(Sun Kim, 2023)
I’ve been thinking a lot about barriers throughout the PgCert; not just physical ones, but also the more subtle, systemic decisions that determine who gets to participate and who is left out. What disables people isn’t their body or mind, it’s the systems and structures around them (Adepitan, 2020). This reminds me of the Sara Ahmed reading from last term, which questions how the concept of “use” can function as a systemic structure that supports some, while excluding others.
Christine Sun Kim quotes, “learning sign language is easier than a deaf person learning to hear” (Sun Kim, 2023). The observation illustrates how societal expectations often place the burden of disability on individuals, rather than addressing the broader, structural barriers. It brings to mind the gardening analogy that we discussed in class: when seeds struggle to grow, we instinctively examine the environment: the soil, sunlight, and water – not the seeds themselves.
As a deaf mother navigating multiple identities and cultures, Sun Kim’s experience of disability is very much shaped by her intersecting environment and entanglement with those around her: interpreters, family, language, politics, sense of belonging. These become sites of collaboration within her life and artistic practice, allowing for a rich convergence of voices and knowledge.
Chay Brown adds to this conversation by emphasizing the value of collaboration with diverse perspectives. (Brown, 2023). He explains that accessibility is most effective when it’s shaped by people with lived experience. When disabled voices lead, institutions make better, and more informed decisions. Along with physical adjustments to a space, he also highlights emotional access; connection, care, and community. His observations relate to how attention toward intersectionality reveals common ground, rather than difference (Crenshaw, 1991).
This practice of active listening and collaboration keeps coming up; not as a box-ticking exercise, but as a genuine commitment to valuing the knowledge that disabled people already bring to navigating the world. In a recent class, we talked about the difference between tokenism and affirmative action, and the challenges of addressing historical injustices with both care and integrity. In one of the assigned videos, Paralympian Ade Adepitan describes the complicated emotions of gaining recognition only after the BLM movement – leading to feelings of disheartenment and also validation. (Adepitan, 2020).
The recent UK Supreme Court ruling defining “woman” in the Equality Act as “biological sex” is a real reminder that inclusive spaces don’t exist in isolation from politics. By excluding transgender women from the legal recognition as women, sets a dangerous precedent of harm and exclusion for all. (Butler, 2024).
This ruling underscores why educational spaces in particular must remain alert and stand up to social and legal shifts. We need to create environments that support all students and staff, not only in terms of disability, but also gender, and identity. Victor mentioned the phenomenon bystander effect during class – how individuals are less likely to help a victim in the presence of others. (Campos-Mercade, 2020). How do we reverse that tendency – to instil not just awareness, but action and accountability, so that empowerment and safety are shared by all? This post offers more questions than answers – with an openness and eagerness toward action.
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References:
Adepitan, A. (2020). Ade Adepitan gives amazing explanation of systemic racism. ParalympicsGB. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAsxndpgagU&t=1s.
Brown, C. (2023). Intersectionality in Focus: Empowering Voices during UK Disability History Month 2023. ParaPride. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yID8_s5tjc&t=2s.
Butler, J. and Sarkar, A. (2024). Anti-Trans Ideology Threatens All Of Our Freedoms | Judith Butler Meets Ash Sarkar. Novara Media. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBlV_cwpiyM.
Campos-Mercade, P. (2020). The Volunteer’s Dilemma Explains the Bystander Effect. SSRN Electronic Journal, 186. doi:https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3738664.
Crenshaw, K. (1991). Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence against Women of Color. Stanford Law Review, [online] Vol. 43(No. 6), p.pp. 1241-1299. Available at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/1229039.
Sun Kim, C. (2023). Christine Sun Kim in ‘Friends & Strangers’. Art21. Available at: https://art21.org/watch/art-in-the-twenty-first-century/s11/christine-sun-kim-in-friends-strangers
Hi Ella,
Thank you for such a thoughtful and rich reflection. I really appreciated the way you brought together the ideas of Christine Sun Kim, Chay Brown, Sara Ahmed and others to interrogate how systemic structures shape who gets included and who is left out. The gardening analogy really stuck with me too – such a helpful way to shift our attention from perceived individual ‘deficits’ to the broader environment we create around people.
