What Wounds Enable: The Politics of Disability and Violence in Chicago

Abstract

<p>This paper is about what wounds reveal about the diversity among stigmatized groups. My argument is that the focus on mitigating social difference within the disability rights movement has inadvertently served to obscure key distinctions among disabled populations. As evidence for my thesis, I focus this paper on anti-gang forums hosted by disabled ex-gang members. Examining these forums ethnographically—and investigating the argument made by disabled, ex-gang members that their wounds<em> enable</em> them to save lives—allows me to describe some of the contexts in which it becomes politically strategic to inhabit the role of a "defective body" in order to make claims about a violent society.</p>

Bringing the (disabled) body to personality psychology: A case study of Samantha

“…Intersectional approaches have traditionally focused on race, class, gender, and sexual orientation—so much so that this particular list of social categories has been referred to as the “mantra of feminist and critical race work in psychology” (Fine & Burns, , p. 841)—but other axes of identity, particularly other stigmatized axes such as disability, certainly belong in intersectional analyses. Within the field of disability studies itself, several critics have pointed out the striking lack of emphasis on the intersection of disability status with other identities (Bell, ; Erevelles & Minear, ; Ralph, ). Thus, in bringing disability studies to the field of personality psychology, I will also strive to examine Sam's deafness as it intersects with other axes of her identity.…”

Gangsters and wheelchairs: urban teachers’ perceptions of disability, race and gender

“…If this is accurate, there is a need for scholars to delve more deeply into diverse cultural contexts to examine and eradicate the multiple ways that racial and disabled bodies endure the mark of otherness (Agosto 2014;Ferri 2010). This investigation therefore begins with emphasis on how master-narratives of disability are mediated through systems of deep structural, historical and racial stereotypes (Ralph 2012). DisCrit was employed as the theoretical framework to analyze the qualitative data collected for this study.…”

“…Homicide is the leading cause of death for African-American males 15-34 years of age (Center for Disease Control 2010). These victims of gun violence are more likely to live and sustain permanent physical injury (Ralph 2012). Moreover, disability due to gun violence is the second leading cause of disability in urban areas (disability due to car accidents is the primary cause of death in urban areas) (Ralph 2012).…”

“…These victims of gun violence are more likely to live and sustain permanent physical injury (Ralph 2012). Moreover, disability due to gun violence is the second leading cause of disability in urban areas (disability due to car accidents is the primary cause of death in urban areas) (Ralph 2012). Given these circumstances and the already tense racial realities in America and its impact on African-American males, there is a need for scholarship that deeply explores the experiences of urban African-American males with disabilities.…”

“…In another investigation of the social complexity of African-American men with disabilities in urban communities, Ralph (2012) offers non-fictional accounts of counter-narratives that challenge the prevailing notions surrounding the medical model of disability. Ralph's (2012) ethnographic study of men with disabilities who reside in urban communities underscores the need to examine multiple facets of diverse communities to identify the ways in which disabled communities are stratified across lines of race/ethnicity and masculinity. For instance, his examination of physically disabled, ex-gang members demonstrates how these men exemplified the negative consequences of gang violence.…”