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Pride Against Prejudice: A Personal Politics of Disability
Book by Morris, Jenny
200 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1991
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
January 8, 2022
Personally I've always felt uncomfortable about the way people treat disabled people to be honest. Maybe because I've had my own health issues that made people behave in paternalistic ways that deny me autonomy. I think this book does a great job of articulating the disability rights movement positions on issues and I especially appreciate the framing of these issues from a feminist lens. I honestly do not get why treating people with respect and letting them have a say in decisions related to them as well as listening to their experience has to be some contentious things.
I do think there are points made in the book that I disagree with however. Like on the abortion front, I personally don't think that fetuses needed to be recognized as living beings with full rights, which negates some of the arguments around preserving fetus's lives after a certain point in time. I do think its ugly though that people choose to abort a child they would otherwise been happy about because it would be born disabled.
I also think there is a fundamental issue of labor rights at play with any care worker and the tasks they’re asked to do, and so there is some contention there between the disabled person receiving the services. I do not think that means that disabled people do not have the right to control how tasks are done and services provided, just that it needs to be recognized that there would have to be clear communication on how needs are met in a way the disabled person desires that also allows for the worker to assert their own labor rights and boundaries of time and responsibility in terms of duties.
Anyways, this is a really good book and articulated a lot of things I am predisposed to agree with but has also left me with much to think about in terms of how we can meet people's needs and my own prejudices about disability.
I do think there are points made in the book that I disagree with however. Like on the abortion front, I personally don't think that fetuses needed to be recognized as living beings with full rights, which negates some of the arguments around preserving fetus's lives after a certain point in time. I do think its ugly though that people choose to abort a child they would otherwise been happy about because it would be born disabled.
I also think there is a fundamental issue of labor rights at play with any care worker and the tasks they’re asked to do, and so there is some contention there between the disabled person receiving the services. I do not think that means that disabled people do not have the right to control how tasks are done and services provided, just that it needs to be recognized that there would have to be clear communication on how needs are met in a way the disabled person desires that also allows for the worker to assert their own labor rights and boundaries of time and responsibility in terms of duties.
Anyways, this is a really good book and articulated a lot of things I am predisposed to agree with but has also left me with much to think about in terms of how we can meet people's needs and my own prejudices about disability.
September 15, 2020
This is one of the seminal works of the disability rights movement and so it is surprising that it appears to be so little read. It approaches the subject of disability from a feminist perspective. This was written in the early 1990s and much has changed since then (for better and worse). The book covers debates about quality of life, the representation of disability, institutionalization and care homes, debates within feminism, the politics of disability and community care.
There is an interesting look at disability and its representation in western culture. This includes a look at the Third Reich, but also at modern film and TV. Films like My Left Foot and Born on the 4th of July which Morris argues portray how awful dependence is for a man, wheelchairs making the dependency more vivid. She argues disability is used as a metaphor for dependency. She also reminds the reader of the portrayal of the disabled as villains (Captain Hook for example). Morris also analyses the way disabled women are represented in literature and film, which is often very passive and helpless (for example Audrey Hepburn in Wait until Dark) with a heroic non-disabled person as rescuer.
In contrast Morris describes at the end of the book being part of a protest against Children in Need by a disabled activist group called Campaign to Stop Patronage. They were on the pavement outside Broadcasting House and Morris, with some relish describes the reactions of people queuing to go in: initially thinking the group in wheelchairs were supporting the charity and then reacting with shock and disbelief when they realised it was a protest against it.
Morris writes with great clarity:
“Our disability frightens people. They don’t want to think that this is something which could happen to them. So we become separated from common humanity, treated as fundamentally different and alien. Having put up clear barriers between us and them, non-disabled people further hide their fear and discomfort by turning us into objects of pity, comforting themselves by their own kindness and generosity. It is this response which lies at the heart of the discrimination we face – in employment, in housing, in access to all the things that non-disabled people take for granted.”
There are harrowing descriptions of life in various types of institutional care and a look at the assumption that disabled lives are lives that are not worth living. This is particularly prescient following the developments in genetic engineering. Morris looks closely at the debates within feminism, especially in relation to community care. She goes on to make a distinction between “organisations of” disabled people and “organisations for” disabled people.
