Project Title
Glucose: Discussing A Healthcare-Inspired Performance
Faculty Mentor(s) Name(s)
Amy Pinney
Abstract
Every January, my month's supply of insulin meets the deductible for my entire family’s insurance. I, like millions of other people with this auto-immune disease, depend on insulin to live. Still, the federal government has not capped the outrageous price of insulin for everyone who needs it. I crafted a solo performance to communicate the severity of Type One Diabetes. Because my disability is invisible, people often forget the literal and figurative cost of living with diabetes—and just how much effort and care it requires to even drink a normal Coke. By constructing a performance in which the audience were put in my shoes for even two minutes, they got a taste of the constant consternation that is living with an autoimmune disease. I found that their reactions to my performance were representative of how the American people—including legislators—usually respond to people with invisible disabilities: they generally want to help, but they do not understand the disability enough to do so. I hope that this research project and discussion teaches others about invisible disabilities as well as inspires them to learn more about them.
Glucose: Discussing A Healthcare-Inspired Performance
Every January, my month's supply of insulin meets the deductible for my entire family’s insurance. I, like millions of other people with this auto-immune disease, depend on insulin to live. Still, the federal government has not capped the outrageous price of insulin for everyone who needs it. I crafted a solo performance to communicate the severity of Type One Diabetes. Because my disability is invisible, people often forget the literal and figurative cost of living with diabetes—and just how much effort and care it requires to even drink a normal Coke. By constructing a performance in which the audience were put in my shoes for even two minutes, they got a taste of the constant consternation that is living with an autoimmune disease. I found that their reactions to my performance were representative of how the American people—including legislators—usually respond to people with invisible disabilities: they generally want to help, but they do not understand the disability enough to do so. I hope that this research project and discussion teaches others about invisible disabilities as well as inspires them to learn more about them.