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The Politics of Physical Differences: Disability and Discrimination
Author(s) -
Hahn Harlan
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
journal of social issues
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.618
H-Index - 122
eISSN - 1540-4560
pISSN - 0022-4537
DOI - 10.1111/j.1540-4560.1988.tb02047.x
Subject(s) - autonomy , dominance (genetics) , perspective (graphical) , psychology , existentialism , social dominance orientation , biology and political orientation , politics , social psychology , anxiety , epistemology , political science , computer science , psychiatry , biochemistry , chemistry , philosophy , authoritarianism , artificial intelligence , gene , law , democracy
Although a “minority‐group” model has emerged to challenge the traditional dominance of the “functional‐limitations” paradigm for the study of disability, research on attitudes toward disabled people has not produced a theoretical orientation that reflects these developments. This paper proposes a new conceptual framework, based on the fundamental values of personal appearance and individual autonomy, for assessing the “aesthetic” and “existential” anxiety aroused by persons with disabilities. Investigations using this perspective might contribute to determining the attitudinal foundations of the competing models that are dividing research on disability.