Disability and dirty workers: stories of physical, social and moral taint

Abstract

Returning to classics on dirty work and stigma, I offer another perspective on the difficulties that disabled people experience in employment. I claim that disabled workers with multiple sclerosis (MS) feel like ‘dirty workers’ not because of the work that they do, but because of their MS. Secondary analysis of phenomenological interview data revealed workers with MS feeling physical, social and moral taints normally associated with being a ‘dirty worker’ – but because of their MS-related impairments and disabilities. Two respondent stories are shared to illustrate this association.

Keywords:

• disability
• multiple sclerosis
• dirty work
• employment

Notes

1. I follow terminology from the social model of disability (Thomas 2004) originating in the United Kingdom, where ‘disabled person’ or ‘disabled worker’ are the terms of choice (Gray 2009). This model also distinguishes ‘impairment’ as a functional (physical, mental or sensory), rather than social, limitation. ‘Disability’, or ‘disablement’, describes social responses to impairment, such as discrimination, oppression, social exclusion and marginalisation (Barnes 1999; Oliver 1996; Oliver and Barnes 1998; Priestley 1999; Barnes and Mercer 2003; Thomas 2004; Sherry 2006). In Australia, it is more politically correct to refer to a ‘person with a disability’ (of which I am one). However, I have repeatedly found international reviewers troubled by this, hence my choice of terminology here.