So…I made this photo collage to capture a feeling: the experience of being “disablised”.
To be Disablised is a Process, Not a State.
I have used a wheelchair for more than thirty years.
When I move about in the world, I often find myself depicted on signs with a person in a wheelchair. While each instance may seem minor, together they create a narrative of deviation that compounds over time.
I chose the word “disablised” deliberately as it is something that is done to a person.
“Disablised” means being made disabled by society, not by your body or abilities, but by barriers, attitudes and bias. You can compare this to, e.g., race, gender, or sexuality.
Impairments alone do not “disable” people. Rather, people are “disablised”: actively constructed as “abnormal” and excluded through social and institutional practices, such as the abundant and omnipresent use of “wheelchair signs” (Picture 1).
In my recent posts, I have discussed togetherness and how to design for togetherness. The feeling of being “disablised” I describe here is the opposite of that.
It is telling, almost ironic, that the International Symbol of Access depicts a person, not a situation or an environment. I see this as part of society’s fixation for the last 50+ years of categorising bodies, persons, and roles.
But what if we depicted something completely different instead? In my next post, I will tell you about a study we did, where we explored different categorisational grounds for toilet signs.
Have you ever felt categorised by a sign? I’d love to hear your experience.
This piece builds on concepts from our research into nonclusive design and situation-based categorisation. I took most of the photos; some were submitted to us anonymously as part of our citizen science-based studies, and some were sent to me by colleagues and other researchers.
For a detailed academic exploration of these ideas, see my previous posts, or start here:
Ericsson, S., & Hedvall, P. O. (2024). Situation, Non-categorisation, and Variation—Conveying Nonclusion Through Text and Image. In Difference – Sketching, Visualising and challenging Universal Design in Sweden (Vol. 19, pp. 31–50). Design for All Institute of India. http://designforall.in/?mdocs-file=2472.
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