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...and now, a word from us!!!
Stigma: The Theory of Defining One’s Self
By Emily Ball. Age 17
Stigma, what is it? Besides a funny structure of letters that seem out of place when grouped together, it can also define who you are. Social stigmas can be categorized in three basic ways: mental illness, physical disabilities, and racial or ethnic discrimination.
A prime example of a stigma is how “regular” people react to a person with Down’s Syndrome: People with Downs Syndrome are like any other people; they just have a different mental capacity. Unfortunately, many in society discriminate against people with Down’s Syndrome.
This is just one example of the stigma of disability discrimination, and I can personally relate my similar experiences. You see, unlike a person with Down ‘s Syndrome, I have a physical disability: I was born prematurely which led to my cerebral palsy. When you’ve got a physical disability like mine, you are prone to ridicule and the feeling of being different. I can remember that when I was little (before I started school) I didn’t know I was different. That all changed when I started kindergarten. The reason for that is because kindergarten is when I got my first wheelchair.
All throughout my school years, I knew I was different. In elementary school, this became apparent at recess time when all my classmates were able to run around and play on the playground. Of course I had friends that hung out with me, but they never really hung out for the whole fifteen to thirty minutes we were outside. I was always by myself.
In middle school, that feeling of being different reappeared in the form of school dances. Instead of sitting on the sidelines wishing I could play on the playground like a “regular” kid, I was sitting on the sidelines watching other kids dance and wishing I could do the same. I remember being parked against the wall only to be subjected to masses of kids dancing to really fast music and wishing I could do that. I vividly remember just sitting there, eating the plate of snacks I was given. I don’t remember one instance where I moved my body. It was elementary school all over again.
Through elementary and middle school, I always felt like an outsider. When I hit high school, things changed, but not dramatically. In high school, I still feel that way but generally, everyone is more accepting. Although I’m accepted by peers and everyone at school and some other places I go, my disability and therefore myself, are not accepted by the unknowing public. For example, when I’m out with my parents, I often get gawked at. This doesn’t faze me, I don’t even realize it sometimes. The only thing that bugs me is when people come up to us and ask my parents: “Does she talk?” When this happens, I want to talk, but I just can’t seem to get out the words.
I fully understand where these people are coming from, and though thanks to my parents’ never-stopping complaints about when people do such things, I kind of agree with the people, but I disagree too. On certain occasions when I hear a little kid ask their mom, “Why is she in a wheelchair?” the mom responds, “Because she can’t walk,” I don’t find that any less weird than I find the stares.
Though my situation is different than racism, I feel there are similarities. While people that are of African - American, Hispanic, and Asian descent are often excluded from the Caucasian world, disabled people are often excluded from the “normal world.”
For example, the store in the mall, Hollister, makes cool clothes but I’m unable to wear them because there are stairs leading up to the entrance of their stores.
The stigmas experienced by mentally challenged, racial or ethnic minorities and the physically disabled have defined these groups for years. Although the discrimination may be different for each group, they are all being shunned by their specific opposites. The physically disabled being shunned by the able-bodied, and the Black man being shunned by the white man are just two specific examples. In my own case, I have learned not to let others’ problems get in the way of living my life.
PATH/Family Voices Kids
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