11 humiliated by the need to be carried in, or at the very least, prepare the internal location by moving furniture pre-arrival.
Where there is no physical access for all disabled citizens there is an unfair disadvantage, presenting disabled people with disproportionate challenges when trying to connect with mainstream society. Our present culture creates an atmosphere where disabled people feel displaced, creating a lack of belonging; subsequently, this produces individual identity challenges.
Within social identity theory, the emphasis has always been on how acute a sense of belonging is to develop a healthy sense of self 44. Group identities are formed from common bonds; a healthy sense of self-esteem can be built on that. “It is crucial to remember ingroups are groups you identify with, and out-groups are ones that we don't identify with, and may discriminate against”45. It has been found that it is not just in belonging to a group that boosts morale but also creates a social skills framework that can provide protection, for instance, supporting a particular football team creates a sense of pride and safety in being part of a collective 46. Disabled people are often left out of mainstream collectives.
The Medical Model
44
Marilynn Brewer and Wendi Gardner, ‘Who Is This "We"? Levels of Collective Identity and Self Representations’, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71.1 (1996) 83-93 < http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.71.1.83> [accessed 27 January 2021] 45 Carrie Foster, ‘Social Psychology – Discrimination-Organisation Development’ (Organisation Development 2013) <http://organisationdevelopment.org/social-psychology-discrimination/> [accessed 27 January 2021] (para. 15 of 22). 46 Graham M Vaughan, Henri Tajfel- Encyclopedia Britannica, (2020) <https://www.britannica.com/biography/Henri-Tajfel> [accessed 27 January 2021]
