Reading through Graham Pullin, he makes some interesting arguments of how our world can actually enhance and create identity even in our disabilities we have. I think the best case made is with our glasses. It’s something I see a lot in many of my family members who require glasses to see better. Some don’t really say anything about them, while others ask around if or how the glasses they’re wearing makes them look like. But if I’m honest, I think glasses actually can very much enhance the stylistic choices of a person’s clothes. You could have say glasses that match your outfit, or highlight your personality. Even though I personally have never really judged (I mean why would you yk) for wearing glasses, I really like when I see some people just kinda go all out and choose a pair that makes them stand out, instead of hiding them like the medical world would like.
Another interesting thing is the hearing aids. Recently my grandfather actually started wearing them as he had trouble hearing and honestly I’ve not noticed them at all. I believe the main fact is that they’re flush in his ears and they’re a bodily sort of skin color to blend in with his ears. And if I’m honest, even reading the points the books makes are partially outdated as the book itself was published in 2009. Now we live in a world where everyone wears earbuds or some sort of earphones, most likely wireless as well. It mostly helps us with our listening needs of music, or podcasts and you could see them everywhere. And since we’ve normalized their use, now even some have features that can act just like hearing aids. Again, this helps a lot in making earbuds acceptable for everyone to wear. In short, now that everyone is wearing a “hearing aid” we can definitely build on making our world much more connected.
Both products at one point were stigmatized. Now they’re normalized. This practice is exactly how we can achieve a better world. Not just by reinventing meaning, but creating a design choice. Narrative does a lot in influencing public perception of a given stigma or bias. And honestly, kudos to all that are designing a more acceptable world for all to take part in, this is what we need more of. Small achievements like this, really can amount to big changes.