"Modern Day 'Freaks'? The Exploitation of People with Disabilities,"

Abstract

Leandra Bedini, in her article "Modern Day 'Freaks'? The Exploitation of People with Disabilities," (Therapeutic Recreation Journal, Volume XXIV, Fourth Quarter, 1991) makes three main assertions about people with disabilities and about therapeutic recreation specialists. She asserts that (1) historically society has exploited people with disabilities ("by viewing them as objects of amusement and entertainment"), (2) currently society is still exploiting people with disabilities, and (3) therapeutic recreation specialists can do something about changing society's attitudes about people with disabilities. I agree with her first and third assertions and somewhat with her second, but not to the degree with which she makes that assertion. Bedini gives many examples ofhow people with disabilities have been viewed as amusement in the past. Historically, society has viewed people with disabilities as something less than human, much the same as society viewed people from other minority groups (Le., African-Americans and Native Americans). Society has changed a great deal in recent decades and this belief is no longer the norm. In fact, legislation such as the Education for All Handicapped Children Act and more recently, the Americans with Disabilities Act were enacted to insure people with disabilities are treated equally with people without disabilities. Of course, legislation does not change people's attitudes, only their actions. More subtle forms of exploitation do still exist, as Bedini claims, but not, in my opinion, to the degree to which Bedini claims it does. Yes, mass media does exploit people's disabilities in order to amuse, entertain, and make money. However, mass media exploits other people's differences to amuse, entertain, and make money. For example, the "National Enquirer" had headlines about "the giraffe-necked woman" and Maria Shriver's extreme weight loss. Celebrities are exploited in such magazines more often than people with disabilities, when their personal lives and problems are shown in an effort to amuse others. I'm not saying its okay to exploit people with disabilities because we're exploiting other people, too, but I want to point out that magazines like this are not singling out people with disabilities. Unfortunately, our culture is quite willing to be entertained by other people's differentness, mistakes, and personal lives. Bedini also dislikes media representations which glorify people with disabilities. Two examples she uses are Mary from "Little House on the Prairie" and Ironside from "Iron-side." As a long-time viewer of"Little House on the Prairie," I do not recall Mary (who was blind) as having any more "special gifts" than her sister Laura (who was not blind)-both obeyed their parents for the most part, both married and raised children, and both became teachers. Ironside, a wheelchair user, however, was a great detective but so was Columbo, a non-wheelchair using detective. For the most part, most TV detectives, police officers, and lawyers are just a little smarter, better, meaner, etc., than the average person-otherwise why would we watch those shows? Bedini quotes several sources which contend that literature, art, television, and film show people with disabilities as "evil or super human," but nothing in between. This is beginning to change, at least with television. Several recent television commercials, such as those sponsored by Budweiser, American Telephone and Telegraph, and Diamond Crystal, have used people in wheelchairs as part of their commercials. Television shows such as "Life Goes on" and "L.A. Law" use characters portraying individuals who have mental retardation and "St. Elsewhere" used a character with infantile autism. All three of these shows provided a fair representation of these character's abilities without making judgments about their goodness or badness. It would seem that advertisers and producers have begun to recognize people with disabilities as being a part of "normal" society and are portraying them in a more realistic manner. Although there has been improved positive attitudes toward people with disabilities in recent years, Bedini is correct in saying that there are still "fears and prejudices based on misperceptions." I agree with Bedini's assertion that therapeutic recreation specialists can do something to change people's attitudes and I have a couple more suggestions, in addition to the ones Bedini made, about what T.R. specialists can do. One important step that can be made is to make people aware of the importance of their language. The language we use everyday shows the kinds of attitudes we have toward people with disabilities. Only last year I was shocked to hear three of my classmates (in a special education class) refer to a person with speech and hearing impairments as "deaf and dumb." These same people would never dream ofcalling an African-American "a nigger" yet they did not seem to realize they were using the same type ofoffensive and inappropriate language about a person with disabilities. There needs to be an increased awareness in the general public of which words are appropriate and which words are inappropriate. T.R. specialists could assist the public as well as other professionals in becoming aware of the "correct" language and encourage its usage.l People with disabilities and their families also need to be aware ofthe language they use. People who have recently become disabled and parents ofchildren with disabilities are often unaware ofthe negative impact they are making on their own, or their children's, self-concepts and goals. T.R. specialists may need to share with their clients and their client's families the appropriate language in order to eliminate those subtle negative effects. One other important step T.R. specialists can take to improve other people's attitudes toward people with disabilities is to provide equal status opportunities for integration. We frequently have misconceptions and stereotypes about things, situations, and people we are unfamiliar with. By providing opportunities for people with and without disabilities,)..to interact together, T.R. specialists can help others realize just how "normal" people with disabilities are. Society has come a long way from the blatant and socially acceptable exploitation of people with disabilities. We still have some changes to make before all people are treated equally. It is not, and should not be, the sole responsibility oftherapeutic recreation specialists but this is an area in which T.R. specialists can make a big contribution.