The Jacuzzi Started as a Medical Device
If it helps one person, build it. One day those specialized devices may benefit millions. But even if a design only benefits a few people, that’s a good enough reason to support it.
This is an excerpt from a talk I delivered at the Parsons School of Design. Here is the full talk.
Jump to heading#Transcript
Video description: Haben Girma, in a short-sleeved red dress and a black shawl with red accents, speaks on stage.
Haben: Many things we love in our world started out as medicalized, separate, special things for disabled people. For example, Jacuzzis started out as medical devices, and it was actually a child in the Jacuzzi family that had a disability, and the Jacuzzi family made the Jacuzzi for their child. And they discovered, “Wait a minute, lots of other people also want these Jacuzzis.” So they started selling them. They became super popular, and now it’s not even associated with disability anymore. It’s just something that’s associated with relaxation and joy.
There are a lot of stories like this where something starts out medicalized and then becomes mainstream. So if you find yourself tempted to think, “Oh, that’s for doctors, that’s for medical facilities.” Pause and reflect: is that ableism?