User:Frufino/Crip Theory

Crip theory is a theoretical pedagogy rooted in the disability rights movement, disability studies, and queer theory. It challenges the normalcy instilled within the the queer and disabled community. Crip theory shifts the focus of looking at disability as solely identity based and instead seeks to understand disability through a theoretical and intersectional approach. It explores how disability operates as an ideology and production of knowledge, while understanding how institutions effect people with disabilities/disabled people. Similar to the reclamation of the word “queer”, by the LGBTQIA+ community, “Crip” is also a reclamation of identity of a term that has been historically used to oppress disabled people/people with disabilities. However, it's important to note the reclamation of the term has not been universally embraced by the all the members of the disabled community.

Crip theory is one of the foundations of intersectional analysis within disabled identities. More specifically, it serves to understand the intersections between queerness and disability. Crip theory though has had underwhelming success compared to its relatives queer theory and feminist theory, as crip theory has been overlooked in these intersectional discussions.

Genealogy
Robert McRuer coined the term crip theory in his work titled "Crip Theory: Cultural Signs of Queerness and Disability." In an interview, McRuer defines crip theory as serving a similar function to disability studies and activism, as queer theory does for the lesbian and gay studies or movements.

Queer theory, arose to combat the normalization that had been instilled in the lesbian and gay community during the mid-20th century. In the early 1950s through mid-1970s, the gay and lesbian movement marginalized alternative forms of sexuality and focused on assimilating to heteronormative values. Queer theory aimed to challenge the heterosexual/homosexual binary that the gay mainstream culture valued as the fixation to this binary opposed other forms of queerness that moved beyond the binary including (but not limited to): bisexual, transgender, and asexual bodies. In a similar way, McRuer uses this foundation to analyze the inadequacy of the able-bodied/disabled binary.

By intersecting disability with queerness, McRuer delves into the political landscape of the gay and lesbian movement, particularly in their pursuit of legal same-sex marriages and its intersection with disability rights. Through his analysis, McRuer discusses the "Paradox of Marriage" which acknowledges the duality of gay marriage and how it both challenged and reinforced societal norms of ability. McRuer delves into the complexities of how marriage simultaneously benefit disabled individuals by granting queer partners decision-making power over their disabled spouses' health (as opposed to their parents), yet also perpetuates the normalization of homosexuality to fit heteronormative ideals. This critical examination sheds light on the intersection between marriage, queerness, and disability, and urges for a more inclusive analysis to understand these intersecting identities.

Compulsory able-bodiedness
McRuer’s idea of compulsory able-bodiedness draws parallels to Adrienne Rich’s notion of compulsory heterosexuality, further revealing the interconnectedness of queer theory and crip theory. Compulsory able-bodiedness refers to society's presumption that individuals are able-bodied unless demonstrated otherwise. Consequently, this leads to frequent oversight upon interactions with those with cognitive or invisible disabilities. Compulsory able-bodiedness demands that disabled bodies perform as able bodied at the risk of exclusion and often can result in the dismissal of one's disability. This concept displays the implicit nature of ableism and highlights how the able/disabled binary perpetrates a cycle of exclusion and social neglect.

McRuer argues that compulsory able-bodiedness operates under the pretense of choice, in a system where there is no choice for individuals with disabilities. McRuer argues that nobody can fully adhere to able-bodied standards indefinitely because overtime, everyone will encounter a point in life where their abilities will be limited, whether it be to aging, injury, other life experiences. This means that disability becomes a shared aspect of human existence, as aging or other life events inevitably lead to disability.

Disability rights movement
Disability rights emerged as a fundamental movement for equal rights for disabled individuals. Key demonstrations such as the 504 sit-ins on April 5, 1977 aimed at advancing the passing of the 504 regulations, and the Capitol Crawl on March 12, 1990 aimed for passing of the ADA bill. These demonstrations were significant milestones in early disability activism and highlighted the achievements of the disability rights movement in advocating for equal rights for disabled bodies. From this movement disability studies emerged to center disabled experiences in academia and introduced the social model. The social model serves to reframe the perception of disability from being solely an individual struggle requiring "cure" or "treatment" to one where societal and environmental structures are taken into consideration. With this model, barriers to accessibility are attributed not to the individual's disability but rather to the lack of accommodation in our physical and social environment.

