A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of - Etheses - Queen Margaret ...

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the affirmation of unique ways of being situated in society
disabled people challenging presumptions about themselves and their lives in terms
of not only how they differ from what is average or normal, but also about the
assertion, on their own terms, of human embodiment, lifestyles, quality of life and
identity
ways of being that embrace difference
The affirmative model is not about:
all people with impairments celebrating difference
disabled people „coming to terms‟ with disability and impairment
disabled people being „can do‟ or „lovely‟ people
the benefits of living and being marginalised and oppressed in a disabling society
(Swain and French, 2008:185)
However, Swain and French are clear that what is being proposed offers „no clearly defined
formulas for change‟ and „no comfortable remit‟:
the affirmative model itself does not provide a different set of presumptions to
replace those that characterise individual models, particularly the tragedy model
(Swain and French, 2008:186).
In a chapter entitled Further Towards an Affirmation Model in a 2008 Disability Press
publication (written before the issue of Disability On Equal Terms), I argued that to avoid
any ambiguity around the meaning of the affirmative model, a set of definitions are required.
Referring to Swain and French‟s original article I made the point that:
While we are told what the affirmative model is „about‟ and what it is „like‟, we are
not told what it „is‟ (Cameron, 2008:23).
My main concern had been that, because the precise meaning of the term had been left
vague, the possibility was left open that the affirmative model could be understood as
suggesting that there are benefits grounded in the experience of being disabled in terms of
experiencing an unequal social relationship (Cameron, 2008:20). Further, I was concerned
that a rejection of the personal tragedy model might be conceived simply in terms of
reversing this picture to emerge with an equally demeaning set of assumptions. A day centre
manager at a Disability Equality Training session I ran in Edinburgh a few years ago
commented: