A Counter-Narrative: The World According to the White Cane

Abstract

Visual impairment often becomes noticeable to others through the visibility of a white cane. This public sign of blindness is an imperative signal that people understand, interpret and act in accordance with; however, the white cane is more than an external iconic aid. This study describes, explains and reflects on movement, assemblages, relationality, companionship, interconnectedness and learning opportunities that resonated across multiple white cane users’ experiences. Biographical pieces of two visually impaired people and their close networks, literature based on authors’ lived experiences and testimonies of the first author who is also visually impaired are brought together into a coherent narrative, where the white cane is the protagonist. This narrative deconstructs the omnipresent metanarrative ‘all blind people always use a white cane’ into a complete evocation that acknowledges the complexity of daily living that materiality and blindness entail. We use the white cane to rethink blindness and open a multisensory and multidimensional understanding.