October 26, 2014 - 19:57
Disability is highly linked to temporality. For one, "the abled/disabled distinction is neither permanent nor impermeable" (25). People shift in and out of disability over time, and there is no person that is untouched by it. Secondly, disability can distort people's perceptions of time thus affecting their ability to operate within our normative confines of time. Furthermore, disability calls for a flexibility in time whether it be for delays with transportation, mental or physical state, interactions with others or the environment, etc. Currently, time in our world operates under a very normative struture that expects individuals with disabilities to cure themselves in some way to adapt to this pace. Kafer calls for "crip time," where instead of demanding those with disabilities to alter their lives, society should rather alter its perceptions of time to accomodate disability. Kafer discusses the relationship between queer time and crip time, since people who fall under either/both of those categories are constantly at odds with the normative structure of time (i.e. due dates, punctuality, reproductive paths, medical encounters, and much more). Additionally, our society places excess value on longevity and sees it a signifier for both health and stability, in spite of the fact that those who function under queer and/or crip time are not necessarily afforded this. Also in terms of longevity, disabled bodies are never seen as a desired future (and are often dreaded) and there are many dialogues of nostalgia around previously-abled bodies. Kafer argues that it is necessary to imagine a future for crips or to crip time because disabled individuals are never included in plans for the future, there is no space created for them.