Jess Thom: 6 things… everyone should know about disability
Jess Thom is comedian and performer, perhaps best known for Touretteshero, an alter-ego and project aimed at creating greater awareness of Tourette syndrome – Thom having been diagnosed with the condition herself in her early twenties.
Thom will be a familiar face to Southbank Centre audiences having made several appearances at our venues before. And this September she’s back once again, returning in her guise as Touretteshero for a special Masked Ball as part of our Unlimited festival.
When she appeared at the same festival four years ago Thom took time to write for our ‘6 Things…’ series, with these six things everyone should know about disability.
Disabled doesn’t mean less able
There’s a common misconception that ‘disabled’ means ‘less able’. It doesn’t. To disable something means to prevent it from functioning. Loads of things get disabled: internet connections, alarm systems, hand dryers and sadly people too – but with the right approach this can be changed, and we can create a world where everyone can participate.
For a long time, the consensus was that we followed either the medical or charity model when thinking about disability. Both of these see a person as being disabled because their body or mind is impaired in some way, and are in need of pity or a cure. They focus on what’s wrong with the person and not on what the person needs.
By contrast, the social model says disability is caused by a failure to consider difference in the way society is organised. This way of thinking recognises that it’s normal for bodies and minds to work differently and for some people to have impairments and others not. Rather than locating disability with individuals the social model helps identify the physical, structural and attitudinal barriers that disable people. Only if these barriers are acknowledged can they can be changed.
Understanding disability using the social model has raised my confidence, and it’s been instrumental in defining how I’ve come to think about my body and my experiences. It’s the reason I say I’m a disabled person rather than a person with a disability. Disability isn’t something I drag around with me and it’s not a permanent, unchanging state. I’m more or less disabled in different contexts. The exciting thing about this is that by working together we can create less disabling spaces, systems and attitudes.
The right adjustments are powerful
Access is more than just ramps
Disability culture isn’t tragic
Making art inclusive – makes it better
There’s still a lot to do