Comments on: On Normalcy and Identity Politics http://www.disabilityandrepresentation.com/2014/03/24/on-normalcy-and-identity-politics/ Changing the Cultural Conversation Tue, 01 Apr 2014 23:46:48 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.9.2 By: Atomic Geography http://www.disabilityandrepresentation.com/2014/03/24/on-normalcy-and-identity-politics/#comment-778924 Sun, 30 Mar 2014 20:56:39 +0000 http://www.disabilityandrepresentation.com/?p=3999#comment-778924 Well put – thanks.

I do have a refinement perhaps to suggest. Statistical normalcy calculated with scientific methods certainly is a fairly recent development. But a broader sense of normalcy of course is present in most groups. The Great Chain of Being for example codified a particular elaboration of normalcy that had a “natural” place for each class of thing and living being.

This drive for hierarchy is a feature of a significant part of human interaction. It can enable us to get things done, but of course at the costs you describe so well.

I wish I had an answer. I think the drive for solidarity is as strong as that for hierarchy. At least I hope it is. Maybe just reminding ourselves of this is a first step.

]]> By: Amy http://www.disabilityandrepresentation.com/2014/03/24/on-normalcy-and-identity-politics/#comment-778872 Wed, 26 Mar 2014 20:10:43 +0000 http://www.disabilityandrepresentation.com/?p=3999#comment-778872 This is really insightful Rachel. Very helpful too, and something I’ve been personally struggling to put in words. Although I (or you, or the person down the street) can often be labeled or identified in certain groups – the labels/identities don’t work well for me. Each group is so varied and each person is an individual with many, many different layers, that nobody fits an any designated box well. I think celebrating diversity, rather than trying to label/identify might be the way to go. Celebrating the wonderful variety of skin tones, the variety of ethnicities and cultures, the variety religions, the variety of how we see and process the world each in our own way. The world is a pretty fascinating place when you appreciate the differences, instead of trying to force an “ideal” onto everything. I like it!

]]> By: Individualism Disorder | Autism & Oughtisms http://www.disabilityandrepresentation.com/2014/03/24/on-normalcy-and-identity-politics/#comment-778841 Tue, 25 Mar 2014 00:37:27 +0000 http://www.disabilityandrepresentation.com/?p=3999#comment-778841 […] “On Normalcy and Identity Politics” by Rachel Cohen-Rottenberg, at “Disability and Representation.” […]

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