The View from Where I Sit

Tag: disability history

  • Rosa May Billinghurst

    More than 100 years ago, Rosa showed that disability and power can exist in the same story.

    A wheelchair did not limit her voice. It amplified it.

    From 31 May 1875 – 29 July 1953, Rosa Billinghurst was a British suffragette and women’s rights activist. She was known popularly as the “cripple suffragette” as she campaigned in a tricycle.

    Early life
    She was born in 1875 in Lewisham, London, the second of nine children of Rosa Ann (Brinsmead) Billinghurst and Henry Farncombe Billinghurst. Her mother came from a family who manufactured pianos and her father was a banker.

    As a child she survived polio, which left her unable to walk. She wore leg-irons and used either crutches or a modified tricycle. She became active in social work in a Greenwich workhouse, taught in a Sunday School, and joined the temperance Band of Hope.

    Politics
    She was an active member of a Women’s Liberal Association (fifteen of which joined in 1887 to become the Women’s Liberal Federation that ultimately grew to 942 affiliated associations) and later, in 1907, a member of the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU). She took part in the WSPU march to the Royal Albert Hall in South Kensington, London, in June 1908. Billinghurst helped organise the WSPU response in the July 1908 Haggerston by-election; polling was on the day that twenty-four suffragettes were released from Holloway prison and came around the area canvassing to ‘keep the Liberal out.’

    In 1909, she was presumed by Annie Barnes to be the wheelchair user seen distracting a police horse, who laughed as another woman seemed to tip the rider off to fall in a horse trough. The occupant of the wheelchair was the one arrested and rough-handled into a waiting police van.

    Two years later, she founded the Greenwich branch of the WSPU. As its first secretary she took part in the ‘1910 Black Friday’ demonstrations, using an adapted tricycle for mobility. She was arrested after the police capsized her from the trike. Billinghurst knew that she was helpless when this happened, but she was quite prepared to take the added publicity to benefit the cause of suffrage. The police once exploited her disability leaving her in a side street after letting her tyres down and pocketing the valves.


    Billinghurst was able to get closer to the House of Commons on another occasion in 1911, when police thought the better of attacking her trike with ‘Votes for Women’ banner during the rush. She is thought to have been one of the suffragettes to avoid the 1911 census on the night of Sunday 2 April 1911, in response to the calls from suffragette organisations for a boycott.

    She would place her crutches on both sides of her tricycle and would charge any opposition. She was arrested several more times in the next few years.

    The Glaswegian suffragette Janie Allan apparently worked in partnership with Billinghurst during the window-smashing campaign of March 1912, with Billinghurst apparently hiding a supply of stones under the rug that covered her knees. Billinghurst’s first stint in Holloway Prison was for smashing a window on Henrietta Street during this campaign, for which she was sentenced to one month’s hard labour. The prison authorities were confused regarding her sentence to hard labour, and gave her no extra work. She was befriended by many other prisoners, including Dr. Alice Stewart Ker, who had Billinghurst smuggle a letter out to Ker’s daughter on her release.


    On 8 January 1913, she was tried at the Old Bailey and sentenced to eight months in Holloway Prison for damaging letters in a mailbox. Billinghurst represented herself in court to plead the case for women’s suffrage. Her defence titled “The Guilt Lies on the Shoulders of the Government” was published in The Suffragette. She subsequently went on a hunger strike, and was force-fed along with the other imprisoned suffragettes participating in the strike. She became so ill that she was released two weeks after her force-feeding began.

    She spoke at a public meeting in West Hampstead in March 1913. On the 24th of May, she chained herself to the gates of Buckingham Palace and on 14 June she was dressed in white on her trike in the funeral procession for suffragette Emily Wilding Davison, who was killed while reaching for the reins of the King’s horse at the Epsom Derby.

    Billinghurst also took part in the mass deputation of suffragettes to petition King George V on 21 May 1914. Although she was not arrested, two policemen deliberately tipped her out of her tricycle.

    Billinghurst supported the Pankhursts’ lead when they decided to prioritise the war over the campaign for women’s rights. She helped in Christabel Pankhurst’s campaign to be elected in Smethwick in 1918.

    However, she had joined the Women’s Freedom League (WFL) and became part of the Suffragette Fellowship. She supported Jill Craigie’s Equal Pay Film Fund.

    Billinghurst stopped her activity for women’s suffrage after the Parliament (Qualification of Women) Act 1918 gave some women the vote. She later attended the funeral of Emmeline Pankhurst and the unveiling of Emmeline’s statue in 1930.

    Family
    In 1911, she was residing with her parents at 7 Oakhurst Road, Lewisham, London.

    Billinghurst lived in the garden house of her property “Minikoi”, Sunbury, Surrey (then in Middlesex), with her adopted daughter, “Beth”. Beth has since written a book describing her relationship with her adopted mother. Her brother was Alfred John Billinghurst, an artist, with whom she lived after 1914.

    Death
    She died on 29 July 1953 at a hospital in Twickenham, leaving her body to science.

    Memorial recognition
    Her name and picture (and 58 other women’s suffrage supporters) are on the plinth of the statue of Millicent Fawcett in Parliament Square, London, unveiled in 2018.

