Signal Boost: That's Not Helpful
Dec. 17th, 2011 07:26 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
teafeatherI liked this post about the problems with the "open person" status of a person with a temporary physical disability, especially the phrasing "do help to you." Having help done to you is one of the microaggressions that people with an obvious physical disability deal with nearly every time they go out in public.
For those not familiar with the term, "open person" in this context refers to the status of people who are one the receiving end of social interactions that cross the boundaries of what a person would normally expect or tolerate from a person with a given type of social relationship. Examples are touching a pregnant woman's belly, touching the hair of a person of African descent who has natural hair, asking about a trans person's genitals, or asking intrusive medical questions of a person with an apparent disability or medical condition. There are situations in which these kinds of interactions are acceptable given a socially intimate relationship, but infuriatingly inappropriate when they come from a stranger or casual acquaintance.
Andrea is no stranger to this kind of thing (she has multiple disabilities), it just increased frequency when she recently injured her foot:
http://qw88nb88.wordpress.com/2011/12/03/thats-not-helpful/
For those not familiar with the term, "open person" in this context refers to the status of people who are one the receiving end of social interactions that cross the boundaries of what a person would normally expect or tolerate from a person with a given type of social relationship. Examples are touching a pregnant woman's belly, touching the hair of a person of African descent who has natural hair, asking about a trans person's genitals, or asking intrusive medical questions of a person with an apparent disability or medical condition. There are situations in which these kinds of interactions are acceptable given a socially intimate relationship, but infuriatingly inappropriate when they come from a stranger or casual acquaintance.
Andrea is no stranger to this kind of thing (she has multiple disabilities), it just increased frequency when she recently injured her foot:
http://qw88nb88.wordpress.com/2011/12/03/thats-not-helpful/
