So this video has been popping up on my Facebook news feed a lot lately. It's a video demonstrating a wheelchair invented by Swiss students and it's a wheelchair that can climb stairs. Now I know that stairs are a major physical barrier to wheelchair users and I have no issue with any technology that … Continue reading When Celebrating Accessible Technology is Just Reinforcing Ableism
Tag: armchair activism
Dear Strangers who Just Want to Learn About Disability, I am Not an Infobooth
TEDxSydney has been getting a lot of bad press from the disability community lately. This is because of their very poorly thought out #StellasChallenge campaign. The campaign sought to capitalize on the message and popularity of late disabled comedian Stella Young. The campaign has similarities to the doomed Starbucks campaign Race Together which sought to … Continue reading Dear Strangers who Just Want to Learn About Disability, I am Not an Infobooth
Disabled People Don’t Exist to Make You Look Good
I have already discussed the issue of inspiration porn on this blog before. What I was discussing last time was the use of images or videos of disabled people doing everything from the mundane to highlighting actual achievement. The major issue in these images is that they either celebrate disabled people for simply existing or … Continue reading Disabled People Don’t Exist to Make You Look Good
Inspiration Porn is Not Progress, It’s a New Kind of Oppression
We've all seen the images. Those pictures of disabled people succeeding. They tend to fall into two general categories. Disabled people particularly children doing everyday activities. This is often accompanied by quotes like "the only disability in life is a bad attitude" The other uses images of disabled people doing something noteworthy like reaching a … Continue reading Inspiration Porn is Not Progress, It’s a New Kind of Oppression
Sneaky Racism, I Wish You Wouldn’t Show Up in My Facebook Feed
So today, I will be deviating from my usually disability focused writing because stuff like this really pisses me off. The above image reads Doesn't Make Much Sense, Does It??? Homeless go without eating. Elderly go without needed medicines. Mentally ill go without treatment. Troops go without proper equipment. Veterans go without benefits that were … Continue reading Sneaky Racism, I Wish You Wouldn’t Show Up in My Facebook Feed
When Supposedly Progressive Guides to Talking About Disability Get It Wrong
So I am very passionate about the language of disability. I really want it to progress to a place where people are not misrepresented or marginalized by the language used to describe them. So I get very frustrated when nondisabled people coopt the narrative and through well intentioned ignorance set the movement for inclusive language … Continue reading When Supposedly Progressive Guides to Talking About Disability Get It Wrong
The Issue of Harper Lee’s New Book and Armchair Activism
I have no definitive answers to the pervasive questions regarding whether Harper Lee truly wants her previously unpublished novel Go Set a Watchman published or if she in her old age has been coerced by the financial motivations of others. I do however wish to comment on some of the insinuations that seem to be … Continue reading The Issue of Harper Lee’s New Book and Armchair Activism
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