Disability/

AbilityBy Kirsty Steward

Dis

abili

ty

Definit

ion

1.A physical or mental

condition that limits a

person's movements,

senses, or activities.2.A disadvantage or

handicap, esp. one imposed or recognized

by the law.

Dis

abili

ty

Ste

reoty

pes

Regarding stereotypes for both

physical and mental

disabilities, a range of negative

stereotypes are enforced by

society. For example people in

wheelchairs are often

considered a liability by others

and are weak and defenceless.

Also people with mental

disabilities are considered as

stupid and different and usually

get the politically incorrect

insult of being a ‘retard’.

Phys

ical

Dis

abili

ty

In coronation street the character of Izzy is wheelchair

bound due to a condition called Ehlers-Danlos

syndrome in which she can walk but only for a short

amount of time before she becomes tired.

In the show she is represented as fitting in with society

as she has a job in the local underwear factory and her

group of friends are all able bodied meaning.

Furthermore she proves that she goes against the

stereotype of being weak and defenceless as seen in

the link as she stands up for herself and is still able to

work efficiently without assistance.

However able-bodied people’s reaction to her

condition is stereotypical as when she was first

introduced Eddie Windass , he insulted the newcomer

by telling Kirk: "You don't want to go out with a bird in

a wheelchair." This creates verisimilitude as not all people in society

are going to have a positive attitude towards disabled

people so this reflects real life and conforms to the

idea of Marx’s hegemony of stronger people being in

control physically.Yet Gary ends up dating Izzy and overcomes his

prejudice of her disability so the overall representation

of her character is positive and defies stereotypical

judgments.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqsYxpSLN3Y

Menta

l dis

abili

ty

In The Walking Dead, mental disability also

shows the signs of going against the

stereotypes of mentally disabled people.

This is seen with the character Rick who

throughout the series, is represented as

strong and in control as he fits Strauss’

theory of being a dominant character as he is

a white male who’s around 30-40 years old.

Yet after his wife’s death he becomes

depressed and has hallucinations which

cause him to panic and become distressed

with people around him( as seen in the clip

below).Again like with the previous slide, his

disability goes against the stereotype of

mentally disabled people being a stupid and

a burden to society to create verisimilitude as

although his exterior appears strong it proves

that mental disability isn’t a choice of

weakness, it’s an illness that can affect

anyone.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMvC94Jx

yRY