Amir H. Payberah - 2025-12-01

According to intersectionality, a person's positionality is shaped by many factors, such as gender, race, age, culture, (dis)ability, and more. Among these, (dis)ability is often the least discussed, even though it strongly affects people's everyday lives. And, this is the focus of Ashley Shew's book, Against Technoableism, that brings disability to the center of the conversation. It shows how technology often becomes oppressive for disabled people because it tries to "fix" them instead of fixing the inaccessible systems and environments that create barriers in the first place.

The book challenges the typical narratives that frame disability as tragedy, inspiration, or malfunction. It shows how stereotypes, media, and techno-fix thinking reduce disabled lives and overlook the lived knowledge that disabled people bring to navigating uncertainty and inaccessible environments. Moreover, it presents how disability is shaped far more by social structures than by bodies. The book also argues that disability will become even more common in the future due to aging, chronic illness, and climate impacts, and drawing on disability justice principles, shows how disabled communities already model the practices needed for uncertain futures: adaptation, care, creativity, and mutual support. Centering these insights can help us build technologies and environments that are not only more accessible but also more caring and just for everyone.