I've been reading this book by a Yale law professor who discusses a new theory of civil rights. It's beautifully written and often reads more like a memoir than a treatise. I'm only halfway through the book, but find its discussion of "covering" interesting in the context of disability. The author posits that FDR was using "covering" behaviors (as opposed to "passing") when he sat behind desks at meetings to hide his disability. "Covering" is defined as "toning down a disfavored identity to fit into the mainstream".
The author reaches past conventional civil rights theories by positing that all human beings seek the right to be authentic and argues for a "new civil rights paradigm that moves away from group-based equality rights toward universal liberty rights, and away from legal solutions toward social solutions."
3 comments:
Interesting concept, this covering thing. People with disabilities that don't "show" are often not treated with the same consideration as those that do, though. I imagine there's been more than one person who wondered why I was using the Handicapped stall in a public bathroom, for instance.
I deliberately hide my disability which is invisible from others because of the way I've been treated when I tell people. This allows me to be treated like everyone else without having to deal with questions all the time and the curiosity I've seen people have. I would rather have a disability that doesn't "show" personally because I have a choice about whether to tell people or not.
Thanks for your comments - and hope we get more over here. I think it's interesting how our experiences as people with disabilities can be so different - look at how much difference there is based on if a disability is "invisible" or not, for example.
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