About s.e. smith
s.e. smith is a recalcitrant, grumpy person with disabilities who enjoys riling people up, talking about language, tearing apart poor science reporting, and chasing cats around the house with squeaky mice in hand. Ou personal website can be found at this ain't livin'.
Website: http://www.meloukhia.net
Contact: meloukhia @ disabledfeminists.com
Posts by s.e. smith
By s.e. smith on 21 September, 2010
Emily Yoffe has really been striking out in the advice sweepstakes lately, but she redeemed herself in this week’s livechat, when a reader wrote in to say: Q. Dealing With the R-Word: How can I respond to people who use the word “retard” or “retarded” as derogatory term in my presence? I have two beautiful [...]
Posted in 101, Dear Imprudence, language | Tagged Dear Prudence, Emily Yoffe, r-word
By s.e. smith on 17 September, 2010
In Germany, the toymaker Paraplush has evidently just released a line of psychiatry-themed plush toys. Each comes ‘packaged with a personalized medical history and treatment plan.’ They’re tied in with an online game made by the same company (warning, Flash, autoplay). Like, for example, Kroko the crocodile: Kroko here ‘needs your help!’ His ‘patient profile‘ [...]
Posted in 101, i'm right here, identity, mental health | Tagged psychiatrisation
By s.e. smith on 16 September, 2010
I was browsing the New York Times Magazine online this morning when I saw a story in the sidebar, ‘When Autistic Children Become Adults,’ from the Motherlode blog. Hmmm, I thought. This might be interesting. The article opens with a discussion of the rise in autism diagnoses over the last half of the 20th century, [...]
Posted in autonomy, i'm right here | Tagged autism
By s.e. smith on 15 September, 2010
On last week’s Dear Amy, a reader wrote in for some relationship advice. The reader’s girlfriend is becoming more distant, and the reader wants to know what to do: Dear Amy: I have been in a relationship with a woman for two years. I love her. She says she loves me. She says she wants [...]
Posted in blaming, Dear Imprudence, mental health, social attitudes | Tagged Amy Dickinson, Ask Amy, bipolar disorder
By s.e. smith on 13 September, 2010
This informational survey is being conducted by The Arc, a national [US] disability organization whose mission is to promote and protect the human rights of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and actively supports their full inclusion and participation in the community throughout their lifetimes. The purpose of this survey is to capture the perceptions [...]
Posted in accessibility, signal boost | Tagged developmental disabilities, intellectual disabilities, survey, The Arc, United States
By s.e. smith on 13 September, 2010
Back in May, I wrote about the rampant slashing of the sections of California’s budget pertaining to disability services. abby jean has also written about how California structures social assistance programs and their funding. These are issues seen not just in California, but across the United States, where states are struggling to come up with [...]
Posted in activism, class issues, disability activism, media and pop culture, policy, politics | Tagged Arnieville, California
By s.e. smith on 11 September, 2010
Conversations about body image come up often in feminist communities, and unfortunately, many of those conversations are predicated on the dual ideas that all people should love their bodies and that lovable bodies are healthy ones. This can be seen in the language used by campaigns designed to get people thinking about body image; I [...]
Posted in 101, bodies, feminism, identity, invisibility, social attitudes | Tagged body image
By s.e. smith on 9 September, 2010
The radio station I’ve been listening to for most of my life has a habit, when announcing community events, of indicating whether they are accessible. This generally refers specifically to wheelchair accessibility, although I have heard announcers address other things, like chemical sensitivity, depending on the announcer and the event. The point is, my whole [...]
Posted in 101, accessibility, i'm right here | Tagged accessibility notes, special treatment, universal access
By s.e. smith on 8 September, 2010
Last week, Hurricane Earl appeared to be bearing down on the Eastern Seaboard on the United States, and there were a number of stories about communities preparing for evacuation, or weathering out the storm. Watching the news unfold, I noted a pretty glaring absence in the coverage: Any discussion, at all, of people with disabilities. [...]
Posted in accessibility, class issues, policy, poverty, social attitudes | Tagged disaster planning
By s.e. smith on 6 September, 2010
Currently, health care in California’s prison system is under court supervision, in the aftermath of a lawsuit pointing out that conditions were so poor in California’s prisons that an average of one inmate per week was dying due to inadequate health care. Huge numbers of people in California’s prisons are disabled; just for example, people [...]
Posted in events, policy, politics | Tagged California, California budget, disabled inmates, health care in prisons, prison reform
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