Gendering Disability--"Why the Intersexed Shouldn't Be Fixed"

Colligan, Sumi. "Why the Intersexed Shouldn't Be Fixed: Insights from Queer Theory and Disability Studies." 45-

Colligan's article examines the ways in which queer theory and disability theory intersect in regard to intersexuality and disability as "cultural spectacle,"

"I contend that such an analysis should be broadened to include the role that the development of statistics played in turning disability into deviance, a process that included upholding a statistical norm against which all else was rendered abnormal" (Colligan 48).

"Moreover, the analysis should consider the manner in which the growth of the rehabilitation industry was catalyzed by a drive to remove the 'lack' and restore the disabled body to its 'assumed, prior normal state'" (Colligan 48).

The disabled are "extended the benevolent hand of charity because, particularly in the United States, their images help reaffirm the virtue and moral fitness of its nondisabled citizens" (Colligan 49). I've been thinking about this statement a bit and [just to rant] can see how enormously obvious this is. If Americans, for instance, were really concerned about the wellbeing of the disabled, why not insure that those on SSI are provided with more than the sheer, bare minimum to survive on? Why not uphold laws that prevent the discrimination of the disabled? If we really cared about the disabled as we claim to, why not have initiatives, for instance, that employ every mentally disabled American with some kind of employment? Maybe not the most productive or cost-beneficial, but it would meet the objectives of taking care of the mentally disabled. Oh well... rant over.

Why? Because "their images help reaffirm the virtue and moral fitness of its nondisabled citizens" (Colligan 49).

These statements justify autism representations because they affirm the "normalcy" of the non-autistic.