The emergence of an us and them discourse in disability theory

Abstract

The changing social position of people with disabilities can be studied through the changing importance of three discourses: (1) normality/deviance, (2) equality/inequality, and (3) us/them. The normality/deviance discourse represents questions about rehabilitation and integration. The equality/inequality discourse represents the struggle for economic welfare and equal rights. Finally, the us/them discourse represents a valuing of disability as a basis for identity formation and as a question of ethnicity. The situation for deaf people will serve as an empirical case for outlining the theory of the three discourses. The discussion points out that the us/the outsiders discourse is underdeveloped in disability theory, and possible strategies for development are outlined