Thinking About Diversity: Race, Class, and GenderPhysical Disability as a Master StatusPhysical disability works in much the same ways as class,gender, or race in defining people in the eyes of others. Inthe following interviews, two women explain how a physical disability can become a master status—a trait that overshad-ows everything else about them. The first voice is that of twenty-nine-year-old Donna Finch, who lives with her hus-band and son in Muskogee, Oklahoma, and holds a master’s degree in social work. She is also blind.Most people don’t expect handicapped people to growup; they are always supposed to be children. . . . You aren’t supposed to date, you aren’t supposed to havea job, somehow you’re just supposed to disappear. I’mnot saying this is true of anyone else, but in my owncase I think I was more intellectually mature than mostchildren, and more emotionally immature. I’d say thatnot until the last four or five years have I felt really whole.Rose Helman is an elderly woman who has retired fromher job and lives near New York City. She suffers from spinalmeningitis and is also blind.You ask me if people are really different todaythan in the ’20s and ’30s. Not too much. They are stillfearful of the handicapped. I don’t know if fearful isthe right word, but uncomfortable at least. But I canunderstand it somewhat; it happened to me. I onceasked a man to tell me which staircase to use to getfrom the subway out to the street. He started givingme directions that were confusing, and I said, “Do youmind taking me?” He said, “Not at all.” He grabbed meon the side with my dog on it, so I asked him to takemy other arm. And he said, “I’m sorry, I have no otherarm.” And I said, “That’s all right, I’ll hold onto thejacket.” It felt funny hanging onto the sleeve withoutthe arm in it.What Do You Think?1. Have you ever had a disease or disability that became amaster status? If so, how did others react?2. How might such a master status affect someone’spersonality?3. Can being very fat or very thin serve as a master status?Why or why not?
Thinking About Diversity: Race, Class, and Gender
Physical Disability as a Master Status
Physical disability works in much the same ways as class,
gender, or race in defining people in the eyes of others. In
the following interviews, two women explain how a physical
disability can become a master status—a trait that overshad-
ows everything else about them. The first voice is that of
twenty-nine-year-old Donna Finch, who lives with her hus-
band and son in Muskogee, Oklahoma, and holds a master’s
degree in social work. She is also blind.
Most people don’t expect handicapped people to grow
up; they are always supposed to be children. . . . You
aren’t supposed to date, you aren’t supposed to have
a job, somehow you’re just supposed to disappear. I’m
not saying this is true of anyone else, but in my own
case I think I was more intellectually mature than most
children, and more emotionally immature. I’d say that
not until the last four or five years have I felt really whole.
Rose Helman is an elderly woman who has retired from
her job and lives near New York City. She suffers from spinal
meningitis and is also blind.
You ask me if people are really different today
than in the ’20s and ’30s. Not too much. They are still
fearful of the handicapped. I don’t know if fearful is
the right word, but uncomfortable at least. But I can
understand it somewhat; it happened to me. I once
asked a man to tell me which staircase to use to get
from the subway out to the street. He started giving
me directions that were confusing, and I said, “Do you
mind taking me?” He said, “Not at all.” He grabbed me
on the side with my dog on it, so I asked him to take
my other arm. And he said, “I’m sorry, I have no other
arm.” And I said, “That’s all right, I’ll hold onto the
jacket.” It felt funny hanging onto the sleeve without
the arm in it.
What Do You Think?
1. Have you ever had a disease or disability that became a
master status? If so, how did others react?
2. How might such a master status affect someone’s
personality?
3. Can being very fat or very thin serve as a master status?
Why or why not?
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