Resisting the rhetoric of indexing: disability, access, and the 2005 Tennessee State Capitol sit-in

Abstract

ABSTRACT Healthcare has traditionally been structured by biopolitical processes of indexing. The rhetorical practice of indexing stratifies bodies into risk categories and determines who has access to services and at what cost. Indexing generalizes features of identity, artificially classifying them into risk categories to maximize corporate profits. This dubious process accounts for traditional matters of health such as disease and illness, but also assesses broad demographic markers such as gender, race, and disability. This essay engages an attempt by disability activists to resist such practices through a 2005 sit-in at the Tennessee State Capitol.