Coming of Age among Blind People in Israel

ABSTRACT

Based on ethnographic observations amongst adults blinded in childhood, this paper extends the study of stigma and handicap into the domestic setting. The respondents described their sighted parents' patronising practices towards them. Parents were reported to have attempted to channel their blind offspring into less-than-optional occupations and marriages. Social conditions were frequently such that blind youths were in a situation of status inconsistency—their educational achievements were superior to their occupational achievements. Current social conditions have also improved marital chances for blind women of Middle-Eastern background. All this leads to a chasm between the traditional outlook of sighted parents and the reality in which their blind offspring live. The latter relate ambivalently towards their parents, and sometimes distance themselves from them and their communities of origin.