Positionality in relation to disability: Able-bodied white male 50 years old living in london.
Spoon theory is a concept created by Christine Miserandino. The amount of energy needed to perform tasks is measured in spoons. Some people with ME/CFS, chronic migraine, or other chronic illness sometimes refer to themselves as ‘spoonies’, meaning people who have very limited units(spoons) of energy that must be carefully rationed. In the interview resource Barokka explores topics of pain, visuality, art and the empathy gap.
In the article Barokka variously describes herself as ‘young, brown and disabled’ and ‘middle class Indonesian living and working in the West’ she is describing the challenges she faced whilst touring a show she wrote and performed in cities like London Vienna and New Delhi while struggling to cope with the added difficulties of undiagnosed and mistreated extreme pain.
I think Barokka is using her experiences to contribute to and bring attention to ‘current conversations surrounding intersectionality in the academic world’. I think she is making the point that some people’s social and political identities are more hidden than others and can be more easily ignored or side-lined by people who actively or passively want to disadvantage them. In the example Barokka is describing how multiple aspects of her identity were being oppressed to the point that she was emotionally and physically damaged. I think the article can be applied to my teaching practice because I am acknowledging that every-one I work with has their own unique experiences of discrimination and oppression. If I can acknowledge that my colleagues and students face different and varied challenges when they decide to work or study at UAL then I can begin to try to remove some of the barriers that are intentionally or unintentionally put in their way.