February 13, 2025 - 15:37
In both of my disabilities classes, advanced theory and literature, there has been a discussion of "masking". It seems as though as long as their has been disabled people recording their own lives, there has been a trend of what has been come to be known as "masking". By psycological definition "...masking, also known as social camouflaging, is a defensive behavior in which an individual conceals their natural personality or behavior in response to social pressure, abuse, or harassment." Which is a pretty good definition in my opionon. Unfortunetly, in many medical and non-disabled spaces maksing has come to be know as something that is done because of a disability or a person's own weakness. In reality, it is just as the definition reads "...in response to social pressure, abuse, or harassment." Masking is not something those of us who do it want to do, it is soemthing we have to do to survive in society. In this class we read of how Riva Lehrer often masked her disabled body to try and prove her humanity to others, in my other disabilities class we read of a middle-ages (some 600 years ago) mentally disabled man who tried his hardest to present "norm" as to not be shunned anymore, and in my own life I often do it to get through daily social interactions. It disorts our perception of ourselves, because the mask becomes who we are to everyone around us, but as the end of both stories in my classes and my own, masks (with time, care, and acceptence) can be removed and the person beneath can shine through with who they really are.