1. 'You may now become who you thought was disposable': COVID-19 Politics and Ableism
- Author
-
Kitta, Andrea
- Subjects
Discrimination in medical care -- Health aspects ,Disability -- Health aspects ,Health care disparities -- Health aspects ,Disabled persons -- Health aspects - Abstract
This essay critically examines the intersection of COVID-19, Long COVID, ableism, and health care disparities in the United States, emphasizing the transformative impact of COVID-19 as a mass disabling event with a disproportionate impact on marginalized communities. I also bring an autoethnographic lens to my experience of COVID-19 and Long COVID, underscoring the importance of recognizing the diverse and often untellable experiences of individuals with disabilities and challenging the prevailing ableist perspectives embedded in society. I raise ethical considerations of storytelling in the context of Long COVID and urge researchers to embrace empathy and a more inclusive approach that challenges traditional notions of objectivity and distancing within academic research. I call for a collaborative approach between disability studies and folklore studies, encouraging scholars to interrogate and explore the traditions shaped by experiences of disability. Keywords: (from the AFS Ethnographic Thesaurus), health, disabilities, disabled persons, health care, methodology, disability studies, disability rights, empathy, reflexivity, ethics, ON DECEMBER 13, 2020, DISABILITY ADVOCATE Imani Barbarin created a TikTok where she stated in the caption: 'COVID is a mass disabling event. Things will never be the same. Never. [...]
- Published
- 2024