Paper Short Abstract:

Disability scholars critique “overcoming narratives” as suggesting disability can be conquered, and ignoring the complexity of individual disability experiences. This presentation explores alternative options of disability narratives that encourage flexibility, fluidity, and community.

Paper Abstract:

Disability scholars have long critiqued “overcoming narratives,” suggesting disability isn’t something that can be “conquered” since that notion takes complexity out of disability experiences. Overcoming narratives simplify disability stories to be ones of individual triumph, ignoring facets such as the variability of disability, web of community and social supports required by many disabled people, and the idea that disability can be part of one’s identity and isn’t necessarily something that can or should be overcome.

This creative and critical presentation will explore options for new kinds of disability narratives that encourage variation, flexibility and fluidity. Using the work of scholars such as Eli Clare and Arthur Frank, as well as my own experiences with disability and in disability communities, I will suggest the benefits to narratives that interrogate definitions and types of disability rather than striving for a specific outcome. Such frameworks can shift and expand definitions of what it means to recover, heal, and adapt. These narratives can also address the more chaotic and unpredictable aspects of disability (and indeed all bodies), such as flares and recurring episodes of decreased ability. I will argue that such narratives allow space for people with disabilities to tell their stories as they see fit and embrace the shifting nature of bodies, focusing on adaptation, flexibility, and community support and understanding.