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A Search for
Indications of Disability Culture
in Magazines Marketed to the Disability Community
by Jeffrey Alan John
Department of Communication
Wright State University
Dayton, OH 45435
(937) 848-7108 (H)
(937) 775-2030 (W)
e-mail:
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A paper presented to
the Disability and Media Interest Group
Association for Education in Journalism
and Mass Communication
Chicago, Illinois
August, 1997
A Search for
Indications of Disability Culture
in Magazines Marketed to the Disability Community
by Jeffrey Alan John
Department of Communication
Wright State University
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to report results of a study that sought to
identify subjects or subject matter that could be construed as indicators of a
specific or unique disability culture. As its methodology the study employed a
preliminary content analysis of publications that seek as their readership a
general audience of people with disabilities. Results provide evidence of
generally accepted prerequisites of culture, such as tools and technology, a
shared value system in support of the individual with a disability, and an
emphasis on events and information that promote empowerment and interaction
within the disability community.
A Search for
Indications of Disability Culture
in Magazines Marketed to the Disability Community
by Jeffrey Alan John, Wright State University
Introduction
A sense of unity among persons with disabilities has become more prominent in
recent years (Scotch, 1993, p. 238), and has gained momentum since enactment of
the Americans With Disabilities Act in 1990. Recently some of the more assertive
individuals and organizations in the disability community have emphasized the
unique aspects of the disability experience and hinted at a concept of
"disability culture."
The concept of "disability culture" is distinct from examination a larger
culture's attitude toward disability or the individual with a disability, an
approach that has been examined from the perspective of mass media (Nelson,
1994), sociology (Ingstad and White, 1995; Hanks and Poplin, 1990), history
(Irvin, 1997), and medical communication (Bogdan, Brown and Foster, 1992), as
well as numerous medical and rehabilitation studies. Rather, identification of
disability as a determining factor for membership in a distinct culture --or
perhaps more accurately a subculture--has developed out of a background
including philosophies and experiences of the deaf community, which has a
history of describing itself as a unique culture, and self-determination drives
such as the Independent Living movement founded in Berkley as an alternative to
institutionalized care of persons with disabilities. In addition, disability
culture as a separate minority phenomena finds some theoretical foundations in
the oppression theories of Paolo Freire.
However, the concept of "disability culture" has emerged so recently that its
dimensions remain relatively unexplored. Scotch (1990) notes "it may be more
accurate to characterize people with disabilities as members of a social
category rather than as an identifiable social or political group" (p. 239).
Irvin (1997) observes that women, blacks, gays and lesbians have united behind
their group status, whereas people with disabilities have not. "All of these
people have their own pride movements. We barely do," she comments (p. 3). On
the other hand, an Institute on Disability Culture in Las Cruces, New Mexico,
"specializes in exploring the history, ideology, and diverse expressions of our
culture," and co-founder Steven Brown notes, "We share a common history of
oppression and a common bond of resilience. We generate art, music, literature
and other expressions of our lives, our culture, infused from our experience of
disability." (Brown, 1997)
Has an identifiable, unique disability culture now emerged? The purpose of this
paper is to report results of a study that sought to identify subjects or
subject matter that could be construed as indicators of a specific or unique
disability culture. As its methodology the study employed a preliminary content
analysis of publications that seek as their readership people with disabilities.
Survey of literature
Exploration to identify the boundaries of a culture of disability is made
difficult at a fundamental level because borders are ill-defined around even the
term "culture." Sociologists Applebaum and Chambliss (1995) say
culture constitutes the materials out of which we construct our identities and
our perceptions of the world. It comprises the lens through which we view the
world, as well as the materials by which we might alter that lens and thereby
the world itself.(p. 54)
They further define culture as "all the beliefs, behaviors and products common
to members of a particular group" (p. 54), and include language, goods made and
consumed, membership in organizations and tools and technology as elements of a
culture.
Henslin (1995) emphasizes the arbitrary nature of culture, and observes that
larger cultures break into subcultures. "Each subculture has a distinctive way
of looking at life," he says (p. 44), and he notes for example that ethnic
groups may form subcultures that "pride themselves on how they differ from the
dominant culture" (p. 44). In addition, he observes that some
groups--countercultures--form values in opposition to the dominant culture, and
may constitute a perceived threat to the dominant group.
