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Nationally renowned writer and activist Eli Clare discussed marginalized demographics in society at the University yesterday. His multimedia lecture was called “Gawking, Gaping, Staring: Living in Marked Bodies.”
Clare, who has a bachelor of arts degree in Women’s Studies and a master of fine arts degree in Creative Writing, has walked across the country for peace and helped organize the first Queerness and Disability Conference.
“All my life, I’ve been taught that my body’s wrong in those different kind of ways,” Clare said. “Part of the point of the talk is that this process of bodies getting marked isn’t about any one system of oppression, it’s a process that happens to a number of different communities and people.”
Clare discusses oppressive issues such as stereotypes and objectification in the media, which label what he calls “marked bodies.” As an example, Clare described the film “Super Size Me,” in which the bodies of fat people become a symbol of unhealthiness. Clare argues that the film uses images of obese individuals as a target of humor.
“I want to bring a number of different images of various kinds of marked bodies into the room and talk about how our bodies are mugged, stolen, erased and used,” he said.
Yesterday’s event was presented with American Sign Language and assistive listening services by AccessABILITY Student Union and co-sponsored by Queer Ally Coalition, the Multicultural Center and others. The AASU works to fulfill the needs of students with disabilities and to build awareness in the community.
“Eli is the product of a lot of hard work and good energy … it’s a really neat way to bring groups together to talk about our identities and our differences,” said AASU Co-Director Audrey Medina, also the Advocacy Committee Chair of Lane County Council of the Blind.
Students have wanted to bring Clare to the University for several years, Medina explained.
Medina considers disability a sociopolitical reality, an identity similar to race and gender. Historically, a medical model has been embraced, which she said frames disability as an “individual deficit.”
“Disability arises from social and environmental barriers,” Medina said.
On campus, 800 to 1,000 individuals identify as having some kind of disability, Medina said.
“One of the reasons that I was interested in attending UO is the focus on diversity and some of the good work that I see around issue of disability,” Medina said.
Wheelchair entrances and providing accessible material in class through Braille are just one part of a student’s life, Medina explained. Student housing accessibility and athletics are ways of spreading this focus.
“Are they an afterthought, and what message does that send about people with disability?” asked Medina about wheelchair entrances.
During construction of the Matthew Knight Arena, the University turned to the AASU for consultation to ensure so that students in wheelchairs could sit at various points within the stadium and still see when people stand up to cheer, Medina said.
Event organizer and University junior Quinn Robinson has been a fan of Eli for several years. “He was a really amazing person to promote community building and I think he has that kind of effect on audiences all over. I’m really excited to be bringing him,” Robinson said before the event.
“I think he’s gonna bring intersectional understanding of how oppression works and how we can resist oppression.”
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Because of a reporter’s error, this article incorrectly reported that 800 to 1,000 students have learning disabilities. This estimate accounts for the number of students with any disabilities, not learning disabilities alone. The Emerald regrets the error.