Hannah Wallen

The Politics Of Disability Hannah Wallen

In recent years the disability sector has seen the rise of political ideologies directing the provision of services and supports to disabled persons; Marxist, radical feminist, and social justice extremism being the more obvious among them. Such imposed frameworks have important implications for the quality of care received by service users, and to whom services might be tailored, though few academics have acknowledged their impact on men with disabilities. As described in the following pages the negative impact of such ideologies is disproportionally borne by male service users whose experiences and needs are often neglected. The authors describe some of the more problematic issues and offer positive suggestions for men to both identify and hopefully navigate their way around these biases. The first chapter by Hanna Wallen looks at recent feminist advocacy for people with disabilities, which amounts to a gendering of what are essentially genderless issues. The result of such gendering is to exclude men from important service considerations, creating a selective practice that amounts to an attack on men's civil rights. The subsequent three chapters by Peter Wright were first published in 2015 at the Men's Mental Health Network which have been updated for this volume. These essays explore the experience of men with disabilities living in a world that often fails to meet reasonable expectations, particularly in areas of provision of care, and protections against violence and abuse. The articles discuss possible reasons for these failures, in particular the creep of gynocentric attitudes in the disability sector, while offering positive encouragement for men to self-advocate, where possible, in their own best interest.