How society views information and actions can both benefit and harm individuals depending on the situation. Disability refers to ‘the impairment that may be physical, cognitive, mental or combinations of these that result in restrictions on an individual’s ability to participate in what is considered “normal” in everyday society’ (Wikipedia) As a disabled individual, you are a minority and are often discriminated against. Thomas Couser’s Signifying Bodies – Rhetoric and Self-representation in Disability Memoir – writes about what it means to be disabled based on narratives by disabled individuals. By allowing disabled people to represent their personal experiences through writing autobiographies it allows them to argue back against stereotypes and to make them feel more like they are part of society and that they belong as they have a ‘high degree of control over their own images’ (Couser, 31)

In the early years’ society has viewed people with disabilities as evil because there was a lack of understanding about how they function and why, but since the 1960’s attitudes have changed and people are understanding more about the topic and don’t view disability as evil (Munyi) but as people who are just considered to be more abnormal than others. In today’s society, lots of people empathize with disabled people and the understand the challenges they face (Helen). However, in general people with disabilities are heavily discriminated against in society. People with disabilities are just like normal people except they have some restrictions on how they are able to behave. Ruth Sienkiewicz-Mercer is mentioned in Couser’s memoir and she states that good things come to the disabled too, she was able to get ‘married’ and ‘move out’ even though she is diagnosed with severe cerebral palsy (Couser, 42).

Society needs to notice the disabled and understand that they can’t change the way there are, societal barriers should be taken away and they should not be discriminated against because they are more physically or mentally challenged than people without disabilities. Couser tells multiple stories of disabled people; overcoming their struggles of their impairments, living normal lives, people mourning and accepting these impairments as well as people seeking cures. He writes about the social and cultural experiences of living with a disability and being able to write autobiographies and examines the effects of stigma and stereotypes by documenting their lives.

‘Stigma serves to silence the stigmatized’ (Couser, 32)

 Works Cited

Couser, G. Thomas. “Rhetoric and Self-Representation in Disability Memoir.”Signifying Bodies: Disability in Contemporary Life Writing. Ann Arbor: U of Michigan, 2009. 31-48. Print.

“Disability.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 9 Oct. 2016. Web. 15 Oct. 2016.

Okobokekeimei, Helen. “People with Disabilities as Social Outcasts: Shifting the Perspective from Victim to Advocate.” The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 12 Oct. 2013. Web. 15 Oct. 2016.

Munyi, Chomba Wa. “Past and Present Perceptions Towards Disability.”Disability Studies Quarterly. N.p., 2012. Web. 15 Oct. 2016. <http://dsq-sds.org/article/view/3197/3068>.