Friere (1970, 1985) has developed a body of theory relative to this concept of
subcultures as a threat to dominant groups. In his studies of the interactions
of dominant cultures with indigenous cultures, he observes educational and
political action which he defines as "cultural invasion." He urges an
alternative approach which emphasizes dialogue and synthesis of cultural groups:
It is not our role to speak to the people about our own view of the world, nor
to attempt to impose that view on them, but rather to dialogue with the people
about their view and ours. We must realize that their view of the
world...reflects their situation in the world.
Often, educators and politicians speak and are not understood because their
language is not attuned to the concrete situation of the men they address. (p.
85)
Disability rights advocates have adopted Freire's education theories because
they legitimize and empower the experiences of individuals in dominated groups.
Notes Giroux (1985),
Friere argues for a notion of cultural power that takes as its starting point
the social and historical particularities, the problems, the sufferings,
visions, acts of resistance, that constitute the cultural forms of subordinate
groups. . .This means making these experiences in their public and private forms
the object of debate and confirmation. (p. xxi)
Among people described as having disabilities, the deaf and people with hearing
impairment have established a firm foundation for status as a distinct culture.
Carver (1991) is unequivocal in defining a separation between the hearing and
the deaf characterized by, among other elements, American Sign Language (ASL).
This clear separation of experience, he says, establishes a Deaf culture
(signified by a capital D). "In order to begin to understand such things, the
person must live in this culture and speak the language of this culture," he
notes. (p. 1)
Carver further distinguishes Deaf culture from hearing systems in ways that
recall Friere's concepts of a dominant group's fear of the dominated: "Many are
feeling threatened by the rise of deaf culture," he observes. (p.2)
Padden and Humphries (1988) further refine the concept of Deaf Culture as they
examine life experience with Deaf as a central point, not from the medical
condition of absence or loss of hearing. They observe that Deaf Culture already
has its basis in both a system of unique language (ASL) and in the "unique
pattern of cultural transmission" via both families and residential schools for
the deaf. "A large population, established patterns of cultural transmission,
and a common language: these are all basic ingredients for a rich and inventive
culture," they observe. (p. 9)
However, Padden and Humphries also impose limits within Deaf Culture. They
note differences between the experience of those with congenital hearing loss,
those whose hearing became impaired later in life, and those with partial
hearing impairment, or the "hard of hearing," offering an ideological split
between those who "think hearing," i.e. those who prefer to "think and act like
a hearing person" (p. 53) and those for whom Deaf is a central position, not the
absence of a preferred position. In this view, "'disabled' is a label that
historically has not belonged to Deaf people," they note. (p. 44)
Modern disability activism shares a similar outlook, according to Oliver
(1996), who observes that the "growing disability movement has turned away from
the professionally dominated top down solutions provided by able-bodied
experts." (p. 123) He sees in the modern disability movement a "collective
empowerment" illustrated by new models of disability, as well as "development of
a disability culture and the public affirmation of this through the disability
arts movement." (p. 152) Such cultural expression, he says, "provide(s) a
challenge to the stigmatization of difference in its insistence that disability
is a cause for celebration." (p. 157)
Irvin (1997), in her discussion of the meaning of a "cure" for disability
relative to Franklin Roosevelt at Warm Springs, emphasizes a sense of community
that has many aspects of "culture." Roosevelt, according to Irvin, "had found
camaraderie with his fellows with polio, and he understood how that sense of
community helped one. Nondisabled people didn't see that." She continues:
Warm Springs had at one time been "home" to me, too. The kids I grew up with
here, they were like me. They were my family, they were my "brothers and
sisters."
. . .When my parents came to visit or to take me home, I didn't feel as though
I'd belonged to them anymore. People who walked--they were the Strangers. (p. 4)
Robertson (1994) discusses a movement away from a medical model of disability
toward a sociopolitical model, with its members constituting a distinct minority
group. "This emerging culture is marked by the development of arts and
literature reflecting the disability experience, and by a unique set of values"
including pride and independence, she says. (p.5)
Method
Although the literature points clearly to the emergence of a disability
culture, the concept remains ill-defined. The research reported here sought
evidence of its contours through an analysis of magazines that seek as their
readership the person with a disability.
