Well, I Know this is Going to Sound Very Strange to You, but I Don't See Myself as a Disabled Person: Identity and disability

Abstract

This paper focuses on issues of disabled people's notions of self-identity and is grounded in their accounts around their own self and identity. It starts with a brief description of what Hall (1996) describes as the two main schools of thought on identity. It then moves on to explore and discuss the self, and the embodied nature of self, and then explores the place of identity in disability studies. Disabled people's accounts around self-identification are then presented. The analysis of the data suggests that many of the informants do not see themselves as disabled and do not identify as disabled people. The political consequences of this are briefly examined. The views of those who identified as disabled are also explored.