Simi Linton's Memoir, My Body Politic

Simi Linton’s memoir, My Body Politic, illustrates her journey as a young vibrant woman whose life altering tragedy left her in an unknown state, of which she needed to grow into a whole new body. As a 23 year old in 1971, Linton was a vivacious and passionate individual. Her memoir shares the transitions and experiences she faced, while offering us a deeper understanding of the disability culture and associated politics. Linton shows us how she “absorbed disability” and learned how to identify herself as someone who now had a foreign body to learn and a new life to adjust.
Linton acquired her injury on her way to Washington, DC for a Vietnam protest. She wanted to show that she wasn’t just a hippie and wanted to participate in something

meaningful. A sudden car crash killed Linton’s best friend, Carol, and husband, John. She was left paralyzed after sustaining a spinal cord injury. In addition to dealing with the devastating loss of two loved ones, Linton needed to come to terms with her injury. It took her years to learn her new body and to become fully comfortable with traveling and getting around. As a result of her injury, she underwent several surgeries, a year of hospitalization, and rehabilitation.
Upon recovery from her surgeries, the news of her paralysis was delivered by her doctor. She was astonished that she wasn’t even aware her legs were no longer working until that moment. As the doctor delivered the news he told her, “there are many young men coming back from Vietnam in the same situation as you, and I know you’ll find someone really nice to settle down with (p.4).” Linton explains how this insensitive comment woke her up. The doctor took no consideration to the fact that she was coping with the loss of a man very dear to her, or that maybe she hadn’t lost her convictions. She was appalled the doctor would assume he knew where her injury would lead her and that she could just be matched up with a Vietnam vet, simply because they both incurred similar injuries. This was the first of many incidents where she was prejudged or underestimated.
Linton discussed her interactions with the other disabled individuals in her rehabilitation institution. She became friends with a group of wheelers who were very welcoming, sharing their experiences and helping her adjust to her wheelchair. Linton took an interest in sexuality and disabled people, later choosing to go back to school for a degree in psychology. After leaving the rehab center, she got her own place in New York City where she had family members and friends assist her in what she called “a new world”. Her housekeeper, Francine, helped her into the shower, in and out of bed, and with all things around her apartment until she was more self-sufficient.
During this time, she says “I was just feeling my way with the disability thing… I felt alone in it, and it seemed the honorable thing to bear my burdens silently (p.27)”.

She decided not to discuss her feelings towards it all or the discrimination she encountered. Doorways were too narrow, she dealt with having to use only one bathroom in school, there was no way to use public transportation, and rather than deal with the pity she internalized her anger. Traveling to classes was challenging as elevators were frequently not functioning or she needed to locate alternate routes to classes. She rarely asked for assistance, in order to avoid interrupting people. At times, she was ashamed of asking for things though they should have already been offered or implemented. Most presumed her leading issue would be the physical aspects of her disability, when in fact the greatest challenge was learning to get around using this new method of mobility in a not very accessible world. She shared her experiences from traveling, to driving a car, to having sex, and using public transportation. Many of the familiar places she knew such as the library, post office, and restaurants were no longer

accessible.
Furthermore she goes on to explain how people referred to her and how people reacted to her as a woman with a disability.

People often referred to her in the third person rather than speaking to her directly. In Paris, she was denied a taxi and told “this is not an ambulance (p.75)” The video, Invitation to Dance, discussed one instance at a party, where a woman opened the door, looked past Linton, and said “ you can put her over there”. She had to deal with the language of disability and people referring to her as “handicapped”, “a person with special needs”, and “crippled”. This misuse of language towards individuals with disabilities relates to the article by Britt Hamre and Celie Oyler, discussing the models of disability. It relates to the social model in which “disability is viewed in terms of an individuals’ inability to function (p.92)”. Her chair allowed people to make the assumption that she was incapable and lacked control over her situation. Her disability did not display the socially recognized normal characteristics of a healthy person and so she was often

labeled.
Later, Linton struggled with finding a balance between being in a relationship. She told herself “Don’t take all the various insecurities you’ve been cultivating since childhood and bindle them all into the disability package (p.91)” and went on to marry a man, David, who loved her for who she was. Through these experiences and changes, Linton states “ I have become a disabled woman over time (p.107)”. She identified herself as a disabled woman after learning what it meant to be disabled. She learned through meeting people facing similar situations and showing her what it meant to them. She witnessed the changes in her time and the passage of legislature aimed at integration (p.108)” She was finally able to claim disability as an identity.

In the beginning, she struggled to minimize the signs of her impairment and attempted to downplay its significance. Over time she decided, to not let it weigh her down. She found people experiencing the same discrimination and circumstances which helped her rise above her injury and use it as an outlet to become an inspirational advocate. She became the founder of Disability/ Arts, an organization that works to shape the presentation of disability by including the works of disabled artists. She overcame many barriers; however, she found ways to fully participate in society, while accomplishing things she supposed she never could. Linton believed disabled people should be represented and supported in all aspects of society, including classrooms, recreational activities, and all other areas. She worked towards achieving just that, becoming a powerful force in changing the status of disabled people in our culture.