Pity, Tragedy, Charity: History and the Overcoming Narrative

Tutorials start next week!
- Tutorial 576: 11:30 - 12:30 in KC005, with TA Catrina.
- Tutorial 577: 4:30 - 5:30 in LH105B, with the instructor.
- Tutorial 578: 10:30 - 11:30 in W175, with TA Brooklyn.

In the first tutorial, students will assess accessibility at a chosen location on campus in groups.
Evaluation areas include:
- Physical barriers
- Attitudinal barriers
- Signage
- Sensory barriers
Notes should be taken collectively, with focus on challenges encountered.
Each student must submit an individual form with insights from the group and personal reflections.
Due by 11:59 PM, one week post-tutorial; submissions should be detailed and in full sentences.
Required upload to OWL Brightspace along with site visit notes.

Identify narratives in “overcoming” disability.
Learn about disability history.
Discuss the overcoming narrative.
Identify examples of the overcoming narrative.
Recognize the overcoming narrative as a social construction influenced by individual model thinking.
Understand the dominance of overcoming/inspiration narratives.

The history of disability reveals the emergence of the overcoming narrative as a dominant storyline in culture.
Historically, disability was not viewed through a lens of rights or justice; instead, it was framed as:
- Punishment from God.
- Object of pity or charity.
- Defect needing cure or concealment.
The medicalization of disability arose with industrialization, where medical professionals and institutions decided on fitness and burden status.
The 20th century saw a split:
- War veterans being celebrated for overcoming impairments.
- Others being institutionalized or erased through eugenics policies.
Disability activists during the civil rights era challenged these narratives, asserting that inaccessibility and discrimination were the true problems, not the disabilities themselves.
Old narratives persist in media, workplaces, and sports, often presenting disabled people as inspirational figures primarily when they surpass their disabilities (the supercrip narrative).
This lecture aims to unpack the origins, power, and potential alternatives to the overcoming narrative, advocating for a focus on rights, justice, and interdependence rather than pity or inspiration.

Religious/Moral Frames:
- Disability interpreted as sin, curse, or divine punishment; narratives focused on enduring or redemption via suffering.
Charity & Pity:
- Disabled individuals were often viewed as objects of charity, beggars, or were institutionalized with survival seen as remarkable.

Individuals with disabilities were more visible in society due to a lack of institutional facilities (hospitals, asylums).
Families often lived communally and cared for disabled individuals.
Life expectancy was low:
- Women: 36-38 years, primarily due to childbirth.
- Men: 38-40 years; lower for the impoverished.
Mixed attitudes toward disability existed:
- Seen as punishment for sin, or as individuals closer to God and hence deserving salvation.

The Church began losing influence to science, adopting strict views on disability framed around sin and discipline.
Institutions arose that reflected societal control and punishment rather than compassion.

Enlightenment & Industrial Revolution:
- Increased immigration developed British colonies (Canada est. 1867).
- “Great Confinement” during the 17th century: Almshouses and Asylums became prevalent in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Punishment:
- Difference was a perceived threat, leading to stricter control and exclusion of disabled individuals into jails or hospitals.

Known as the age of reason; medical science began overriding user autonomy.
Institutions were training centers that dehumanized individuals, subjecting them to experimentation and exploitation.

Marked by a rise in intensive industry, characterized by:
- Absent health and safety regulations.
- Child labor and worker exploitation.
Urban crowding led to increased disease and early death.

The revolution shifted working conditions; longer hours and less specialization became common.
Factories required workers who were easily replaceable, amplifying harmful conditions and pollutants.

Diets suffered due to inadequate cooking facilities; common foods were cold and consisted of bread, potatoes, butter, beer, and tea.
Children participated in labor-intensive jobs, utilizing their small hands for machinery and often facing brutal conditions.

Workhouses emerged as a punitive Victorian response to poverty, marking a shift in societal views toward the impoverished.

Disability became a designated medical problem requiring correction.
The medical model emerged, dictating who was considered fit and who was a societal burden.

Popular entertainment featuring disabled individuals as curiosities.
The narrative reinforced stigma and the idea of disability as spectacle for enjoyment.

The 20th century saw two world wars significantly reshaping public perceptions of disability, particularly regarding veterans.
Charity Telethons depicted disabled individuals as inspirations, while eugenics targeted others for sterilization and institutionalization, presenting a dichotomy of value based on ability to overcome.

The social model of disability emerged as activists argued barriers, not bodies, caused disability.
Mainstream culture still clung to individual inspiration narratives instead of systemic change.

Focuses on disabilities that imply an individual’s failure to engage in certain activities due to their impairments. Celebrating individuals for “overcoming” their disabilities overlooks their true achievements.
Example cited by Stella Young about being honored merely for getting up in the morning.
Social Construction: The narrative suggests that if an individual works hard enough, they can achieve a traditional notion of “normal.”

Critical examination is essential when sharing disability stories on social media.
Considerations include:
- Why do certain narratives gain traction?
- What societal constructs do they enforce?

Overcoming narratives negatively portray disability, framing those who “overcome” as heroic while minimizing social barriers.
This constructed narrative diminishes agency and reinforces the status of disability as a master status.

Hayhoe (2019) - Describes the historical oppression of disabled individuals in relation to sin and morality.
Slorach - Details the segregation of disabled individuals into workhouses and asylums as a societal response to dependence.

Overcoming Narrative: The framing of disability in a way that emphasizes triumph over personal struggle rather than systemic change.