Morris covers a wide range of arguments and this is a comprehensive analysis of why society treats disability in the way it does and is really a must read for all of us.
There is an interesting look at disability and its representation in western culture. This includes a look at the Third Reich, but also at modern film and TV. Films like My Left Foot and Born on the 4th of July which Morris argues portray how awful dependence is for a man, wheelchairs making the dependency more vivid. She argues disability is used as a metaphor for dependency. She also reminds the reader of the portrayal of the disabled as villains (Captain Hook for example). Morris also analyses the way disabled women are represented in literature and film, which is often very passive and helpless (for example Audrey Hepburn in Wait until Dark) with a heroic non-disabled person as rescuer.
In contrast Morris describes at the end of the book being part of a protest against Children in Need by a disabled activist group called Campaign to Stop Patronage. They were on the pavement outside Broadcasting House and Morris, with some relish describes the reactions of people queuing to go in: initially thinking the group in wheelchairs were supporting the charity and then reacting with shock and disbelief when they realised it was a protest against it.
Morris writes with great clarity:
“Our disability frightens people. They don’t want to think that this is something which could happen to them. So we become separated from common humanity, treated as fundamentally different and alien. Having put up clear barriers between us and them, non-disabled people further hide their fear and discomfort by turning us into objects of pity, comforting themselves by their own kindness and generosity. It is this response which lies at the heart of the discrimination we face – in employment, in housing, in access to all the things that non-disabled people take for granted.”
There are harrowing descriptions of life in various types of institutional care and a look at the assumption that disabled lives are lives that are not worth living. This is particularly prescient following the developments in genetic engineering. Morris looks closely at the debates within feminism, especially in relation to community care. She goes on to make a distinction between “organisations of” disabled people and “organisations for” disabled people.
Morris covers a wide range of arguments and this is a comprehensive analysis of why society treats disability in the way it does and is really a must read for all of us.
March 17, 2020
This changed my view on disability. It shifted my perspective from my body being the deficit to ableism being the disabling barrier..
Such an important book.
Thank you Jenny. I recommend this to everyone.
Such an important book.
Thank you Jenny. I recommend this to everyone.
June 25, 2019
Helpful to see a book that dares to acknowledge the shortcomings of the feminist movement in disability issues, there are a few blows to the Catholic Church (as always) but a recognition that the Hippocratic oath and religion have a strong effect against eugenics and euthanasia, and avoid the replication of Nazi like mass genocide practices.
Ambivalent and quite circular in abortion terms, but daring in many of its affirmations, I would have given it more stars if it weren't by this. The book is compelling and necessary, and even very powerful in its criticisms of popular culture representation of disabled people, little has changed in 2019. Furthermore, not even disabled superheroes feel as compliments nor representation, as they often have a superpower to make it up for it (I'm looking at you, Marvel), which counters the whole idea of a disability, and puts them in the "overachiever, overcomer" mode.
Ambivalent and quite circular in abortion terms, but daring in many of its affirmations, I would have given it more stars if it weren't by this. The book is compelling and necessary, and even very powerful in its criticisms of popular culture representation of disabled people, little has changed in 2019. Furthermore, not even disabled superheroes feel as compliments nor representation, as they often have a superpower to make it up for it (I'm looking at you, Marvel), which counters the whole idea of a disability, and puts them in the "overachiever, overcomer" mode.
April 14, 2017
I have to say that I've fallen in love with the title first... and after reading the book, with Jenny Morris' feminist approach to disability issues. The discussions were nicely organized, following a path from personal to political by advocating human rights perspective to disability. It is empowering to come across with such texts, supporting the liberation of people with disabilities from disabling societal norms.
February 4, 2017
An inspirational book about disability rights linking them to feminism. A book that all would benefit from reading.
September 20, 2025
It was fascinating to read about how disabled people responded in 1993 to their deviant representations. For me, it raises the question of how much has changed over the past thirty years. Her descriptions of representations and experiences are remarkably similar to those of people with disabilities who described their experiences with public disability representation in 2023. For example, on pages 19–23, she collected four pages of quotes from people with disabilities.
