bad advice
Dear Imprudence: Polydactyly and the Single Person
The Dear Prudence column for 4 March included the following letter from a reader:
Dear Prudie,
I’m almost ready to settle down and have kids, but I have a bit of a problem. I was born with an extra toe on each foot and part of an extra finger. Surgery when I was 1 year old removed [...]
Am J Cardiol concern-trolling: “But mobility aids will stop them EXERCISING!”
So I stumble across this at Diabetes.co.uk: Mobility Scooters Can Increase Your Risk of Developing Daibetes and Heart Disease
“O really?”, thought I, “I wonder how well-controlled that scoldy little piece of disability panic was?” So I read on.
However, recent research suggests that mobility scooters can do more harm than good by heightening the risk of [...]
Dear Imprudence: A “Tired Wife” Strikes Back?
The hits just keep on comin’, thanks to Slate. Earlier this month in Dear Prudence, we got to read this winner:
Dear Prudence:
My husband had a stroke 18 months ago. At first he was unable to speak and his right side was paralyzed. He regained his speech and, with a lot of work, got full use [...]
Another Moment In the Grocery Store
I’m standing in line at the checkstand marked “Albion,” because Harvest Market thinks that it is cute to name the lanes after local towns, rather than numbering them. Behind me is a wheelchair user, and I note that the conveyor belt for groceries is too high to reach, so I ask him if he’d like [...]
What Is ’splainin’? And Why Should I Care?
’splainin’1, a contraction of “explaining,” is a term which has been popping up a lot in the social justice sphere lately, including on this very website, and I think it’s worth exploring a bit. In the first place, not everyone might be clear on what is meant when people refer to ’splainin’, and in the [...]
Only you know your own experience
A few days ago, I had a conversation with a medical professional that went something like this:
MP: So you’ve been feeling tired?
Chally: Yes, not as tired as I have been, but still pretty tired. I’ve been waking up at 5am1. Not this weekend though.
MP: Why? Are you depressed?
C: No, I’m not. I’m not sure why [...]
Oh, Feminists, Can You Stop Telling People With Disabilities How To Take Care Of Their Bodies?
(A slightly different version of this post appeared at this ain’t livin’ under the title “Yes, Actually, I Can Make An Informed Choice“.)
There’s an interesting trend I’ve been noticing more of late at feminist websites: The idea that certain women don’t know what’s good for them. These women need to be told in no uncertain [...]
Dear Imprudence: Dan Savage, Savage Love, and “That’s Retarded” (Hint, Dan, “Leotarded” Is Just As Unacceptable)
One of the things which inspired the “Dear Imprudence” column here at FWD was the Savage Love column from 30 April, 2009, in which a reader sent in a letter politely asking Dan to stop using “retarded” as an insult. abby jean kindly covered “retarded” for the Ableist Word Profile, explaining the origins of the [...]
Getting It Wrong: Rate Your Students and Ableism
[Possible trigger warning for upsetting and ableist language]
As some of you may know, I am a graduate student getting my Master’s Degree in Women and Gender Studies. I currently have vague career aspirations of getting my PhD or at least remaining in academia in some capacity; my academic interests primarily have to do with feminist [...]
Dear Imprudence: How Not To Give Advice
Welcome to our newest intermittent series, “Dear Imprudence,” in which FWD/Forward contributors (and guest bloggers) deconstruct advice columns which offer monumentally bad advice about disability issues. Do you have an advice column you’d like us to deconstruct? Shoot us a link in the comments or via admin at disabledfeminists dot com.
Our inaugural entry in [...]
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