Blog Post #4

This weeks reading, “Integrating Disability, Transforming Feminist Theory,” and movie, “Frida,” focused on the aspect of disability. The reading discussed the similarities between disability and feminism. In society, women are seen as inferior and so are the disabled. They’re both seen as “not normal.” Women are even often sometimes considered “disabled” due to their gender. Towards the beginning of the article, Rosemarie Garland-Thomson mentions that “disability studies can benefit from feminist theory and feminist theory can benefit from disability studies.”

            The premise of the feminist disability theory is that “disability, like femaleness, is not a natural state of corporeal inferiority, inadequacy, excess, or a stroke of misfortune.” In simpler terms, the premise of the theory basically states that being a woman or being disabled is not a misfortune. Everyone is different and we need to learn to live with who we are and embrace our unique qualities. Aristotle actually defined women as “mutilated males.” I think this statement is harsh and extremely untrue. As a woman, I don’t understand why we are always compared to men. The article also states that, “women and the disabled are portrayed as helpless, dependent, weak, vulnerable and incapable bodies.” I also find this portrayal to be completely inaccurate. When I think of women and the disabled, I think of adjectives such as strong and powerful. For example, later in the article, Garland-Thomson focuses on Aimee Mullins. Mullins is a fashion model, celebrity, champion runner, a Georgetown University student and a double amputee. Mullins is a woman and she is disabled and I would never consider her to be weak, helpless and incapable. In fact, I would consider her to be the complete opposite. I believe she is an inspiration to many due to her determination, strength and perseverance. Another example that really stuck out to me was the woman who had to get one breast removed due to breast cancer. How could anyone in society say that she is weak and helpless? Fighting a battle such as cancer is an extremely difficult process and I believe that anyone who deals with something of that sort should be considered extremely strong. These examples prove that both women and the disabled are not inferior.

            The article also focuses on the appearance and the desire to produce unmarked bodies. Garland-Thomson admits, “what is imagined as excess body fat, the effects of aging, marks of ethnicity such as supposedly Jewish noses, bodily particularities thought of as blemishes or deformities and marks of history such as scaring and impairments are now expected to be surgically erased to produce an unmarked body.”  These efforts are done in order to look “normal” and “not disabled.” However, like I mentioned earlier, we should embrace these qualities. It’s very rare to see a man getting a nose job or removing body fat, so why is that necessary for women? She mentions that the women and the disabled should be able to use medicine to improve their lives and their bodies to function more fully. However, it’s unnecessary to just change a body part because it doesn’t look “normal.” What really is considered to be “normal?”

            In the movie, “Frida,” Frida Kahlo is a woman and disabled. Similar to the reading, the movie focuses on the idea that women and the disabled are not inferior. When she was a teenager, Kahlo was in an accident that resulted in lifelong health problems. However, these health problems actually influenced Kahlo’s artwork for the better. The movie showed Kahlo right after her accident in a full body cast. Despite her lover Alex leaving for Paris and the excruciating pain due to the accident, Kahlo painted bright butterflies all over her cast. I think this shows her strength and optimism even in a time of sadness and pain. The brightly colored butterflies are full of life; Kahlo is determined to feel that way again as well. Once her cast was filled with artwork, her father got her a canvas. Kahlo began to paint daily. Since Kahlo was so isolated in the beginning because of her injuries, she began painting self-portraits. Despite the isolation, she displayed strength by continuing to create artwork. She then asked the muralist, Diego, for advice in order to improve her art. Later on in the movie, Trotsky admitted that he loved Kahlo’s work because of what it expressed. Her paintings expressed what everyone feels in life at some point: alone and in pain. Similar to the woman with breast cancer and the double amputee, Kahlo was determined and strong. These examples prove that women and the disabled should not be considered inferior.