The Ragged Edge),Deaf Life(founded 1988), and
Mouth: The Voice of Disability Rights(founded 1989).
San Francisco’s Bay Area, a center for progressive
causes, was home to the Wry Crips theater group
(founded 1985) and the AXIS Dance Troupe
(founded 1987). Influenced by ethnic and women’s
studies programs, scholars with disabilities brought
their experiences and perspectives into the humani-
ties. Sociologist Irving Zola, a wheelchair user with
polio, helped found the Society for Disability Studies
in 1982. Contributions from feminist and gay and
lesbian scholars were especially helpful in making
disability studies a force for intellectual inquiry and
social change.
Impact The 1980’s was a critical decade for the dis-
ability rights movement. Working against formida-
ble odds, individually and in groups, activists sus-
tained the progress of the 1970’s and broke ground
for greater achievements in the 1990’s. Although al-
liances with nondisabled citizens from all levels of
U.S. society were invaluable, people with disabilities
were most interested in setting their own agendas.
By learning from and forming coalitions with similar
movements for inclusion, participation, justice, and
equal opportunity, the disability rights movement
brought positive change to all areas of public life in
the United States during the 1980’s.
Subsequent Events Disability rights activism in the
1980’s led to the ADA’s passage in 1990. The ADA
had bipartisan support in Congress, and President
George H. W. Bush signed the measure into law
enthusiastically. Still, many conservative politicians
and business interests resented the ADA, and it did
not always fare well with the U.S. Supreme Court.
The 1990’s saw fewer public demonstrations for dis-
ability rights, but legislative and judicial advocacy re-
mained strong, as did disability culture and studies.
Further Reading
Barnartt, Sharon N., and Richard K. Scotch.Disabil-
ity Protests: Contentious Politics, 1970-1999. Wash-
ington, D.C.: Gallaudet University Press, 2001.
Explores activism from political science and so-
ciological perspectives.
Fleischer, Doris Zames, and Frieda Zames.The Dis-
ability Rights Movement: From Charity to Confronta-
tion. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2001.
Scholarly but accessible history of activism, legis-
lation, and culture.
Mairs, Nancy.Plaintext: Essays. Tucson: University of
Arizona Press, 1986. The author writes candidly
and passionately about her experiences with mul-
tiple sclerosis.
Shapiro, Joseph P.No Pity: People with Disabilities
Forging a New Civil Rights Movement. New York:
Times Books, 1993. A journalist’s sympathetic
and wide-ranging overview of the movement.
Shaw, Barrett, ed.The Ragged Edge: The Disability Expe-
rience from the Pages of the First Fifteen Years of “The
Disability Rag.”Louisville, Ky.: Advocado Press,- Anthology of journalism and creative writ-
ing from a leading disability rights publication.
Zola, Irving K.Missing Pieces: A Chronicle of Living
with a Disability. Philadelphia: Temple University
Press, 1982. A disability studies pioneer describes
living in a Netherlands community designed for
people with disabilities.
Ray Pence
See also Bush, George H. W.; Congress, U.S.; Fem-
inism; Gallaudet University protests; Homosexuality
and gay rights; Reagan, Ronald; Supreme Court de-
cisions; United Nations; Women’s rights.Disposable cameras
Definition Single-use box cameras with preloaded
film and focus-free lenses
Disposable cameras, usually loaded with twenty-four-
exposure rolls of color print film, became instant hits with
consumers. The simple cameras appealed to those who pre-
ferred easy-to-use technology, who needed a camera at a mo-
ment’s notice, who preferred a less expensive or lighter-
weight camera for use during outdoor activities, or who
wanted a simple starter camera for a child.
In 1986, one century after the Eastman Company’s
“You press the button, we do the rest” slogan opened
the door to amateur photography, Fujifilm intro-
duced the first disposable, or single-use, camera, the
QuickSnap. One year later, Kodak introduced its
own single-use camera, the Fling. The two easy-to-
use and inexpensive plastic cameras soon became
popular with the consumers of the 1980’s, who by
this time were demanding products that were afford-
able and readily available. The single-use camera,
which could be purchased at virtually any retail
store, became a popular gadget during a time whenThe Eighties in America Disposable cameras 291