Most magazines must serve their readership in order to survive. They provide
this service by offering content that appeals to a specific audience segment;
content which has no relationship to the life experience of the audience would
be useless. Therefore the content selected for publication by magazine editors
must be a good representation of the subject matter that comprises the
culture--or subculture--served by the publication.
This study examined the content of three magazines: Accent on Living,
Mainstream and Paraplegia News. These magazines were chosen because they
publish content that is aimed toward a general broad audience of people with
disabilities. Nelson (1996) says Paraplegia News "has a circulation of almost
30,000 and serves anyone with a mobility requirement" (p. 6), while "Mainstream
and Accent on Living have aimed at active, interested general audiences who may
have some disability, but whose lives are not defined by that disability" (p.
13). Alternatively, publications such as Exceptional Parent, Disabled Outdoors
Magazine, or Computer Disability News were not chosen because of their narrow
subject matter focus.
To identify the content of the publications, the study followed a methodology
adopted by Westfall (1994), who seeks patterns in magazine content by examining,
among other aspects, the mix and range of subjects in magazines. According to
Westfall, the subjects--or topic categories--need not be "textbook-approved
categories," but may be devised to fit the magazine under study. Within a broad
range, therefore, subject matter in magazines serving even the same general
audience can vary considerably from magazine to magazine.
Predominant subject matter covered in the magazines examined for this study was
determined by charting their content, as suggested by Westfall. Westfall
recommends review of at least two issues of magazines to be analyzed; this study
reviewed three issues of each magazine, selected from different seasons across
several recent years. The unit of analysis was the story or article, which was
defined as a text unit of at least one paragraph that included its own headline.
The number of stories identified in each category was counted, totaled and
charted as indicated in Figures 1-3. Because the analysis was conducted by only
one person (the author), intercoder reliability measures were inapplicable.
Results
One advantage of Westfall's magazine content methodology is that it allows for
wide variation in subject range, rather than forcing conformity to pre-defined
subject areas. As Nelson (1996) observes, the magazines analyzed here all have
general audiences, but as Westfall notes, "all magazines have things they will
and will not do" (p. 71). This analysis showed considerable difference in
frequently visited subjects, and subjects not included, in each of the three
publications.
Paraplegia News is the largest (and oldest) of the three magazines reviewed,
with an average of about 100 pages in each issue analyzed. A total of 206
individual stories
Figure 1.
Paraplegia News content
Subject matter by number of stories
Source: January, March, June 1996 issues
{EMBED MSGraph \s \* mergeformat|}
Figure 2.
Accent on Living content
Subject matter by number of stories
Source: Summer, 1991; Spring, 1992; Winter 1993 issues
{EMBED MSGraph \s \* mergeformat|}
Figure 3.
Mainstream content
Subject matter by number of stories
Source: April, 1996; October, 1996; November, 1996 issues
{EMBED MSGraph \s \* mergeformat|}
____________________________________________________________
fell into 16 subject categories, with the greatest number in the "events and
news," with 35 stories, followed closely by "technology and equipment" and
"sports/recreation" with 32 each. Other significant categories were
"Legislation/ Government information" with 25, and "Public relations/
association news" with 15.
A total of 125 articles were reviewed in Accent on Living. Nelson (1996) notes
this magazine was founded in 1956 "to provide a means for disabled people to
find out about products that were available but hard to find" (p. 9), and that
background is reflected in the high number of articles (62) in the subject area
"Products/equipment." Other significant numbers of articles were in the subject
areas "Profiles" of individuals (14 stories), "News" (11), "First person"
testimonials, "Health/ safety/medical" and "Self improvement" (7 each).
Mainstream was the smallest of the three publications in number of pages, with
about 36 pages per issue in the samples examined, and as a result the total
number of articles, 55, is lower than the other publications. The category with
the greatest number of items was "News," with 10 articles, followed closely by
"Editorial/advocacy" articles (9), and articles on "Accommodations/Housing" (8).
