'Dead souls', 'The Whimsy Sick' and 'Transgressors': Non-Sighted People in 'Professional Society' Through the Lens of Disability Models

Abstract

Alexandra Kurlenkova – Kandidat nauk (PhD) in history, MA (Bioethics), research assistant at the Group of Medical Anthropology, Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology RAS, Moscow, Russian Federation. Email: askurlenkova@yandex.ru

This article examines the participation of non-sighted people in the professional world through the lens of medical, social and production-related models of disability. The central idea here is these models emerge as a product of social and legal conventions. At the same time, state policies are defined by these models, which also affect the (self-)perception of the non-sighted. Based on a qualitative analysis of more than twenty interviews with non-sighted people, I show that attitudes towards this 'group' today are heavily influenced by a paternalistic medical model of disability that constructs the image of a non-sighted person as a sick individual in need of rest that should be encouraged to 'stay at home'. Private businesses rarely see any economic benefit in hiring 'the disabled', preferring either to pay state fines or use fake employment scams. The range of extremely narrow legitimate professional options on offer to the non-sighted dates back to the Soviet period, when the main employment on offer was mostly monotonous and manual work in factories for less than minimal wage. The non-sighted were also employed in massage and music spheres, as well as teaching at specialized schools. What emerged is that the basis for designating these spheres as 'proper' jobs for the non-sighted is the notion that the non-sighted constitute a homogeneous group with similar professional abilities and ambitions. While many non-sighted people follow these 'beaten paths', others take on the role of 'transgressors', breaking away from well-worn professional trails and forging new career pathways.