  • The Disability Arts Movement

    The Disability Arts Movement is a cultural and political movement that advocates for the rights, representation, and inclusion of disabled artists, challenging societal norms and celebrating disability as a source of creativity.


    Overview and History
    The Disability Arts Movement emerged in the late 1970s and 1980s, coinciding with the rise of disability rights activism. It was initiated by disabled artists and activists who sought to address the marginalization of disabled individuals in the arts and culture. The movement emphasizes the importance of self-representation, allowing disabled individuals to control their narratives and artistic expressions.

    Key Themes and Objectives
    Challenging Ableism: The movement seeks to dismantle ableist norms and stereotypes, promoting the idea that disability can be a source of artistic inspiration rather than a limitation.

    Cultural Value: It advocates for the recognition of disability as a valuable aspect of cultural identity, encouraging the exploration of disability experiences through various art forms, including visual arts, theater, and literature.

    Legislative Impact: The movement has influenced significant legislation, such as the Disability Discrimination Act of 1995 in the UK, which aimed to protect the rights of disabled individuals in various sectors, including the arts.

    Notable Contributions and Events
    Artistic Expression    : The Disability Arts Movement has led to the creation of numerous artworks that reflect the lived experiences of disabled individuals. This includes exhibitions, performances, and festivals that showcase the talents of disabled artists.

    DisArt Festival:     One of the largest disability art festivals in the U.S., the DisArt Festival, aims to change perceptions about disability through art. It features a variety of artistic expressions, including fashion designed for disabled bodies, highlighting the intersection of disability and creativity.

    Conclusion
    The Disability Arts Movement represents a significant shift in how disability is perceived within the arts. By advocating for the rights and visibility of disabled artists, the movement not only enriches the cultural landscape but also fosters a more inclusive society that values diversity and creativity. Through ongoing efforts, the movement continues to challenge societal barriers and promote equitable access to artistic opportunities for all.

  • Where did the term ‘Handicap’ come from?

    You might have heard that the word originated from disabled veterans in England during King Henry VII’s reign (15th-16th century). Unable to make a living for themselves after war, they were forced to take to the streets with their “cap in hand,” begging for coins. King Henry VII made it legal for disabled people to beg because he didn’t think they could hold down jobs. Disabled individuals, therefore, became known as “handicapped”…It turns out, though, that this is not true.

    In contrast, “Cap in hand” actually refers to taking one’s hat off as a sign of respect, such as when listening to the national anthem or entering a building. This has been a custom since 1565, when people took their “caps in hand” to show subservience to certain individuals like judges. The phrase eventually took on the meaning “to humbly seek a favour.” It is still in use today, such as when referring to asking a boss for a raise, “cap in hand.

    Now in the late nineteenth century, the term “affliction” began to disappear and people started using the term “handicapped.” “Handicapped” arose in the context of evolutionary theory, the world was being reinterpreted as a place of struggle, of competition, in the midst of industrial expansion and growing commercialism. It arose in the context of an economy that was fiercely competitive and where people were increasingly seen as competing individuals.

    The term “handicapped” originally comes from a game called “Hand in Cap,” which is a game of chance in which every person would have an equal chance of winning in each succeeding game that you played. Later it was applied to horse racing. You would handicap a fast horse by hanging stones on it to slow it down. It began, then, in the late nineteenth century to be applied to people with disabilities, and it always occurred in the phrase, “handicapped in the race for life,” or “handicapped in the struggle for existence”. It was very much tied to the kind of competitive, social-evolutionist worldview that was obvious in the late nineteenth century. And that was the term that was used through much of the twentieth century until fairly recently, when the term “disability” began to replace it.

    The interesting difference between “affliction” and “handicapped” is that “affliction” was not something you should overcome. While an “affliction” was a spiritual burden to be borne with faith and lived with as best as possible, in submission to God’s wisdom, a “handicap” was a condition to be conquered, an impediment to worldly success that had to be overcome. Thus twentieth-century success stories about disabled people are most often stories of “overcoming.”

    ‘Handicapped’ is a word which many disabled people consider to be the equivalent of ‘nigger’. It evokes thoughts of being held back, not in the race, not as good, weighed down by something so awful we ought not to speak of it.

    However, “handicapped” is not universally offensive; while many disabled people do take offense, many others don’t care if it’s used, and some even prefer it. (Of course, “disabled” is seen by some as a negative word, too, with some people preferring “less abled.”)

    There has also been some attempt to “take back” the word “cripple” and use it in a positive sense, such as with the talented comedian, and sufferer of Congenital Muscular Dystrophy, Ally Bruener and her “I laughed at the crippled girl” comedy act; her definition of “crippled” being: “Something so awesome, it’s debilitating. Opposite of ‘lame’.”

    Inclusive communication and the proper use of specialist terms is important to me, especially as an upcoming journalist and Politician. It should also help to encourage mutual respect and self-respect. Furthermore, it will also continue to change our worldview on people with various exceptionalities and how we treat them.

    http://www.disabilitymuseum.org

    https://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2013/12/origin-word-handicap/