Performing Normal: Restless Reflections on Music’s Dis/Abling Potential

Abstract

This analysis aims to bring disability issues and the realities of systemic ableism to the center of discourse and action related to music therapy and social justice. An account of my evolving understanding of how ableism shaped my relationship with music draws attention to the importance of understanding the subtle yet palpable ways that ableism can invade even the most positive aspects of disabled peoples’ lives and, therefore, contribute in disturbing ways to the perpetuation of normalcy as the human ideal. I begin by providing some essential context to center my activist disability identity and the struggle that underpins the current analysis. I then engage with the performance of normal and explore my discovery of disability as possibility—a discovery that ultimately made space for significant transformation. An explanation of critical disability studies and ableism as important transformative influences follows, and I conclude by articulating some possible implications for music therapy education and training, research, and practice.