I Am a Broken Body: Politics of identity and suffering surrounding disability

Abstract

In this article, drawing on the theoretical lens of Critical Disability Studies, we analyze the controversy generated on social media around the film Cuerpo Escombro as a catalyst for reflecting on how identity politics and the politics of disability representation intersect with so-called grievance politics. Specifically, we reflect on: How is disability re-presented? The controversy illustrates a tension over whether cultural products should represent the collective’s current grievances or contribute to presenting new imaginaries, as well as the suffering that such representations may generate. Who can represent disability? The controversy outlines an identity politics that legitimizes speaking only for those who manifest a socially understandable suffering. We conclude by highlighting the relevance of problematizing identity and representational politics that reproduce a depoliticized version of grievance politics that sustains disability as a naturally suffering identity.