“Children of a Lesser God” or “Superheroes”? Identity Narratives of Persons with Disabilities as University Students
“Children of a Lesser God” or “Superheroes”? Identity Narratives of Persons with Disabilities as University Students

Summary/Abstract: The article discusses questions of identity narratives emerging from the responses collected from Polish university students with disabilities to be analyzed by the author. The social image of persons with disabilities, to a large extent shaped by media, is simplified. Stereotypically, images of persons with disabilities function in the antimony “victim” – “hero,” always weaved around disability as the organizing category. Also the university community seems to be prone to succumb to stereotypes and perceive students with disabilities more through the perspective of their disabilities than through their “studentship.” Whereas a different image of the students’ identity emerges from their own narrative. The image is built around the “normality” discourse. Students with disabilities see themselves the way they want to be viewed – as regular students.

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