‘Mad’ as an form of resistance is not easily distinguishable from ‘mad’ as label in the Global South, there being a proliferation of words that represent ‘madness’ in a prejudicial sense. To resist psychiatry’s increasing footprint and...
more‘Mad’ as an form of resistance is not easily distinguishable from ‘mad’ as label in the Global South, there being a proliferation of words that represent ‘madness’ in a prejudicial sense. To resist psychiatry’s increasing footprint and claims to ‘treatment’ by simply importing tools of resistance from the Global North, without responding to local realities will not prove to be helpful in societies where knowledge, access, rights and freedoms are routinely denied- not just to those seen ‘mad’. The idea of taking pride in what appears to be an essentialist claim does not resonate with everyone unequivocally: there is a need to look at other ways without taking pride in a stigmatizing identity. This chapter calls to move beyond identity politics embedded in linguistic categories, recognize resource differences inherent in the world, who gets to speak for whom and acknowledge class privilege among those who are audible. The author urges to build an emancipatory resistance by conceding to differences between the Global North and South, building culturally responsive tools, instead of simply transposing ideas developed elsewhere on societies lacking an ability to critique authority, rhetoric and discrimination.
Keywords: identity politics, emancipatory resistance, stigma, essentialism, cultural relevance
