On reviewing the three interviews that discuss the intersection of disability with other identity factors I have made the following reflections.
Ade Adepitan discusses his experience of how disability interacts with his race when he says ‘I intersect disability and race so I see discrimination from both angles’. This is highlighted when discussing the challenges faced that include verbal abuse and accessibility. In the discussion with Webborn the intersection of race and disability is highlighted on public transport with reference to Rosa Parks and segregation because of race.
‘the BAME community and in particular the black community, for hundreds of years we have faced oppression’ because of systemic racism.’ (Adepitan, 2020)
This brings attention to a present-day echo of this segregation on public transport, with the defining of spaces and their users continuing systemic discrimination. What I found very poignant was the idea that by creating limited space for groups of people, we are not creating an environment of equal opportunity. With the separation of space, we are othering groups of people by limiting their movement; a detrimental act to fostering communities of inclusion.
Christine Sun Kim has a different perspective on her disability and how it interacts with her experience of being a mother and an artist. She describes how the social support in Germany facilitates her practice as an artist and ability to be a mother at the same time, something she suggests wouldn’t have been possible for her in New York due to physical and financial constraints. With this she emphasises the importance for her to thrive as a result of ‘the benefits of a government that supports their citizens’ (Sun Kim, 2023).
Christine Sun Kim. Shit Hearing People Say To Me. 2019
This is paralleled in the interview with Chay Brown, when they mention the importance of organisations adopting a ‘person centred’ approach in order to provide adequate access and mobility. As a trans, neurodiverse and gay man, Brown highlights how this is essential for promoting inclusion. In particular they reflect on ‘hidden’ disabilities such as anxiety disorders, and how this affects the ability to integrate into a queer society because of the ‘unspoken codes of behaviour’ (Brown, 2023), that can further exacerbate the feeling anxiety. Within the LGBTQ+ community he believes that ‘if we’re not working for disabled trans people, we’re not working for the trans community because we’re missing people out’ (Brown, 2023). This is further reinforced by Kimberle Crenshaw’s theory that ‘ignoring difference within groups contributes to tension among groups’ (Crenshaw, 1990)
After watching all three videos, what becomes apparent is that through the interviewees different relationships to intersectionality, they address how progress can be made within society to be more inclusive and promote equality. Adepitan explains how the Paralympics empowered disabled people and therefore they were given their ‘opportunity to shine’. Reflecting on how this interacts with his race, he feels lessons from this could be taken when thinking about the Black Power movement which has been a lot slower to progress: ‘Harder progress is that one that’s systemic’. As a deaf female parent, Sun Kim presents her perspective of how life in Berlin allows her varying types of space to be both be an artist and a mother as an improvement from her life in New York where many of her contemporaries struggle with debt and an unaffordable way of life.
These examples indicate that the right steps are being made for inclusion and greater equality for intersectional groups, however this seems mostly in specific areas or within smaller organisations such as Parapride mentioned by Brown. If larger institutions addressed the intersection of communities with a person-centred approach that acknowledged ‘intragroup differences’ (Crenshaw, 1990), we can aim to ‘dismantle discrimination towards minority groups, and promote empowerment for intersectional communities.’ (Brown, 2023).
Using three words that stood out from each interviewee, I have created a small Mnemonic device SEE to encourage me to think about this within my own teaching context, making sure that I am addressing the needs of everyone and providing an inclusive learning space.
Shine: Create a more inclusive space for students to learn and thrive by addressing factors such as physical access, quiet spaces, interpreters, materials (printed, online and access to these). This list aims to be developed in connection with my colleagues.
Echo: Actively aim to prevent the echoes of history and not repeat systemic failings.
Empower: Empower students to feel comfortable to talk about their experience with others and listen to their needs to provide tangible responses.
Moving forward, I am concerned about the Government’s changes to the UK’s welfare system, with the likelihood that people with depression or anxiety could lose sickness benefits. This seems to be to be a far cry from ‘government that supports their citizens’ mentioned by Sun Kim. As a transition tutor supporting students with progression aims for beyond graduation, I’m aware of how this may disadvantage our current students with mental health disorders in the future. I aim to research more into this with a view to identifying other organisations that can offer support.
Thank you Becky for unpacking each of the three videos we were given. I’m mostly an educational trainer at rather than a teacher at UAL. Because conventional training is so bloated with mnemonic devices, I tend to avoid them in my work (I don’t want to add to the pile!). This isn’t a criticism of you however: I really appreciate you thinking of SEE as a useful tool for personal self-reflection. I’d be interested to hear about how, now that you’ve created this device, it plays out in your strategies for changing your practice (particularly in undoing echoes of previous or systemic failures, which seems like a useful reminder for us all!).
I also value you bringing in this potential loss of sickness benefits into the discussion. Our practices are all defined and impacted by the contemporary political agenda – and it’s important to recognise how our interventions can be delimited (or boosted!) by structures of equality and access that exist in the HE system in the UK. For me, this is a pertinent reminder to keep informed about wider systemic challenges that may impact particular students and learners. Also a useful reminder about the potential power of each of our votes in an election year.
George I hear you with how mneumonics may be overused, and you make a very good point! For years our course has been littered with acronyms to describe everything from meetings, course departments and projects names for students that have been helpful for some but also very confusing for others – particularly those who need support with language and translation. We have also found the these acronyms disassociate the meanings of projects or groups from their intentions and therefore are very unhelpful. When thinking about inclusivity, as a course we have decided not to use these for students in any context, using the full names for titles of course content which in some way has helped but still needs more work. I actually haven’t come across many other mneumonics (just hundreds of acronyms!) in my teaching role but I want to ask the rest of my year 3 team to see if it is something that can also help them as a reminder – if not, I aim to keep it as a personal tool.
I applaud you for managing to offer reflections on all three videos — very succinct and useful summaries, a challenge within the word count! I really like the tool you’ve created for yourself — what a smart way of keeping these things easily at the front of your mind. You’ve chosen really evocative words in the mnemonic that I think will really help with not just your own work, but also, if you consider ways of sharing this, other people’s. (Feels like a poster might be in order?! 😉
I also hugely appreciate you noting the government’s oncoming changes to the welfare system. I am in total agreement with you about the devastating effect this is going to have on countless thousands of people across the country. And of course, as we have been reflecting on over these last couple of weeks, those most at risk from these brutal cuts will be those who are disadvantaged by multiple intersecting elements of their identity. I share your concerns about how this will affect not just students, but also our fellow staff, and I thank you for highlighting it.
I think the contemporary political agenda is something that is at the forefront of a lot of our minds at UAL and the impact that certain decisions have had on both our staff and students is a serious cause for concern. Talking to others who have lived, worked or studied abroad and hearing how their Governments’ support health care, housing, education in more people centred ways (Germany, Norway, The Netherlands for a start) proves how better examples exist and do work to enable people to function at their best. Sadly I see so both students and staff struggling with basic needs such as their living situation and health, that impacts greatly on their current experience and abilities. I hope changes are to come in the next year that will see our students, staff and more widely our population being able to feel like they can grow in a supportive environment, rather than the unstable situation we find ourselves in. Hopefully the vote today can be a step towards that change!