of society tend to associate disables as non-productive. According to professor Nanoch Liveh, “The level of societal development, the rate of unemployment, beliefs concerning the origins of poverty, and the importance attached to the nation’s welfare economy and security are all contributing factors affecting attitudes toward people with disabilities.” Not only, social norms

In her essay “On Being a Cripple”, Nancy Mairs presents her audience with an honest inside view of her life and perspective as a cripple, a word she openly uses to define herself. She brings her world to us by discussing a wide variety of things including language, family, and humor, and how these all relate to her life. Through various stories and insights, she allows her readers to gain an understanding and acceptance of people with disabilities. She examines the public’s view of the disabled, as well as the views they have of themselves, and compares them to her own. She makes it clear that she is not to be defined solely by her disability. In discussing honestly her views, as well as

In the book, The Short Bus, Jonathan Mooney’s thesis is that there is more to people than their disabilities, it is not restricting nor is it shameful but infact it is beautiful in its own way. With a plan to travel the United States, Mooney decides to travel in a Short bus with intentions of collecting experiences from people who have overcome--or not overcome--being labeled disabled or abnormal. In this Mooney reinvents this concept that normal people suck; that a simple small message of “you’re not normal” could have a destructive and deteriorating effect. With an idea of what disabilities are, Mooney’s trip gives light to disabilities even he was not prepared to face, that he feared.

Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon is a novel that not only shares with us how one copes with a disability but how others perceive them differently. Moon opens eyes of the reader, having them emotionally attached to the novel making them aware of how one with a disability may be treated positively or negatively. Some members of society do not empathize with individuals that have disabilities and the challenges they adhere. They often label people with disabilities as being an inconvenience, not “normal”, and lacking intelligence, whereas others are non-judgmental and show compassion. They provide their support and encouragement. People should not allow stereotypes to define a person’s identity. Even though a disability is often considered to be negative the main character in the novel contradicts this commonly perceived assumption.

In this weeks reading, I read the narrative essay “Disability: There is more than meets the I” by Katie Cooper. Prior to the reading the essay, I expected being paired with similar essays that might have expressed mental disabilities and the struggle with them. Similarly to my expectations, Cooper delves into her experience at nine years old of learning she was dyslexic. Cooper goes into detail about how unsettling it was learning she had a disability and discovering the definition of disability had made her doubt herself. It is important to critically assess Cooper’s narrative in order to understand the role of narratives and how it helps with the acceptance of the identity of being disabled.

We encounter disability everywhere we go and we do not realize it. Prior to this assignment, I never acknowledged how frequently we encounter disability. Some of my encounters over this 24-Hour period have been positive ones, but some focused on disability in a negative way.

Disability has appeared frequently in recent films (Byrd & Elliot, 1988), a reflection of society’s interest in the subject. These films often misrepresent disability using stereotypes. These stereotypes reinforce negative and incorrect social perceptions of, and attitudes towards,

In my second week of Asian American Studies, I got to learn about how the reality of Asian Americans being in poverty level are often overlooked by popular myths about how Asian Americans are best educated, high income, and very successful. The common theme through all the readings in class is that Asians are commonly discriminated as one monolithic group and are often judged by their race and culture. In fact, I used to face such discrimination during my childhood from other kids assuming I am Chinese and have small eyes as well as any other common Asian stereotypes. Asian Americans do not resemble just the high end of the spectrum to being very successful and intelligent, but they also resemble the lower end of the spectrum to those living in poverty and do not have a good chance of a good future.

How does a person with a disability fit into a multicultural paradigm? Do they fit into a multicultural paradigm? What happens when a person with a disability is also a member of another marginalized group? In order to answer these questions and fully understand disabilities in multiculturalism, we will examine how a person with disability fits into a pluralist multicultural paradigm.

The author states, “Riding has made me a lot stronger and has improved my balance and coordination. But the best part is the freedom I feel. All riders will tell you that when they get on a horse, their whole world seems to expand. But if you have physical limitations, like I do, the difference is huge. This shows what people do to help them with a disability. Also the author says, “KYLIE (laughs). But, Emily, I wasn’t talking about my disability. I was talking about what it’s like to be a rider. Get it? [EMILY thinks for a moment, then answers with a shy smile.] EMILY. I think I’m starting to.” This piece of text evidence is showing how she doesn't call it a disability and that she doesn't let the disability affect her. As you can see, people can cope with different things like a

We are all equal. This statement is a phrase that many people, even in this day and age, have trouble fully grasping. No human is greater than another no matter the color of their skin or the beliefs in their heart. In the sources, “Finding Her Way” with Angela Park and, “Kylie’s Project,” the struggles of those facing discrimination through cultural differences and disabilities can be portrayed in a way that clarifies the viewpoint of the emotions and challenges many people have to go through. In the two texts, the reader can better understand how people who have cultural differences and disabilities must rise up against their hardships and fight against discrimination to prove that they are equal to everyone else.

There are prominent themes represented in mass media that characterize people with impairments. One such theme is the metaphorical use of disability in children’s stories and films. Frequently the arc of a story relies on assigning physical deformities to villains, and portraying the hero or heroine as attractive and loved. Rarely will a disabled character have a pivotal role; most commonly they are relegated to secondary status, used as plot device to garner sympathy for a maudlin character to be saved by the hero, or to have the hero triumph over the reviled villain. The use of pity or repulsion with regards to disabled characters mirrors the sense of otherness society imposes in real life.

3. People with disabilities are often told they can’t do the things they want to do. Show how the saying “fake it until you make it” is a common theme throughout the book.

Sarah interviewed Tawny who is a thirty-two-year-old special educations teacher who is legally blind. However not fully blind she can still see very little; she would like other to know that there are different forms of blindness. Tawny has never allowed her disability to slow her down, although she had it very difficult in school, she lived her life with the same expectations as others. She adjusts what she can control to accommodate her disability and will only as for help when needed. There are obvious things she can never do on her own, because her parents never allowed her to go somewhere alone or deal with

“Every society should have a mirror held up it by the outsider”. When reading this quote from Ping Chong, I immediately began thinking abut society and how people conform together. As time goes by, it is human nature that people come together in groups and they start to think in this way. While these people are conforming together, those who are not related in personality or are not considered to be part of that group, they are discarded and outcast. Therefore, these outcasts become those outsiders who are able to tell the truths of each group without the bias perspective of a member in the group. For example, my teammates or I were to talk about our basketball team, we would have a biased perspective of trying to make it seem as great as possible. However, if I were to ask an outsider on the Denison campus to describe his/her feelings on the team, it would not shock me to hear a different response. This contrast in responses results from people in certain niches to conform together and think alike. The longer they are together, the more that they will continue to conform without even realizing it. Therefore, to get a non-biased perspective in today’s society, disabled people should be the ones to hold up a mirror and show them their trueselves. Only through this action or from another outcast group will society see who they truly are, which was happened because they are not comparing themselves to whom they already banished from their inner circle.