Inequality Made Flesh: Disability and the Political Economy of the Body

Authors

  • Amy Sorenson Independent Research Consultant

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15353/cjds.v4i2.214

Keywords:

Capital, accumulation, corporeal power, productive power, consumptive power, producer, consumed, disposable

Abstract

By pulling together potentially disparate social theories, it is possible to extend our understanding of the body and disability in the social world. The body is intimately tied to processes of material and cultural production and consumption. This article contextualizes disability by placing it within this theoretical understanding of the body and these processes. The body is created through classed processes involving its relationship to the circulation and accumulation of capital. These classed bodies are accorded physical capital, solidifying their position within the production and consumption systems. Power, being unevenly distributed, plays an important role in how bodies are defined and categorized, as well as how they are disciplined. This article introduces new concepts associated with corporeality, including: corporeal power; productive and consumptive power; and producer/consumer/consumed/disposable bodies. 

Author Biography

Amy Sorenson, Independent Research Consultant

Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, Radford University (United States)

Research Associate, Center for Social and Cultural Research, Radford University (United States)

Dr. Sorensen received her PhD in Sociology and Graduate Certificate in Gender & Women’s Studies from Virginia Tech. Her primary areas of specialization are Sociology of the Body and Health/Disability. Her research has focused on occupational disability associated with physical labor in Appalachia. Sparked by research during her post-doctoral research appointment at the Institute on Disability and Human Development at the University of Illinois at Chicago, she continues to research the process of institutional closures in Virginia. 

You can click on this image to open the issue. Image depicts a small wheelchair made out of a folded origami dollar bill sitting on a wood table.

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How to Cite

Sorenson, A. (2015). Inequality Made Flesh: Disability and the Political Economy of the Body. Canadian Journal of Disability Studies, 4(2), 187–205. https://doi.org/10.15353/cjds.v4i2.214

Issue

Vol. 4 No. 2 (2015)

Section

Review Articles

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