I would still be disabled "...the whole country could be level with accessible toilets on every corner and I would still be disabled..." Expand "...from my own point of view, the whole country could be level with accessible toilets on every corner and I would still be disabled, partly due to other people's attitudes to me and also because of my own individual medical problems. Not that I think the medical model of disability (which I was basically brought up to believe in before discovering the social model) is accurate but there are certainly elements relevant to my life, such as pain and fatigue which no amount of equality theorising is likely to diminish." To watch a BSL translated captioned video of this response click this link to watch video (opens in new tab).
From a casting perspective "From a casting perspective, it’s about finding a balance between not asking personal questions and knowing what specifics are required for a role." Expand "I personally find the social model very empowering and I fully believe that we are disabled by society rather than our impairments. However, I think we should also be able to discuss our impairments if we want to, because like it or not, a medical diagnosis is part of our lived experience. From a casting perspective, it’s about finding a balance between not asking personal questions and knowing what specifics are required for a role. For example, if I am casting an amputee, I don’t want to know that someone needs step-free access. I also want to know that they’re an amputee, but it’s also important that I take the impairment or lack thereof that has been written and boil it down do what is really required. This person “comes downstairs” Do they really need to come downstairs or is the point that they have come from another room? I also like to refer to “disability communities” when I’m looking to cast representatively. It doesn’t seem appropriate to ask for access requirements at the callout stage as those vary between people with the same impairment. If the character is blind I am looking for an actor from the visually impaired community. Obviously what constitutes a community is up for discussion and things change all the time as certain pools of actors or actors who disclose grow and develop." Amy Evans To watch a BSL translated captioned video of this response click this link to watch video (opens in new tab).
...importance of the social-model... "..there are many venues and spaces I’m unable to access at all, never mind work or rehearse in. Especially in the case of fringe theatre." Expand "Being a full-time non-ambulatory powered wheelchair user with Cerebral Palsy has made me acutely aware of, and grateful for, the importance of the Social Model, both historically and currently. Particularly living as a performer, playwright and creative practitioner based in London, where I also grew up, and where there are many venues and spaces I’m unable to access at all, never mind work or rehearse in. Especially in the case of fringe theatre ... That said, I’m now an adult who has lived with chronic pain since my teens. This pain results from the nature of my impairment – particularly its physical and neurological effects. Whilst there are some significant ways that the Social Model can help with this (such as through the creation of Access Riders outlining access needs, and by promoting changes in working practices or conditions), I feel it doesn’t address everything about my experience that I would wish. Consequently, I’m now more comfortable with models like Alison Kafer’s (2013) Political/Relational Model, which I feel more explicitly and specifically acknowledges the often complex combination of barriers that arises from our interactions with our bodies and minds as well as society." Jessi Parrott To watch a BSL translated captioned video of this response click this link to watch video (opens in new tab).
Worth "A lot of the disability activism I see forefronts people who can speak for themselves..." Expand "A lot of the disability activism I see forefronts people who can speak for themselves, and makes the statement "we are just as capable as you", as though not being capable means you don't have worth. Some people with severe learning disabilities may be very limited in their functioning, mentally and otherwise, but this doesn't mean they don't have huge worth. I think it's good to be considered about not playing into the same merit/value-based structures we are trying to change." Lucy Bell, Writer @LucyBellSW To watch a BSL translated captioned video of this response click this link to watch video (opens in new tab).
Community "We reject the rule to operate in society solo..." Expand "We reject the rule to operate in society solo: your own job, degree, smart phone, bank balance, opinions, identity. Individuality cultism is the most disabling aspect of modern life. ... I exchange some freedom to being reliable to others, finding my identity reflected in them - community. ... I don't like the term 'lived experience' because it's over. I am not just a human been, a collection of experiences experienced. Being in the moment is a strength of cognition-disabled people. 'Living experience' is our expertise." @Fionnathan To watch a BSL translated captioned video of this response click this link to watch video (opens in new tab).
...lie down and rest to experience art... "...we need ways to lie down and rest to experience art..." Expand "I have a chronic illness and I meet and work with other disabled and chronically ill folk. Many of us need to rest a lot to manage our conditions. And most venue seating is not accessible for us - we need ways to lie down and rest to experience art. I run a project called Restful City in Bristol that has delivered Horizontal Events in partnership with Arnolfini gallery and Watershed Independent cinema. These have made events accessible to people who would normally find it very difficult to attend an event at a gallery or cinema space. Where this has worked really well is where the venue sees the wider implications of the invitation, for example Arnolfini have embraced rest as a wider strategy for audiences to engage with art and as a wider invitation to audiences to feel at home and comfortable in the gallery space. Bristol Old Vic has also created a permanent resting space, which is only the second at a UK theatre to my knowledge" Raquel Meseguer Zafe, Unchartered Collective To watch a BSL translated captioned video of this response click this link to watch video (opens in new tab).
