I’ve been trying to figure out what’s going on in the Alamonte Springs logo, on the far right. Is that an ear-trumpet?

It’s hard to say whether they represent people with psych or developmental conditions, or “invisible” (see other posts for problems with that word) illnesses, because many of those could easily be the stick figures that “look normal”.
.-= Amanda´s last blog ..Blueberries =-.

In the previous post, Sunless Nick was the first to pick up on what I was noticing, which is that none of the bodies are in a bed or otherwise horizontal. All are sitting or standing.

Anna elaborated beautifully:

I don’t think she’s suggesting that every logo should do this – she’s pointing out that none of them do.

So, of folks who have the most barriers to self-advocacy and visibility, the ones who are the most likely to be abused (the rates of sexual abuse in long-term care centers are staggering), the ones who are least likely to be known by the public, and the ones who will have the most difficulty in getting the attention of politicians, advocates, and the general public are the ones who are not included in any of these logos.

Logos are, of necessity, shorthand. Nobody expects every single type of body to be present in every single type of logo. However, when you look at a corpus of logos, and one particular type of body is never, ever represented, there’s something going on. These logos show evidence of trying to be inclusive. They depict people in wheelchairs, people standing, people of various sizes and ages, people with crutches and braces and canes, people of multiple genders and races and religions – but the one thing they don’t show is people who have to lie down all the time.

When those people are among the most disadvantaged, the most discriminated against, the most abused, the most isolated, and find it the most difficult to access appropriate, adequate care – and they are ignored by the very organisations claiming to advocate for them – there is a problem.

For more information, check out Four Walls No Limits: Surviving and thriving while confined to bed, homebound, or otherwise stuck in one place.

.-= lauredhel´s last blog ..Public Transport Authority takes crip-blaming to a new level =-.

(are these the correct descriptions? If not, what are better words?)

Personally, I rather like the icon used for accessibility in Windows Vista and Windows 7 (ironic, as I mainly work on Mac OS and Linux!). It’s in the same general shape as the familiar wheelchair figure, thus making it instantly recognizable, but it actually depicts two diverging paths leading to the same destination.

Matthew @10, unfortunately the ADA design guidelines mandated that the white-on-blue stick figure be used to label “here’s an accessible [-- fill in the blank --]” (The ADA also provides symbols for Assitive technology related to Deafness & Blindness.)

Apple Computer’s icon for its system access utility is an improvement, sorta: a gender-neutral stick figure, arms outstretched, centered in a bright blue circle.

Having a standardized symbol for access is a wonderful thing when it’s true.
.-= Jesse the K´s last blog ..PSA: Don’t Tug the Magsafe from your Macbook =-.