Timeline of Masculinity and Disability

Timeline of the Disability Rights Movement

1883

1900

1910

1927

1933

1945

Further protesting and demonstration leads to the development of legislature to further the rights of people with disabilities.

1973

Americans with Disabilities Act

1995

2000

* All sources are cited in the groups

main bibliography under notes*

1980's Legislation for Disabled People

1960's Legislation for Disabled People

The Great War of 1914-1918

After WWI left many disabled veterans, soldiers were apprehensive to join the second WW. This led to further crisis' in masculinity as a 'proper man' would fight for their country and win. After WWII many more veterans came back wounded and permanently disabled, compounding the problems around lack of support. To be disabled in the 1930's and 1940's meant one was not a proper man.

Source: McCallum, 2015

1961

First accessibility standard published by the American National Standards Institute.

Goal was to force businesses to make buildings accessible to people with physical disabilities.

League of the Physically Handicapped

German Eugen cs,

Naz Germany & WWII

Perhaps one of the best examples of the devastating effects of Eugenics is the Holocaust, which originally began with forced sterilization and ended with the murder of millions of people.

source: NCLD, 2016

source: Stern, 2005

Emergence of Eugenics

AAPD

1963

1968

The Mental Retardation Facilities and Community Mental Health Centers Construction Act of 1963 passes with the goal of setting aside funding for advocacy centers and universities.

Further legislation is passed requiring accessible buildings. Improvement for working people with disabilities, as buildings often physically limited their ability to do their job.

The great war significantly impacted the field of disability studies as many veterans came back from war permanently disabled. The disabled veterans also faced a crisis in masculinity, as their previously able bodies would have worked to provide for the family. By viewing the disabled body as lesser, many veterans felt they were not good enough men despite their sacrifice.

In 1883 Francis Galton defined eugenics as:

"the study of the agencies under social control that may improve or impair the racial qualities of future generations, either physically or mentally"

Formed in 1935 in New York City the league's main focus was on the unemployment of many physically disabled people. Many of the members had been wounded in WWI or WWII and the league was angry with the lack of jobs and discrimination they faced.

The league staged many protests and demonstrations and significantly advanced disabled individuals right to work during the 1930's.

The formation of the League of The Physically Handicapped is regarded as the starting point for the disability rights movement.

By 1935 Eugenics was still being studied and forced sterilization was still occurring.

1982: UN encourages global equity and participation of the disabled

1988: Assistive Technology Act is passed, encourages accessible technology to be developed for disabled people

The election of Ronald Reagan limited progress in the movement for a decade during the 1980's. A majority of Reagan's changes did not focus on disabled people.

In 1995 the American Association of People with Disabilities is formed on the 5th anniversary of the ADA.

Goals include furthering the movement and bringing more awareness to disabled issues.

By 1933 the eugenics movement in Germany was well established and based on American research. Adolf Hilter was fond of eugenics and his idea of the perfect race was largely based on the concept of eugenics.

image source:

http://www.sensoryfriends.com/topical-blogs/celebrating-black-history-month-and-its-pathways-to-the-disabilities-civil-rights-movement

1964

source: Longmore and Goldberger, 2000

1968

source: https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/hitler.html

Source: Allen, 1986

First International Special Olympics is held in Chicago, Illinois.

Civil Rights Bill is passed and is a significant win for women and African American people, however the act does little to help people who are disabled gain equal rights.

McCallum, 2015

source: Scotch, 1989.

source: AAPD, 2016

source: NCLD, 2016

1914

1939

1935

1918

WWII

The second world war was from 1939-1945

Thousands more soldiers came home disabled and unable to work. Many found themselves stigmatized despite the sacrifice they made for their country

1960

1980

1940

1920

1880

The 21st Century

1990

1950's: Civil Rights Movement Starts

Rehabilitation Act

Eugenics Movement

Buck V. Bell

Further improvements have been made for disability rights.

In 2008 congress passed an amendment that would change the interpretation of the ADA. The amendment meant that individuals were to be accommodated under the ADA and the ADA was not to be scrutinized to evaluate if an individual was disabled or not. Certain cases were overruled as the ADA had been interpreted too rigidly.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 reformed health care to ensure individuals with disabilities receive Medicaid and are not refused medical services based on disabilities.

In 2011 President Obama enacted a bill that requires major corporations to fulfill the 7% disabled work force quota that was set out in the 1973 Rehabilitation Act.

The Americans with Disabilities Act became law in 1990 after many years of lobbying the government and public organizations.

The Act extended the protection disabled people received in the public sphere into the private sector. This Act was seen as a testament to the hard work of the movement. Supporters of this Act included the Gay Rights Movement as people who are HIV positive are considered disabled under the Act.

Alongside the civil rights movement, the disability rights movement continued to gain momentum and protest.

The civil rights movement provided a framework that the disability rights movement adopted to promote their own issues.

Section 504 of the rehabilitation act states that public bodies can not discriminate based on disability. This act is considered a significant advance in the disability rights movement.

Forced sterilization was still occurring into the 1970's. Rates declined sharply towards the 1980's and eugenics was abandoned after forced sterilization was found unconstitutional.

Until the 1900's Eugenicists lacked concrete research demonstrating that certain traits are hereditary. However, by 1910 the discoveries made by Joseph Mendel in genetics became widely accepted by many scientists. Mendel proved that certain traits are inheritable from parents, and this concept became the foundation of the eugenics movement.

In 1910 the Eugenics Record Office (ERO) was established in Cold Spring Harbour, Long Island, New York. The establishment of the ERO is seen as a key event in the history of Eugenics. It provided a formal spot for eugenicists to meet and gave the field of eugenics a false legitimacy. The ERO was viewed as a governing body of the field and was in operation the entire time eugenics was being practiced in America.

In 1924 Virginia made forced sterilization of the insane or feeble minded legal. This lead to Buck v. Bell.

In 1927 the case of Buck v. Bell helped pave the way for legal forced sterilization. The US supreme court ruled that the forced sterilization of 17 year old Carrie Bell was constitutional. Buck v. Bell thus set a precedence for further forced sterilization cases.

Throughout the 1920's the ERO worked to define forced sterilization in a way that framed it as beneficial to all of society. The work of Harry Laughlin directly contributed to the legislation passed by several states which allowed for forced sterilization.

source: NCLD, 2016

source: Longmore and Goldberger, 2000

Source: AAPD, 2015

Source: Allen, 1986