Nancy Mairs On Being A Cripple Summary

Disabled women in society are doubly marginalized; they are neither understood or accepted by mainstream heterosexual society or by feminist theorists. Indeed, according to Susan Wendell, their embodied social reality has been ignored by philosophers and feminist theorists. The main focus of Susan Wendell’s article on “Towards a Feminist Theory of Disability”is to use the power of her own experience of going from able to disabled to argue that the voice of the disabled is missing from the standard theoretical arguments that guide medical intervention, philosophical understanding and feminist perspectives. She offers the reader the novel perspective that disabled people know more about their problems and potential solutions than able

In “On Being a Cripple”, Nancy Mairs, an American poet and essayist, describes her personal battle with multiple sclerosis, a degenerative disease of the central nervous system with no known cure. She begins with a personal account of falling into a toilet because she loses control over several motions. Mairs prefers to be called a cripple rather than a disabled or handicapped person, although she acknowledges that this is not the same as others’ preference. She explains her journey from being a young, active child, to losing control of her body and developing a blurred spot in one eye in her late twenties. As her body continues to break down, Mairs tries to stay involved by participating in activities like bridge and

Someone who is crippled often receives pity and sympathy from others, but do cripples always want this? In this passage entitled “On Being a Cripple,” Nancy Mairs uses interesting word choice, repetition, and a sarcastic tone to touch upon a subject that most mature non-crippled Americans are not entirely comfortable with; using the so widely feared word “cripple” instead of the common “handicapped” or “disabled” to be polite or politically correct. Elaborating to a society, so infatuated with being politically correct, that using a word considered derogatory to most may be necessary according to exact definition is Mairs’s purpose in writing this passage.

Author of disability Nancy Mairs who’s a feminist and a cripple, has accomplished a lot in writing and teaching. Her remarkable personality shows in many of her essays especially in Disability which was first published in 1987 in the New York Times. In this essay, Nancy Mairs shows how disabled people are constantly excluded, especially from the media. By giving out facts and including her personal experiences, Mairs aims for making some changes regarding the relationship between the media and people with disabilities. Mairs thesis is shown implicitly in the first

Additionally, Mairs continues to discuss the role of society in her struggle with multiple sclerosis. Though she has a relatively positive perspective of herself, Mairs admits that her self- perception often wavers not only because of the realities of MS, but also from societal pressures. “Part of the pressure arises from social expectations. In our society, anyone who deviates from the norm had better find some way to compensate.” Because of this, Mairs intends to be a “good cripple” and live life to the best of her ability. She recalls her adolescent conflict with self-alienation that was due to the influence of society’s version of an ideal woman, and how those feelings resurged in response to the devastation diagnosis of MS. “Like many women I know, I have always had an uneasy relationship with my body...the self-loathing I feel is neither physically nor intellectually substantial. What I hate is not me but a

In “On Being a Cripple,”  Nancy Mairs describes her life as a “cripple,” being treated different for her multiple sclerosis. She describes how society views her as handicapped or disabled both which are terms that the author dislikes.  Her viewpoint makes readers question their own beliefs on how the terms handicapped, disabled, or cripple influences a person to think differently about each term and its meaning. One of the reasons I chose this essay was because the author shows how different terms could affect the way society thinks about a person. Mairs believes that society often judge others based on their physical appearance and use the terms handicapped, disabled, or cripple to label. She argues that the outcome of this is creates an idea where being a cripple, or being disabled is considered a taboo where you're expected to be treated differently. Mairs claims that society i

Even as Mairs still suffers, she has learned to handle herself in the face of adversity. She is forced to handle the fact that there is little that she can do to combat her condition. In contrast to her feelings at the beginning of her journey when she focused on the amount that her disease was ruining her life, she became able to not let that define her. She is aware of

Nancy Mairs in her passage introduces the American society while including her life struggle with multiple sclerosis. Mairs demonstrates confidence of the condition with which she lives in and her calling herself a “cripple”. Her tolerance of this cruel reality guides her essay through a series of arguments as she utilizes pathos and others to communicate her opinion and feelings.

This starts the structure of her simple sentences, which has readers understanding where she comes from. Nancy Mairs tone is positive for her to be crippled. As a “cripple” Mairs wants people to see her “as a tough customer,” hence the fact people “wince” when “cripple” is mentioned. Although, Nancy Mairs is proud to call herself

Nancy Mairs, author of this passage, who has multiple sclerosis talks about herself and her decisions on why she calls herself a “cripple.” While she does this, she also criticizes words like “handicapped” and “disabled.” She tells a small story and her views on certain things while also explaining the reasoning behind calling herself a “cripple.” Mairs conveys why she is a cripple in her mind through her tone, word choice, and passage structure. Mairs your in this passage is calm at first but as she gets more into a sensitive topic, for her, she begins to be much more upset.

She talks about this quote from George Orwell that says “the slovenliness of our language makes it easier for us to have foolish thoughts.” she uses this quote to elaborate on why she does not use certain terms and why she chose the term cripple. She believes that everyone has the right to choose who they want to be. Which is difficult

According to Gilson and DePoy (2000), “Medical model characterizes persons with disabilities in terms of deficits, loss and functional limitations because of some type of mental or physical impairment. Their situation is viewed as unfortunate and incurable, and they are viewed as permanently handicapped and relegated to abnormal status.” (as cited in Artman & Daniels, 2010, p. 442) With this in mind, Shanon was able to validate C’s experiences and feelings, letting her know what her internal experiences are justified. Specifically, C’s anger from being treated like a problem to solve was not just because she had bipolar disorder and she was able to accept her feelings (symbolic). Additionally, due to her breast cancer diagnosis, she has been forced to take stalk of her life and to review her relationships with her daughter. Instead of conforming to the societal norms of motherhood, she was able to acknowledge that she was not able to meet her daughter’s expectations. Rather, C forgave herself and accepted the fact that their account of the past were different and she was able to allow herself and her daughter space. Her wisdom and her ability to step outside of the societal constructs (gender and disability) when faced with a terminal disease is

Being pitied based on a condition is a burden to those that are close, such as family and friends. When Mairs’s family helped Mairs with the chores and tried to make her feel as comfortable as a normal person, Mairs began to be skeptical that “they were faking. Tugging at the fringes of [her] consciousness always is the terror that people are kind to [her] only because [she is] a cripple” (Mairs 265). She also added that she “always suspected them of...professing fondness while silently putting up with [her] because of the way [that she was]. A cripple, [she has] been a little cracked ever since” (Mairs 266). Sometimes I wondered if my relatives and friends pitied me for having Scoliosis. My friends and relatives

Soyster’s “Living Under Circe’s Spell” and Mairs’s “On Being a Cripple” both use emotional appeals to describe how living with Multiple Sclerosis truly is. The authors use of pathos helps the reader to connect to Soyster and Mairs’s stories more and really understand and sympathize with them. Soyster’s use of pathos is more to show how hard and deep it strikes you to find out that you have MS and the sense of defeat that one gains from it. Soyster explains how, when he learned he suffered from MS, his “response [...] was compensation and denial” he “thought [he] could go on as before,

There are many different types of disabilities that exist. Whether it be a learning, medical, or physical disability, they will all take tolls on one’s life. Disabilities are but a mere stepping stone on the path to success. In a way, everyone experiences some sort of a disability in their lifetime. I was presented with the opportunity to spend a day simulating a physical disability. I chose to use crutches for a day to learn what life was like with a broken foot, and boy was it eye-opening