Your point about collaboration not being a tick-box exercise really resonated. It’s so true that meaningful accessibility only comes from centring lived experience, and your post captured that beautifully. Including emotional access – care, connection, community – is vital, and often overlooked in institutional conversations about inclusion.
The link you made to the Equality Act ruling was also powerful. As you said, educational spaces do not exist in isolation. The ruling is a reminder of how easily legal definitions can reinforce exclusion, and why we need to stay aware and responsive, especially when supporting marginalised identities across disability, gender and beyond.
The way you explored Ade Adepitan’s comments on recognition after BLM was handled with a lot of care – I thought it raised important questions about the emotional impact of delayed visibility and how inclusion must be more than reactive.
Like you, I keep coming back to the need for active listening that leads to sustained action. These are ongoing questions for all of us, and your openness in naming that really strengthens the conversation.
If you’re looking to explore any of these ideas further, you might find these resources interesting:
“The Politics of Presence” by Anne Phillips – a foundational text on representation, relevant to ideas around tokenism versus genuine inclusion.
“Intersectionality in Education” edited by Rita Kakkar and Sarah Bracken – explores intersectional approaches in practice, including disability, race and gender.
Disability Arts Online – a great platform featuring artists and practitioners discussing access and identity through a creative lens: https://disabilityarts.online
Thanks again for such an honest and thoughtful piece. I’m looking forward to seeing how your ideas continue to evolve.
Hi Rachel,
Wow, thank you so much for your comment!
Thank you especially for passing along these references! I will definitely check them out! Glad to hear that some of the thoughts in my post resonated with you.
Thanks again!
Best,
Ella
Hi Ella,
Thanks so much for this thoughtful post. I really liked how you connected personal reflections with theory and class discussions in such a clear and engaging way. The gardening analogy especially stood out — it’s such a powerful reminder that we should be looking at the environment, not the individual, when thinking about access and inclusion.
I also appreciated how you brought in voices like Christine Sun Kim and Chay Brown. The emphasis on collaboration and valuing lived experience came through so strongly, and it really highlights why inclusion needs to be intentional and not just performative.
Your point about the recent legal ruling was a powerful reminder that education doesn’t happen separately from politics. It’s so important that we stay aware and proactive in creating spaces that are truly supportive for everyone.
Thank you for sharing, it’s a really great post!
Hi Matt,
Thank you so much for your comment! Im really glad to hear that points from my post resonated with you. Thanks again for reading and for your reflections!
Best,
Ella
Hi Ella, I really enjoyed reading this. I like the way that including the still from the video of Christine Sun Kim’s “The Sound of No Fight” brings a mode of communication from the positionality of a Deaf artist directly into your blog post.
Like others, I enjoyed the seeds analogy that you use to point to structural and environmental factors that disable individuals or groups. I can imagine using this as an illustration in conversations with students and colleagues in relation to the Social Model of Disability.
I resonate with the optimism you find via Crenshaw’s relating of intersectionality revealing common ground and the way you connect this with Chay Brown’s attention around community and emotional wellbeing. In relation to thinking about community I always find myself returning to bell hooks’ writing. There’s a discussion between bell hooks and john a powell from a conference in 2015 that explores this in a tone I find very relatable .
bell hooks & john a. powell: Belonging Through Connection (Othering & Belonging Conference 2015)
https://youtu.be/0sX7fqIU4gQ?si=8PtQr23ITcb9MLF3
I’d been thinking about the recent High Court ruling and the university’s response, which I found very disheartening. I was grateful to look at the conversation between Judith Butler and Ash Sarkar too. I also found an episode of the Radicals in Conversation podcast from January called Trans Femme Futures: Abolitionist Ethics for Transfeminist Worlds which opened up my thinking and connected an embodied discussion which I related back to Ahmed, who you also mention.
Hi Adam,
Thank you so much for this! Your comment on the use of Sun Kim’s image really reminded me how important it is to include multiple formats when thinking about accessibility. Along these lines, I also really liked your idea of translating the seed analogy into a visual format to discuss the Social Model of Disability.
And thank you as well for sharing those references. I’m really grateful to have been introduced to the conversations between bell hooks and john a. powell, and the Trans Femme Futures podcast. These discussions really got me thinking about the importance of co-creating spaces; not just in adapting to dominant norms, but actively questioning them and leading with love, care, and connection.
Thanks again!
Best,
Ella