THE CULTURAL ADVERSITY OF PHYSICAL-DISABILITY - EROSION OF FULL ADULTPERSONHOOD

Adversities facing people with disabilities include barriers to meetin g daily needs and to social life. Yet, too, fundamental social devalua tion erodes an individual's capacity to retain title to the cultural c ategory of a full person. These cultural adversities are important com ponents in the disablement process. The cultural meanings for physical dependency convey images of childlike, dependent, incomplete persons near death. Using interviews with middle aged and elderly polio surviv ors, the author identifies key cultural categories, the expectations a nd value linked with disability and describe the strategies people use to confront, or not, the erosion of personhood. The importance of und erstanding the category of the person, its historical setting, and evo lution are highlighted. Finally, the inversion of traditional cultural logics for defining the personhood of individuals with disabilities i s illustrated.