Eli Clare is a poet, essayist, activist, and the author of
This section explores when and how disability is chosen, un-chosen, and claimed, outlining the ways the ideology of cure contributes to un-choosing and the ways in which claiming is connected to the concept and practice of interdependence. This concept is unpacked by using examples from ecosystem interdependencies and from the creation of disability access and community. In tandem with this discussion is an exploration of the relationship between monocultures, eradication, and the un-choosing of disability. Additionally this section introduces gender transition, the author’s transgender identity, and his desire for and ambivalence about female-to-male chest reconstruction surgery. The story of his desire and ambivalence is used to dig farther into the complexities of cure, diagnosis (specifically gender identity disorder), and the use of medical technology.
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