Of equal interest in these publications is the type of subjects given least
priority. Among the Paraplegia News issues analyzed, only one article was on
education, and only two covered employment matters; Accent on Living published
only two articles each on the subjects career training/ employment and
accommodations/housing; Mainstream included only one article on health, two on
careers and two on courts/litigation.
Discussion and conclusions
Scholars have suggested the concept "culture" includes material aspects such as
"products shared by a group," including tools and technology (Applebaum and
Chambliss, 1995; p. 54) and non-material aspects such as language, beliefs and
shared organizations. Results of this study suggest that, at least in magazines
of general circulation in the disability community, subjects discussed and given
priority confirm the existence of a "disability culture" and help define it.
The dominance in these magazines of articles on products and technology in the
lifestyle of the person with a disability provides one strong indicator.
Robertson (1994) includes independence among the shared values in disability
culture, and observes that "adaptive equipment enable(s) a broader sphere of
activity, such that one is not 'confined to a wheelchair' but 'uses a
wheelchair' instead." (p. 7) Therefore the predominance of this subject area in
the magazines sampled, especially Paraplegia News and Accent on Living, is
notable. Examples of this genre include an article in the January, 1996, issue
of Paraplegia News entitled "At Your Service," which urges use of only qualified
technicians to service vans modified for use by people with disabilities.
Another is "60 Years of Portability" in the Winter, 1993, issue of Accent on
Living, in which author Joyce Faust describes the history of wheelchairs.
Two of the three magazines, Accent on Living and Mainstream, emphasize
editorials or advocacy content, and Paraplegia News includes five articles of
this type. These are not activist publications like the well-known Disability
Rag (now Ragged Edge), so the "calls to action" such as Mainstream editor
William G. Stothers's defense of disability activism in his October, 1996
editorial "Why I Chose to be Disabled" confirm a group consciousness and a
largely shared value system, or what sociologist Henslin (1995) calls "a
distinct way of looking at life" (p. 44).
In addition, all three publications support event information and other news
that cements the group status of the readership. Paraplegia News, as reflected
by its name and its mission as the official publication of the Disabled Veterans
Association, emphasizes event information and closely follows legislation of
interest to its audience through a regular "Government Relations" column.
Mainstream also seeks to serve as a community bulletin board through its "News
and Commentary" monthly column.
Content of these three publications also illustrates specialized lifestyle
aspects and interests for the person with a disability. Articles on sport and
recreation topics such as wheelchair basketball, marathons, and accessible
travel destinations are featured in all three publications (notably so in
Paraplegia News), and information about lifestyle and self-improvement are among
the more prominent in Mainstream and Accent on Living.
Of equal importance in this study are subject categories not emphasized or
absent. The late John Clogston (1994) identified several traditional models of
newspaper coverage of persons with disabilities: the medical model, the
"supercrip" model and the social pathology or economic model. In the three
publications analyzed here, health care and disability as a medical condition,
as well as government and/or social services, are topics visited extremely
infrequently. The absence of these topic areas indicates the cultural importance
of independence and pride, and deemphasizes reliance on medical or
social/governmental "assistance." Pro-active legislation and litigation, on the
other hand, is emphasized in Mainstream and Paraplegia News, further refuting in
these publications the social pathology/ economic model.
In total, the subject-matter priorities in this small sample of magazines aimed
at persons with disabilities provides evidence of several generally accepted
prerequisites of a unique culture. These are tools and technology useful for the
person with a disability; a largely shared value system in support of the
individual with a disability; and an emphasis on events and information that
promote interaction within the disability community and a subsequent empowerment
through collective action. Because this study examined a small sample of
publications, future research using larger samples might reveal stronger
evidence of a unique "disability culture." As technology advances, review of
other media might prove fruitful as well.
In addition, the disability studies field needs some work on definitions. The
"disability culture" concept is fairly new, and both qualitative and
quantitative research that establishes more firm parameters will be fundamental
to further examination of this topic.
References
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disability (pp. 19-38). New York: Teachers College Press.
Brown, S.E. (1997) "What is Disability Culture?" in Institute on Disability
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