Question

Note that eugenics was largely started by medical professionals and supported by people who claim a high degree of sympathy for those with disabilities, but included no actual people with disabilities in its leadership. Why do you think that is? Reviewing the Models of Disability this week, which model is most closely related to the eugenics leaders? How do you think that impacts people living with disabilities today, particularly as many must interact with the medical community regularly?

Answer 1

Eugenics is the practice of improving the human species by selectively mating people with specific desirable hereditary traits, this selection of desired heritable characteristics is aimed at improving future generations and typically in reference to humans only. Supporters of eugenics thought this would reduce human suffering by breeding out disease, disabilities and unwanted characteristics from human population. Eugenics literally means good creation and early historian Plato was the first one to promote this idea. This term was coined by British explorer and natural scientist Francis Galton in 1883, who was influenced by Charls Darwin's theory of natural selection.

Eugenics was largely started by medical professionals and supported by people who claim a high degree of sympathy for those with disabilities, but included no actual people with disabilities in its leadership. As the concept of eugenics took hold Eugenics Record office was establishes by prominent citizens and socialists. The office tracked families and their genetic traits, claiming most people like immigrants, minorities or poor unfit and this is how the idea of eugenics worked out. People with disabilities and poor could not reach upto the leadership of this because elites and higher class were behind this.

Lots of people assume that there is clear answer on how to behave and say about disability, but the truth is that thinking on disability changes over time, cultures,and politics. There are few models of disability or conventional wisdom that is used to understand and respond to disabled people in the world, to determine who in society is disabled and who is not disabled. Eugenics model understands that undesirable physical and social characteristics should be bred out of the human race. The basic logic of the theory is that people are either fit or unfit.

Reviewing the Models of Disability this week, eugenics model is most closely related to the eugenics leaders becase they deal with fit or unfit in the society. This theory posits that efforts are needed to decrease elements of genetic inferiority from the human race until they no longer exist.

While people living with disabilities today, particularly as many must interact with the medical community regularly, this kind of disability models influence them a lot. People want their disability to be cured and have a respectful place in the society.