7:39am August 25, 2014

Pride Against Prejudice available in free ebook form from Disability Studies at Leeds

This is one of my favorite books on disability rights and disability studies. Not least because it’s relatively easy to read. It’s not dense like some disability studies books. I have a lot of reading comprehension problems, and I found it clear and easy to read compared to just about every disability studies book I’ve ever read, with the exception of things by Dave Hingsburger.

And it’s available on PDF!!!! For free!!!! Jenny Morris’s Pride Against Prejudice:

http://disability-studies.leeds.ac.uk/files/library/morris-Pride-and-Prejudice.pdf

(Dave Hingsburger writes exactly like he talks: In simple, conversational prose. It’s hard to beat that. Jenny Morris writes in a less personal and conversational style, but it’s still a simple style compared to a lot of academics.)

Anyway, I just found out, while writing another post, that there is a free ebook edition of Pride Against Prejudice by Jenny Morris, online. If you are unable to afford a print copy (and I already own a print copy I paid for myself, so I’m not worried, personally) I would suggest downloading and reading it.

I would especially suggest downloading and reading it for anyone who has ever believed that ableism is a list of words that you have to memorize and stop saying. For anyone who has ever thought that ableism is just a made-up word, political correctness gone mad, or someone jumping on the bandwagon of legitimate causes to promote a cause that is downright silly.

Jenny Morris uses her background in feminism (and especially the idea that the personal is political) to analyze disability rights issues in a clear and coherent manner. Cal Montgomery once wrote, of Martha Nussbaum’s “feminist” approach to disability:

Nussbaum’s view of disability is truncated by her unwillingness to consider the ways in which the physical and social environments limit our ability to develop human powers and to enjoy liberty and independence, the ways in which human dependence is highlighted or downplayed in a variety of ways. Her view is no more the view of disability than is one that says, “We may not move like you, but we think like you, and that’s what’s really important.”

Her reliance on these three stories, on three books which explore – in various ways – the lives and loves and labors of family and paid caretakers, means that her view of disability, as expressed in these pages, is incomplete. She draws on an old and familiar series of clichés: disability as dependence, disability as innate limitation, disability as political voicelessness. She comes at disability through feminism and commits the traditional feminist errors about disability, rather than reaching for the vitality that a fully realized interaction between feminists and those concerned with disability can offer.

That last part was bolded by me. Pride Against Prejudice reaches for the vitality that a fully realized interaction between feminists and those concerned with disability can offer. And I think, often, it gets there. If you want to read it, go to the following link and save the PDF file to your computer for later reading:

http://disability-studies.leeds.ac.uk/files/library/morris-Pride-and-Prejudice.pdf

This has been one of my favorite introductions to disability rights, for most of my adult life now. I’ve got a battered, falling-apart copy in my apartment. It sadly seems to be out of print, and I’ve seen copies online run from $2 to $400, so there’s no telling what it will cost if you don’t get the free version. Just don’t use it for commercial use.

This is the library it’s from, and the terms of use:

http://disability-studies.leeds.ac.uk/library/

Anyway, seriously, enjoy. Even if you already know the basics, I’ve always found this book pleasant to read because it lays everything out in such a simple and accessible way. YMMV on simple and accessible of course – I know my reading preferences are highly idiosyncratic – but I firmly hope that it’s as accessible for other readers as it is for me. Because to me it’s a beautiful work of art when it comes to identifying and describing disability oppression in a way that you can understand even if you’ve never heard of it before.

So if you have the time and are able to read things like this.

And especially, if you don’t know a lot about ableism, and you want to know more.

And especially, if up until now, all you’ve heard of ableism is that there’s certain words you shouldn’t say.

Then by all means try and read it.

Also, I’d really appreciate if people would pass this link around. I’d appreciate if people would pass the link around whenever they hear people saying that ableism isn’t a real thing, or that ableism is just a bunch of words you have to memorize, or that ableism doesn’t really harm anyone.

It’s rare when you can simply point someone at an ebook and say “Here is the perfect way to get into this subject on an introductory level, if you’re really interested in learning more.” And people are always asking for ways to be educated about these things. So if, after reading the book yourself, you think it’s a good one – by all means spread the word far and wide that this exists in free ebook form, add it to your master lists on ableism, do whatever you can to get it out there, because it’s that much worth it.

Pride Against Prejudice by Jenny Morris. Don’t forget the name, don’t forget the book. I am ecstastic that Leeds has put it out there to read. But just in case for some reason they remove it from their website (I don’t see why they would, they’ve got most of her other writings up there as well) I’d advise actually downloading and saving the PDF to your computer for safekeeping.

But seriously. You have no idea how excited I am about this book. It was one of my first introductions to disability studies. It was one of the few disability studies books that I could read without (much) extra effort given my cognitive disabilities and reading comprehension problems. Because most disability studies books are written in dense and impenetrable academic jargon. And this one… I can’t tell if it’s not written that way, or if it’s just written so much less that way that I couldn’t tell. But it felt very simple to me compared to anything else I’ve ever read on the subject, with the exception of Hingsburger. And I’m excited that anyone on tumblr who wants to, can go download this book, right now, and read about ableism and disability rights, the real thing. Not that it’s perfect, I’m not saying that, but… wow, just go read it if you can (and want to), okay? And form your own judgements.