Invisibility and Visibility of Disability in Japan and Poland as a Social and C ultural Construct: Similarities and Differences

Abstract

The visibility and invisibility of disability are present in various cultures. This study aims to analyze the invisibility and visibility of disability in Japan and Poland, focusing on the similarities and differences between the two countries.Cultural analyses of historical, social, and political backgrounds indicate the transition process from invisible disability to visible disability in both countries. Visibility and invisibility of disability are social and cultural constructs in Japan and Poland. The results revealed the similarities between the processes and constructs of researched terms and differences. Among the similarities are factors of the transition process from invisible to visible disability. However, the authors distinguished that the eugenic, deinstitutionalization, and empowerment trends in both countries developed differently. The differences in the socio-cultural construction of invisible and visible disability concern the historical and political determinants of both countries’ development after the Second World War up to the present time.