Critiques
However, within the disability studies and rights movement, there exists a critical perspective that challenges these existing frameworks. These critiques stem from the recognition that the disability rights movement historically adopted a single-issue identity approach, prioritizing disability while overlooking other intersecting dimensions of identity such as race, gender, sexuality, immigration status, age, and religion. Leadership roles within the movement were often dominated by white individuals, leading to the centering of white-disabled experiences and failed to address the privileges granted to white-disabled bodies.

Additionally, this perspective emphasizes the lack of diversity within the academic field of disability studies and questions the normalization of disability. Some scholars argue against the assumption that all disabled individuals are inherently unified solely because of their disability, as within the disabled community there exist dissenting voices regarding the disability rights movement's agenda. Additionally, both the disability rights movement and disability studies face criticism for their predominant focus on physical and sensory disabilities, excluding other forms of disability, especially those with severe impairments. These critiques also highlight the existing hierarchy within disability, the inadequate accommodation provided in educational settings, and the limited participation of individuals with severe disabilities in activist movements.

The disability rights movement and disability studies draw criticism for their tendency to prioritize whiteness and overlook discussions surrounding race and blackness in their initiatives. For instance, disability studies have often emitted a narrative suggesting that Black people intentionally distance themselves from disability concepts, therefore justifying the neutralization of race in the discussion. However, scholars like Sami Schalk, in her work "Black Disability Politics," argue that this narrative is simply a convenient way to ignore the experiences of Black disabled bodies and maintain a focus on white-disabled bodies. Schalk also critiques the disability rights movement for its failure to address intersections of class, race, and queerness, leading to the emergence of disability justice as a framework designed to address the needs of intersectionally marginalized identities.

Disability justice movement
Disability justice was developed in the mid-2000s by disabled BIPOC, disabled queer people, and disabled queer BIPOC and builds from crip theory's intersectional foundation. This movement aims to extend the work of the disability rights movement by including new intersectional activist practices and frameworks that include race. It has even been discussed as the "second wave" of disability rights, similarly to the different waves of feminism. Along with this, it acknowledges the fact that bodies can be made disabled by white supremacy, capitalism, and heteropatriarchal ignorance and violence. Disability justice understands that white supremacy and ableism are intertwined, thereby moving beyond white disability studies that often ignores race in the production of knowledge.

Sins Invalid
Sins Invalid is an organization that has spawned from disability justice and was established by disabled individuals from marginalized communities, including BIPOC and LGBTQ+/gender-variant backgrounds. Their objective is to nurture and promote artists with disabilities, especially those historically neutralized.They produce work like music, art, dance, and education made by these disabled bodies. Sins Invalid's creative endeavors explore themes like sexuality, embodiment, and the disabled experience, challenging societal norms of attractiveness and desirability to embrace all bodies and communities. Along with this, Sins Invalid has published literature such as,Skin,Tooth, and Bone: The Basis of Movement is Our People, a Disability Justice Primer that serves to teach people about disability justice.

The organization adopted an expansive view of disability, encompassing a range of conditions including physical impairments, sensory differences, mental health, cognitive disabilities, and chronic/severe illnesses. By acknowledging the intersecting nature of disability and medicalization, Sins Invalid extended its support to marginalized communities such as trans, gender-variant, and intersex individuals whose bodies who move beyond conventional notions of normalcy. Through their work, Sins Invalid amplifies the voices and experiences of disabled BIPOC queer individuals, promoting a culture of inclusivity, empowerment, and artistic exploration.

Methodology
Crip Theory academics develop crip literature and knowledge through numerous ways outside of traditional academia. They produce knowledge from their activism, lived experiences, interviews with other disabled bodies, media analysis, and more.

Activism and media analysis
In his work, McRuer analyzes the news media that was reproduced during the early gay and lesbian movement, specifically the image of the "Good Gay". He discusses how the marriage rights movement manufactured the "Good Gay" image which presented gay men as well-behaved, domesticated, and able-bodied. This image normalized the idea that gay couples needed to assimilate into a heteropatriarchal culture as opposed to a self-defined view of marriage. It imposed normalcy, something that disabled queer bodies would be unable to attain. This exclusion he notes, places disabled queer bodies as subordinate and opposite to able-bodiedness.

Archives, interviews, blogs, and social media
In her work, Sami Schalk interviews Black disabled activists and recounts there experiences in activism, specifically looking at the way Black liberation movements like the Black lives Matter protests and other forms of social justice organizing are connected to disability. She explains that Black disabled bodies participate in disability justice and Black liberation not separately, rather simultaneously, she describes this as Black Disability Politics.