1. Bell challenges the field of Disability Studies with his article: “Is Disability Studies Actually White Disability Studies.” What is your perspective on this article? The article was written in 2006. Has the field made progress in this area in the ensuing decade? What has been your experience with disability and race?
2. Lukin in “Disability and Blackness” discusses the tension between the disability movement and the black experience of disability. Did you identify with the reading? Which piece (or section of a piece) resonated with you? Why or why not?
3. Eil Clare discusses queer culture as a disabled man coming out and the sexual abuse he encountered growing up. He raises the issue of identity. What does it mean to be a ‘transman,’ a transgendered person, a person with a disability, a man with a disability, an abuse survivor? Sexuality researchers estimate that 80-90% of females with disabilities are sexually abused by age 40 and 40-50% of males. This is an ‘elephant in the room’ issue that is hidden, shameful, and widely experienced by people with disability. What does his experience tell us about disability identity? [Trigger Warning for sexual and physical abuse. Please skip if this will cause you distress.]