...unjust circumstances... "I think the social model forces acknowledgment from society that unjust circumstances, not disabled people themselves, are creating barriers to disabled lives..." Expand "I think the social model forces acknowledgment from society that unjust circumstances, not disabled people themselves, are creating barriers to disabled lives and as a result they are being asked to show a level of resilience that nobody should be expected to show. That stops disabled people feeling substandard, allows them some trust in themselves, creates long-term hope and motivation. That's where we are now. If this all sounds too easy, though, it's because that hope is necessarily founded on a faith that, as society learns the various ways in which it disables people, their taking responsibility for them will involve finding ways to create change..." Nell Hardy, Response Ability Theatre To watch a BSL translated captioned video of this response click this link (opens in new tab).
.. look beyond... "We should look beyond the medical model and the social model....' Expand "We should look beyond the medical model and the social model. We should champion an inclusion model." David Richardson To watch a BSL translated captioned video of this response click this link (opens in new tab).
The Social Model can GET FUCKED. "It drives me crazy when people say "the social model was created by Disabled People" like we're the Borg or something..." Expand "It drives me crazy when people say "the social model was created by Disabled People" like we're the Borg or something ... The chronically ill DO have "something wrong with us" and our status as sick shouldn't exclude us from the disabled community. ... We get ignored. We get treated like we don't exist. The concept of relative privilege within the disabled umbrella is a contentious one, and it's taboo to even suggest that a disabled person might experience some form of able-bodied privilege. But disability is not binary. The idea that you're either an "abled" (and therefore privileged) or "disabled" (therefore no privilege) is dangerous and reductive. You can be disabled and still have, for example, mobility privilege, neurotypical privilege, hearing privilege, communication privilege, intellectual privilege, non-chronic pain privilege, non-sick privilege. ... How do we as a community challenge ableist harmful stereotypes, without incidentally harming or marginalising those who the stereotypes actually do apply to? ... Because it all comes down to capitalism. No one ever discusses how disability intersects with late stage capitalism, but it seems at every stage that disabled people who can work are boosted, and disabled people who can't work are shoved down and made invisible. This is the great invisible divide between the disabled community. ... When they say "we don't need a cure" what they mean is "we don't need a cure for neurodivergence." Because 99% of the time when people online talk about disability, what they mean is their own personal disability and fuck anyone with a different disability. And 90% of the time, when people online talk about disability, they're actually talking exclusively about neurodiversity. Simply because neurodivergent people so massively dominate both the disabled social justice community, and specifically the disabled theatre community. The overwhelming majority of people in theatre who ID as disabled, do so because of neurodivergence. I've frequently been in rooms where every single person identified as having some form of ND, but I've literally never even met another person with my specific diagnosis." To watch a BSL translated captioned video of this response in the link below, please accept performance cookies, or click this link to watch video (opens in new tab).
Intersectional comprehension has to be discussed.. "Intersectional comprehension has to be discussed. I am a benefits/working class Muslim first generation Turkish Cypriot immigrant. When has a character or story encompassed all that?" Expand The hybrid model (available online) is very important to me. It shows that companies understand the limits of accessibility for some. Currently I am still isolating. This will change and then change back when waiting for further treatment. Intersectional comprehension has to be discussed. I am a benefits/working class Muslim first generation Turkish Cypriot immigrant. When has a character or story encompassed all that? Access audiences If there is no disabled audience it doesn't challenge the norm. Access is key - if you can't get in, comprehend or afford online it's an empty gesture for a tickbox exercise. Access to make work Every piece/project should be navigated accordingly - every piece sets its own model. More - is simple for me. it is understanding. it is working a new model every time around the work/artist. To watch a BSL translated captioned video of this response click this link to watch video (opens in new tab).
The affirmation model of disability "The social model, at least to me, is stalled in a time where disabled people had no rights, identity or status." Expand "The social model, at least to me, is stalled in a time where disabled people had no rights, identity or status. We needed the model then, smashing barriers i.e Public transport is way more accessible. The question now: will this accessible bus just take me to low wages, within systems that ultimately rejects my body? The affirmation model of disability is a new perspective – weighing up pros and cons, I wouldn’t change who I am. In performance, disabled bodies disrupt solo-thinking, empower political imagination." To watch a BSL translated captioned video of this response click this link to watch video (opens in new tab). Hugh Malyon @live_HughM
BSL Interpreters "..to see the interpreter I have to look away from the performers..." Expand "I like to go to the theatre. When there are BSL interpreters, it is good but the interpreter stands at the side of the stage. This means to see the interpreter I have to look away from the performers and I may miss the action." To watch a BSL translated captioned video of this response click this link to watch video (opens in new tab). Sahera Khan
...non-social disabilities experience discrimination.. "Non-social disabilities experience quite a bit of discrimination through arts work, whilst.. being very present in plays/comedy" Expand I think a lot of people with something like personality disorders, experience of addiction and non-social disabilities experience quite a bit of discrimination through arts work, whilst also often being written about and being very present in plays/comedy etc. I also think they often experience a lot of discrimination through the way in which the social model interacts with arts spaces currently. To watch a BSL translated captioned video of this response click this link to watch video (opens in new tab)