Thread by @Imani_Barbarin

So today’s disability thread is about models of disability and how they inform what you’re experiencing in regards to #coronavirus and #COVID19.

I’m going to be talking
•Medical Model
•Charity Model
•individual model
•Eugenics/eradication model
•social model

Thread>>>

Ok, so first things first: many disabled activists, including myself, have noted that the #COVID19 response from both the public and government have been steeped in ableism. This is true, but there are different models of disability that inform the way people approach

Disability and therefore respond to issues that stem from it both internally and externally.

There are dozens of them. But I will only be talking about the 5 as noted above because they’re what I believe have been most prevalent in this response.

The first two I’m going to talk about are the individual model and the social model of disability.

The individual model of disability, aka the tragedy model sees disability as an individual issue stemming from “infirmities” found within that individual

disability-studies.leeds.ac.uk/wp-content/upl…

Quite often, proponents of this philosophy see disability as an solitary problem to be addressed by individual action.

The social model of disability says that disability isn’t simply the medicalization of a diagnosis, but a loved experience in which social barriers and

Hurdles are in place that disable an individual.

I mention these two at the same time because the social worker behind them, Mike Oliver (1983) saw the two as somewhat on opposite sides of one another. Additionally, I did this because they are considered the first

Two models from which many others stem.

Speaking of which, let’s go to the medical model of disability. Oliver saw the medical model as a part of the individual model of disability.

The medical model is characterized by the “intervention in ... and control of disability.”

He prominently noted that doctors have great control over disability and often address disability issues that may or may not be caused by the diagnosis.

So, for example: as someone with a disability that causes difficulty walking, the instinct of the medical profession is not

To address the inaccessibility of buildings or public spaces, but to change me through medical intervention like physical therapy.

Many disabled people do not like either of the individual or medical model of disability because it quite often puts the burden of living in an

Inaccessible world on disabled people rather than dismantling or addressing the structures and institutions that are inaccessible to us.

Many advocates and activists, including myself, gravitate towards the social model of disability because inaccessibility, bias

And discrimination is a societal problem not just an individual one.

The next model I’d like to talk about is the charity model of disability.

The charity model of disability sees disabled people as “poor unfortunate souls” and “victims” of disability. This offshoot of the

Individual model of disability sees us in need of nondisabled people’s “help,” otherwise, we wouldn’t be able to do anything for ourselves. (Insert eye roll) it’s pretty safe to say that a majority of disabled people hate this one. Many charities themselves impose upon disabled

People what they think we need without ever consulting us. Hard pass.

daru.org.au/what-is-advoca…

So the last model I’m going to talk about isn’t really a disability model at all, but still needs to be discussed, because it comes up shockingly often.

TW: Eugenics

Eugenics is Nazi shit. It’s basically the manipulation of reproduction or genetics to eradicate “undesirable traits.” This quite often means disability. It’s important to note that this theory has been used against different races and ethnicities as well, but let us not forget

That nazis believe any other variation other than straight, white and abled bodied was inherently disabled or malformed.

Ok, I need a shower after that gross eugenics shit, but first let me explain how all of these things have come together to inform the #COVID19 response.

The covid response and the unbelievable death toll is heavily influenced by the individual model of disability and its various offshoots—particularly at the hands of authoritarian governments.

#COVID19 is a social disease that has been met with an individual response.

People, businesses and states have, for the most part, been left to fend for themselves. They are told to rely on the medical industry and charities to address a range of problems from the medical supply chain to securing food and shelter. The sense is that there’s

“Always someone around to help”

Don’t get me wrong, we need medical intervention to fight this virus, but many of the problems we’re experiencing aren’t just medical.

Society was built to create and enforce the barriers to personal security that many are currently experiencing.

The exact situation we’re in is precisely why many disability advocates work from the social model framework.

Our diagnoses are one thing, but the physical, structural and societal barriers that society puts in our way directly disables our ability to succeed in and inhabit

Public space.

Ask yourselves: how precious and precarious is public space right now?

[end of apologetically long thread]