Read This Book…

As you all may know by now, I’m always looking for more books by disabled, chronically ill, Deaf, and neurodivergent authors. As a disabled person, I often see articles by well-meaning nondisabled people declaring that this or that technology will “cure” disabled people and that these new inventions will “fix” us. I never had the words to describe why these articles rankled me. But then I read Against Technoableism. 

In one of the first volumes in the new Norton Shorts series, author Ashley Shew describes the prevalence of what she’s coined as “technoableism”:

“I came up with the term ‘technoableism’ to describe a pattern disabled people see over and over—and a pattern observed by many others too…Technoableism is a belief in the power of technology that considers the elimination of disability a good thing, something we should strive for. It’s a classic form of ableism—bias against disabled people, bias in favor of nondisabled ways of life. Technoableism is the use of technologies to reassert those biases, often under the guise of empowerment.”

In the handful of essays in this slim book, Shew describes the different ways that she observes technoableism manifesting in society. As a cancer survivor and amputee, Shew shares her experience with prosthetics and interviews other prosthetic users. She explains how, while these mechanical limbs can be useful, they don’t magically make disabled people nondisabled. I really appreciated how Shew doesn’t assume that the reader has any prior knowledge of disability studies. She also doesn’t coddle the reader, finding this perfect balance in her writing.

Against Technoableism is a great primer for folks wanting to dive into some subcategories of disability studies or for readers interested in how technology impacts disabled people. The book is perfect for both casual and academic readers. Plus, I really appreciate Shew’s classic disability-related dark humor that’s right in my wheelhouse because, yes, disabled people are funny too.