Invisible Disabilities

My Body, My Closet: Invisible Disability and the Limits of Coming Out by Ellen Samuels

In this essay Samuels compared invisible disabilities to “femme lesbians,” which is to say that people with invisible disabilities can pass as ‘non-disabled’ people, and therefore experience different sets of obstacles and discrimination than people with visible disabilities. Samuels highlights how non-disabled people have to prove their disability. She recounts a story of a co-worker following somebody who she thought was not disabled who was using a handicap parking spot. With this story we are able to see the phenomenon of being one thing until proven otherwise. The co-worker went through a list of things that could be wrong with the woman she was “surveilling.” Perhaps she has a limp or will become short of breath. In her essay Samuels referenced a blind woman who felt the need to use a cane even though she did not need one, just to prove to the world that she is blind. And if these measures are not taken, to make it very clear that you are disabled, then there is criticism for passing, and assuming the privilege of non-disabled people.