[nabs-l] Blindness and Identity

[Jedi]

Briley,

I'm glad you said something because it took me a while to understand 
why I replied so snarkily last time. I realized that I felt incensed 
that two men would insist that I perceive myself differently because I 
can give birth. To me, it was as bad as if some sighted person got on 
list and told us all that our lack of eyesight shapes how we see 
ourselves. Some would say yes, and others would say no. For those who 
would say no, I think we'd feel pretty frustrated because it would be 
almost like that sighted person was telling us that because they saw us 
differently because we're blind, so should we regardless if we do or 
not. What frustrated me most is that I twice said that, in my 
experience of not being a mother, I didn't think much about my ability 
to have children and yet I felt argued with as though someone who saw 
themselves as having more authority on the topic, a man, had the final 
authority on how I felt about myself as a woman. It was so frustrating. 
And you're quite right that men probably don't think about their 
ability to be part of the procreation process any more or less than we 
do. Same goes for sighted people. I've heard sighted people say that 
they don't realize how much they take for granted, and that's quite 
true. They mean to say that they feel sorry for us, but the fact is 
that they really have no idea how much privilege they have in society 
just as many in a given "superior" (in quotes) class don't. Thanks 
again for your comments.

Respectfully,
Jedi


Original message:
> Jedi,

> I thought you handled the issue of giving birth quite capably. I am not 
> a mother yet, so no, I don't think about my ability to pop out kids as 
> a big part of who I am... or really ponder it as a part of identity at 
> all. Do you men see your ability to participate in making children as a 
> part of your identity? Probably not. So, it is semi chauvinist of you 
> to assume we are attached to our uterus as a part of us that gives us 
> self worth.

> Briley



> On Mar 27, 2010, at 3:55 AM, Jedi wrote:

>> Well, if we want to get down to brass tacks, we can all say that we 
>> will never know just how our being is affects our perceptions, but the 
>> bottom line still lies at the fact that our perception of our beingness 
>> is largely determine by what our culture teaches us about it, and 
>> identity is the presentation of how we respond to those teachings in 
>> our interactions with ourselves and others.

>> I think it's interesting that two men have been interested in whether 
>> or not I see myself differently because I can give birth yet no women 
>> have weighed in on the subject. I also think they're more interesting 
>> in my birthing abilities than I am. Well gentlemen, you're welcome to 
>> those abilities so long as you're willing to take the identity that 
>> comes with them. *tongue in cheek*

>> Respectfully,
>> Jedi



>> Original message:
>>> The point is that without ever having had the experience of being a man, you
>>> cannot say for sure that your being a woman does or does not have an impact
>>> on how you see yourself or experience the world. I suspect it does, but
>>> without any basis for comparison, you can't say. Just as my being blind from
>>> birth prohibits me from determining whether or not or to what degree my
>>> blindness affects how I view myself and experience the world. My gut feeling
>>> is that my blindness has a fairly profound affect on at least a significant
>>> subset of the things I experience and the way in which I experience them.

>>> Blindness is absolutely part of my identity, as is my height, skin color and
>>> love of the Chicago Cubs. Your identity is just an exhaustive list of all of
>>> the characteristics and attributes which make a particular person the
>>> particular person that they are.

>>> To what degree I identify myself as blind or identify with the greater
>>> community of blind people is a completely separate question from that of
>>> whether or not blindness is part of my identity.

>>> I don't think blindness, strictly defined, is a social construct, while I
>>> think the concept of disability is. I'm sure that to articulate my reasons
>>> for feeling this way would require more time than I am willing to put into
>>> it now, but that is my gut feeling.

>>> Thought I'd throw my two cents into this interesting discussion.

>>> All the best,

>>> Sean


>>> _______________________________________________
>>> nabs-l mailing list
>>> nabs-l at nfbnet.org
>>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
>>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for nabs-l:
>>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/loneblindjedi%40samobile.net

>> --
>> Email services provided by the System Access Mobile Network.  Visit 
>> www.serotek.com to learn more about accessibility anywhere.

>> _______________________________________________
>> nabs-l mailing list
>> nabs-l at nfbnet.org
>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for nabs-l:
>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/brileyp%40gmail.com


> _______________________________________________
> nabs-l mailing list
> nabs-l at nfbnet.org
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for nabs-l:
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/loneblindjedi%40samobile.net

-- 
Email services provided by the System Access Mobile Network.  Visit 
www.serotek.com to learn more about accessibility anywhere.