According to Morris, their emotional response, the feelings, is not the result of their experience of being deviant – this is the perspective of non-disabled ‘normal’ society – but of being made deviant, among other things, through public disability representation and other forms of ableism. The feelings of people with disabilities are not the primary issue to be addressed; instead, the problem lies in the origins of these feelings, particularly the disability representations they encounter. Therefore, these representations should be addressed.
Morris highlights the importance of "us" and "we"—the need for a sense of belonging and recognition. Underestimatedness, assumed being incapable, is one form of exclusion from the group—emphasising that you can do less than others.
It is encouraging that she includes individuals with learning disabilities in her narrative about people with disabilities. From her perspective, she considers individuals with learning disabilities to be part of her "us."
The experience of being different
There are two factors which need separating out when considering the relationship of disabled people to what is considered to be normal:
1) First, we are often physically different from what is considered to be the norm, the average person.
2) The second part of our experience which distinguishes us from the norm is the way in which our physical and intellectual characteristics often mean that we have additional needs which have to be met if we are to have a reasonable quality of life (p.17-18).
Feminism and the importance of experiences
One of the strengths of feminism has been to give voice to personal experiences. The domination by men of the disability movement has been associated with an avoidance of recognising our feelings about being disabled. A feminist perspective on disability must focus, not just on the socioeconomic and ideological dimensions of our oppression, but also on what it feels like to be unable to walk, to be in pain, to be incontinent, to have fits, to be unable to converse, to be blind or deaf, to have an intellectual ability which is much below the average. There are positive and strong elements to these experiences but there are also negative and painful elements (p. 71).
Questions
Morris' points appear to still hold true, despite the book's 1993 release. She observes that English feminists at the time appear to have completely overlooked disabled women. Does this explain why the feminist analysis of community care by these white, middle-class, non-disabled women seems so outdated? Their conclusion: those in need of care should be referred to institutions to prevent another dependence on unpaid care from women at home (p. 156).
The book also poses additional queries: Why does it appear that no one has noticed the relevance of these experienced representations? Has anything actually changed over the years? How has her book been used by the scientific community? How often was she mentioned in the years past?
According to Morris, their emotional response, the feelings, is not the result of their experience of being deviant – this is the perspective of non-disabled ‘normal’ society – but of being made deviant, among other things, through public disability representation and other forms of ableism. The feelings of people with disabilities are not the primary issue to be addressed; instead, the problem lies in the origins of these feelings, particularly the disability representations they encounter. Therefore, these representations should be addressed.
Morris highlights the importance of "us" and "we"—the need for a sense of belonging and recognition. Underestimatedness, assumed being incapable, is one form of exclusion from the group—emphasising that you can do less than others.
It is encouraging that she includes individuals with learning disabilities in her narrative about people with disabilities. From her perspective, she considers individuals with learning disabilities to be part of her "us."
The experience of being different
There are two factors which need separating out when considering the relationship of disabled people to what is considered to be normal:
1) First, we are often physically different from what is considered to be the norm, the average person.
2) The second part of our experience which distinguishes us from the norm is the way in which our physical and intellectual characteristics often mean that we have additional needs which have to be met if we are to have a reasonable quality of life (p.17-18).
Feminism and the importance of experiences
One of the strengths of feminism has been to give voice to personal experiences. The domination by men of the disability movement has been associated with an avoidance of recognising our feelings about being disabled. A feminist perspective on disability must focus, not just on the socioeconomic and ideological dimensions of our oppression, but also on what it feels like to be unable to walk, to be in pain, to be incontinent, to have fits, to be unable to converse, to be blind or deaf, to have an intellectual ability which is much below the average. There are positive and strong elements to these experiences but there are also negative and painful elements (p. 71).
Questions
Morris' points appear to still hold true, despite the book's 1993 release. She observes that English feminists at the time appear to have completely overlooked disabled women. Does this explain why the feminist analysis of community care by these white, middle-class, non-disabled women seems so outdated? Their conclusion: those in need of care should be referred to institutions to prevent another dependence on unpaid care from women at home (p. 156).
The book also poses additional queries: Why does it appear that no one has noticed the relevance of these experienced representations? Has anything actually changed over the years? How has her book been used by the scientific community? How often was she mentioned in the years past?
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