What does wheelchair represent? Deaf, blind, mute, depression and etc... Well, all of those listed words belong to the word "DISABILITY".I believe the wheelchair sign do not reflect all disable people equally for example, blindness does not involve anyone sitting in a wheelchair and on top of that, they won't be able to see the sign.
I consider the wheelchair sign as a stereotype. Wheelchair signs means the person is physically disable. What about mentally disabled people?
There are many other ways to identify disability. For example, maybe the letter "D" for disabled?
My questions are;
1) Does the wheelchair sign reflect all disable people equally?
2) Is the wheelchair sign a stereotype? If yes, why?
3) Is there another sign to represent disable people equally?
1) No. This is because it generalizes the word "disable". Disability can be a variety of things and as you mentioned above it does not only include amputated limbs, (or other physically disabled parts of the body).
ReplyDelete2) It is very stereotypical. It makes the assumption that ALL disabled people need a wheel chair. It categorizes all disability to one specific type. (According to the sign), Because all disabled people are categorized to be wheel chair bound, that means that all wheel chair bound people are also mentally disabled. This is wrong.
3) Many are not aware but there are many other disability signs that are more specific.
Here are some examples.
Forgot to paste the link
ReplyDelete3) Examples http://www.bbc.co.uk/ouch/images/flush_286/db_awards6.jpg
First of all, I'd like to define what a disability is. A disability (or lack of a given ability) in humans may be physical, cognitive/mental, sensory, emotional, developmental or some combination of these. So as you said, this are all blanketed under the same category of a disability. Now the wheelchair sign being a reflection of all disabled people is obviously incorrect. People with different disabilities have different needs that have to be attended too, but I think that the wheelchair sign is a more general image that incapsulates all these different types of disabilities, just as the word "disability" is used generally to describe a person with a handicap, but it also incapsulates different sub-disablilities that make up that word.
ReplyDeleteI think that the wheelchair sign being viewed as a stereotype is true in a sense that people might assume that whoever parks in the handicapped spot might be a paraplegic, but on the other hand, there could be someone like us, from Ms. Drapers, who have talked about the varies types of disabilities, have understand their meanings to a certain extent and are generally aware of the affects they have on a human being, but the odds of that happening are slim.
As for your last question, I don't think there would be a universal sign that represents all people with different disabilities equally because it would be hard not to offend someone, but maybe instead of a letter or a wheelchair, it could be a hand sign that represents this.
Imagine if you were mentally disabled and you were asked to join the other disabled people in a room. As you were walking into the room, you noticed a wheelchair sign on the door. Will you feel insulted? Why or why not?
ReplyDeletei would feel wrongly protrayed because not all people are disabled and it would be better if they had the word or something
ReplyDeleteI do agree that the wheelchair is a misinterpretation of people with disabilities, because it just categorizes them into one symbol. It shows someone in a wheelchair, even though not all disabled people can't walk. In reality there aren't signs for every single disability out there, but it's better than no sign.
ReplyDeleteTo Fowzia: Some disabilities have their own designated signs
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bbc.co.uk/ouch/images/flush_286/db_awards6.jpg
i agree that the wheel chair is a sterotype for disabled people because not all disabled people need a wheelchair some could walk by themselves. The sign categorize all disabled people into one because i think most people know that the wheel chair sign is for a disable and its is easeier for people to remember.
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ReplyDeleteAfter reading all the comments discussing a universal all in one sign for Disability, I decided to come up with one. Lets keep it plain and simple. (Text alignment, it the hardest thing in the world. Especially on this blog. This sign was initially a circle, but that did not work out.)
ReplyDelete..............................................
l............................................l
l............................................l
l............................................l
l............................................l
l.........DISABILITY...............l
l............................................l
l............................................l
l............................................l
l............................................l
..............................................
When we see a person on a wheelchair, the first thing that goes into our mind is that the person has some kind of a physical disability.
ReplyDeleteAll your points are excellently portrayed and I agree with all of them. People with disabilities are usually taken as retards, as people with no knowledge whatsoever or they are considered a national disgrace, these being only a few of the things these people have to deal with every day.
A person's natural reaction to someone on a wheelchair is to feel pity for them and help them with something that they are doing while they don't understand that people who are on a wheelchair are not completely disable. If they are out alone, means that they can actually help themselves do anything they want to do.
One of the stereotypes that we discussed in class which is basically what I observed in many people was that they believe that a person with a physical disability must have a mental disability as well.
This stereotype probably comes from the fact that people on a wheelchair are not normal people and they have to have special care, special attention and extra help with their basic needs.
I think people fail to see that this sign, though very stereotypical and insulting to the different types of disability, is a universal logo. not to say that its the right picture/symbol to signify disabled people but because it has been used as a traditional sign for this meaning it would be very difficult to change and place some other sign to represent the same thing.
ReplyDeleteAlso immagine a parking lot... people nowadays already get irritated because there are separated parking spots for the disabled immagine if a dozen more parking spots where taken out of the public to be reserved for the deaf, the schizopohrenic, downsyndrom or anyother disability... people would fight the government on the restrictions on parking. And in the end how often will those extra spots be occupied.