The reading for this week made me think about the intersection between design, disability, and the self-perception of dignity. According to the reading, “the priority for disability has traditionally been to enable, while attracting as little attention as possible” (15). In other words, how can you make something that helps someone’s disability while aiding the person in not feeling uncomfortable due to being different? It is a difficult question, but as I was reading this, I had some thoughts.
It seems that our society values fashion in niches as well as being more open to try new things. For example, glasses went from being an only enabler to a wearable that is commonly found in fashion. Another example would be if we look into desktop mouses, they are devices who are there not to only assist a difficulty, but still make some tasks accessible. As for their design, they are not wearable per se, but were characterized by a simple and practical design, but nowadays, you will see mouses that range from office look to full on artistic; in other words, they are trying to find its niche market.
Regarding dignity, I do believe we should not feel ashamed of admitting that we are different. Those who have a financial incentive to profit from those in need should avoid further stigmatization by not making it super obvious that someone is different. As the book mentions, we have to avoid mediocrity. There are other observations that make me wonder in my mind as to what was an only-enabler, and now it’s a common wearable in our world, but that is an activity that requires careful observation and conscientization; there are a variety of problems that might be invisible to our current knowledge.