Spring Break
Speakers discuss role of disabilities in media
Laura Miller
Issue date: 4/6/07 Section: Front Page
Disabled characters saturate the media - Captain Hook, Dumbo, and Quasimodo possess the common thread of being characters in popular Disney films. What is often unnoticed is that these characters are the first exposure a child may receive to disabilities.
Associate professor of educational psychology, Kathy McMahon-Klosterman, and professor of sociology and gerontology, Jean Lynch, discussed "Disability as Diversity" April 5 at the Miami University Art Museum.
"We receive a diet of stories before we are consciously aware of our surroundings that equate disability with evil and bad," McMahon-Klosterman said.
They presented the audience with what they said is a realistic view of the social construction of disability in America and how society develops images of disability partly through media.
"The media teaches us stereotypes that (disabled people) are cruel (as in Captain Hook) really nice (as in Tiny Tim), or can get better if they work hard enough," Lynch said.
According to McMahon-Klosterman, there are 50 million Americans with disabilities who experience marginalization in schools, work and social life.
She said disability is a normal part of life, and it is part of normal human diversity. There are both visible and invisible disabilities. One can be sitting next to someone with a disability and be unaware.
McMahon-Klosterman and Lynch are both working to make Miami's campus welcoming and inclusive to disabled individuals.
By teaching the topic of diversity, these women want people to be well educated and to understand the disabilities that exist.
"After attending their lecture, I have a new outlook on what life is like for people with disabilities and how the media helps mold our warped perceptions," said Katherine Bouloukos, a sophomore mass communications major.
McMahon-Klosterman added that there is a broad range of human abilities. Society needs to change the social constructions of disability, and treat those that have a disability as more "normal."
Associate professor of educational psychology, Kathy McMahon-Klosterman, and professor of sociology and gerontology, Jean Lynch, discussed "Disability as Diversity" April 5 at the Miami University Art Museum.
"We receive a diet of stories before we are consciously aware of our surroundings that equate disability with evil and bad," McMahon-Klosterman said.
They presented the audience with what they said is a realistic view of the social construction of disability in America and how society develops images of disability partly through media.
"The media teaches us stereotypes that (disabled people) are cruel (as in Captain Hook) really nice (as in Tiny Tim), or can get better if they work hard enough," Lynch said.
According to McMahon-Klosterman, there are 50 million Americans with disabilities who experience marginalization in schools, work and social life.
She said disability is a normal part of life, and it is part of normal human diversity. There are both visible and invisible disabilities. One can be sitting next to someone with a disability and be unaware.
McMahon-Klosterman and Lynch are both working to make Miami's campus welcoming and inclusive to disabled individuals.
By teaching the topic of diversity, these women want people to be well educated and to understand the disabilities that exist.
"After attending their lecture, I have a new outlook on what life is like for people with disabilities and how the media helps mold our warped perceptions," said Katherine Bouloukos, a sophomore mass communications major.
McMahon-Klosterman added that there is a broad range of human abilities. Society needs to change the social constructions of disability, and treat those that have a disability as more "normal."
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