Eli Clare

In accordance with Fung and McCaskell’s “The Imagining of AIDS”, there are many parallels between the aids epidemic and Clare’s retelling to the history of those with disabilities. The progression from invisibility, to ridicule and exclusion, to acknowledgement and acceptance. The progression from ignorance to assistance is similar in both literature. The major difference between the two is that those with disabilities have a significantly larger history. The AIDS epidemic was short and quick by comparison. This is because the AIDS epidemic was an urgent matter that was rapidly spreading and impacting many lives. Disability on the other hand doesn’t spread person to person and, in most circumstances, isn’t fatal to the individual. Additionally …show more content…
Rather than complement each other the ideas and concepts seem interchangeable between blacks and those with disabilities. In regards to sexual policing, Collins notes that “the assumption that racism and heterosexism constitute two separate systems of oppression masks how each relies upon the other for meaning. Because neither system of oppression makes sense without the other, racism and heterosexism might be better viewed as sharing one history with similar yet disparate effects on all Americans differentiated by race, gender, sexuality, class, and nationality.” (COLLINS) This is exactly as Clare describes but includes those with disabilities. Much like the closing paragraph of the book’s summary, all aspects of oppression and negative societal forces feed into each other. They cannot be separated and should not be viewed as a single causal …show more content…
Exile and Pride was written in 1999, however in 2007 Clare addressed an entire conference and repeatedly used themes of community, home and familiarity. “Tonight as I stand here in this ballroom overflowing with people, I'm reminded of the incredible importance of community, how bodily difference means one thing in isolation and quite another when we come together, finding ourselves reflected in each other's stories.” (CLARE 2007). Unfortunately while the themes are consistent, Clare does retain this arrogance and shaming while addressing the FtM conference. Again, while discussing the use of language Clare has a tendency to disregard respect and shame people that are less knowledgeable than them. “I often hear trans people-most frequently folks who are using, or want to use, medical technology to reshape their bodies-name their transness a disability, a birth defect…. The word defect always takes my breath away; it's a punch in the stomach. But before I get to that, I need to say the whole equation makes me incredulous, even as I work to respect the people who frame their transness this way. Do they really believe disability ensures decent-much less good and respectful-health care?” (Clare). The inability to separate the person discussing the issue from the issue at hand weakens the effectiveness of Clare’s argument. While there is great information and discussion

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