Nearly 20 percent of all Americans have one or more dis-
abilities. Seven percent of boys and 4 percent of girls between
the ages of 5 and 15 have disabilities; 43 percent of women and
40 percent of men age 65 and older have disabilities. There are
2.7 million people in wheelchairs in America, and 9.1 million
who use a cane, crutches, or a walker. There are 1.8 million who
are unable to see and 1 million who are unable to hear; another
7.8 million have difficulty hearing a normal conversation.
One of our family members is a good example. Diagnosed
with rheumatoid arthritis at age 2, she came perilously close to
death several times in early childhood. As a result of the med-
ication she has taken for 25 years, several other systems failed,
and she is now blind as well. She has had spinal fusion surgery
twice to compensate for deteriorating discs and complete knee
replacements in both knees. She also graduated near the top of
her class in high school and majored in psychology at Prince-
ton, where her books were read to her on tape or offered in
Braille.
The number of Americans with a physical or mental disabil-
ity has increased in recent years. This is due to several factors. First, advances in med-
ical technologies mean that many people who might not have survived with their
disabilities are now living longer lives. In addition, those medical breakthroughs are
enabling the survival of people born with disabilities that would earlier have been fatal.
Third, life expectancy continues to rise for everyone, and some disabilities, such as arthri-
tis, are age related.
Most disabilities are not present at birth: They are the result of accidents, dis-
ease, and war. About 2.5 million veterans receive compensation for service-related
disabilities. Some disabilities are the result of industry and pollution. The highest rates
of disability by county in the United States are in coal mining regions; the highest rates
in cities are in those cities near oil refineries. Globally, poorer countries have higher
rates of disability, caused by malnutrition as well as accidents and disease. In Brazil,
14.5 percent of the population is disabled; in Ecuador, about 12 percent; in Panama,
more than 11 percent (Inter-American Development Bank, 2007). Across the devel-
oping world, 10 percent of the population is disabled, according to the
World Health Organization.
Disabilities are unevenly distributed by race and class within the United
States as well. (Figure 16.2) African Americans have significantly higher lev-
els of disability than Whites, but Asians and Latinos have lower rates than
Whites. The poor have more disabilities than the rich. Disabilities not only
reflect existing social inequalities by race and class, but disabilities are, them-
selves, the basis for further discrimination. People with disabilities are
employed at about half the rate as people without disabilities—about 37.5
percent of the disabled compared with 74.4 percent without, and they earn
about $3,000 less per year (DiversityInc, 2006). The Americans with Dis-
abilities Act made it illegal to discriminate against people with disabilities in
public accommodations. As a result, buses were adapted to accommodate
people in wheelchairs, ramps replaced high curbs at streetcorners, and land-
lords built ramps to accommodate disabled tenants. “Black people fought
for the right to ride in the front of the bus,” said one disability activist. “We’re
fighting for the right to get on the bus” (cited in Shapiro, 1993, p. 128.)
Many people find themselves feeling uncomfortable and even angry
around people with disabilities, as if somehow the disability is contagious.532 CHAPTER 16THE BODY AND SOCIETY: HEALTH AND ILLNESS20151050
Black Asian Latino WhitePERCENT15.96.110.012.1FIGURE 16.2People with
Disabilities by Race and Ethnicity
JPeople with disabilities are
today living full and produc-
tive lives—and even incorpo-
rating their disabilities into
their self-presentation. Come-
dian Josh Blue, who was born
with cerebral palsy, won the
reality TV competition on Last
Comic Standingin 2006.
Source:U.S. Census Bureau.