By Annaham on 10 September, 2010
[Warning for somewhat graphic discussion of medical procedures and adverse allergic reactions.] I have been dealing with weird, severe, and inexplicable allergic reactions since the age of 14. Most of these reactions have been to food items; my known food allergies include peanuts, various tree nuts, and (wait for it) green bell peppers. Of course, [...]
Posted in age, bodies, identity, invisibility, life changes, medical practice, normality | Tagged allergic reaction, allergies, anaphylaxis, immune system, medical practice
By Anna on 10 September, 2010
Being suicidal, especially if you have long-term thoughts about suicide and suicide ideation, can be a very isolating and lonely experience. Do you tell your friends and family? If you do, how will they react? What about your job? Will you be forcedly committed into psychiatric care? Will people assume that if you haven’t actually harmed yourself, you’re not really suicidal and just faking it for “attention”? If you’re happy and having a good time today, does that mean you’re not really suicidal at all? What exactly do you say, and who do you say it to?
Posted in events, introspective, invisibility, life changes, mental health, normality, othering, shaming, signal boost
By Anna on 9 September, 2010
People with disabilities, especially women, have all the same pressures currently non-disabled people do to look “good enough”, with added bonus of being either non-sexualised or hyper-sexualised, as well as having people infantize them to an incredible degree.
Posted in autonomy, bodies, gender, i'm right here, introspective, invisibility, life changes, media and pop culture, normality, othering, relationships, representations, sexuality, shaming
By Anna on 7 September, 2010
Not being from the US, I had this idea in my head that the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) must be awesome. I mean, come on! It’s been 20 years now! Ramps to every building, disability friendly policies, accessible washrooms in every hotel lobby! I get all starry-eyed just thinking about it.
People with disabilities who have actually been in the US are probably either rolling their eyes or giggling at my naivety.
Posted in accessibility, Accessible Tech, anna rants, blaming, disability activism, i'm right here, identity, invisibility, media and pop culture, news, normality, othering, policy, politics, representations, shaming, social attitudes, work
By Anna on 6 September, 2010
On the surface this probably looks like a good thing, but digging a bit deeper: For many people, this is one of the few times they’ll see images of people with disabilities on their t.v. screen (and from a noted authority and beloved celebrity), and the entire thing is one drawn out pity parade.
Posted in activism, autonomy, bodies, disability activism, events, history, i'm right here, identity, invisibility, media and pop culture, news, politics, social attitudes, television
By Annaham on 26 August, 2010
Dear abled/non-disabled people without disabled parking placards who use disabled parking spaces anyway, I don’t care if you want to use the space “because it’s so convenient.” I don’t care if you only “need” to use the space “just for a minute.” I especially don’t care if you back up your illegal use of said [...]
Posted in 101, accessibility, class issues, i'm right here, identity, invisibility, policy, politics | Tagged ableism, accessibility, accessible parking, conceptions of disability, disabilityfail, disabled parking, fail, it's about you, legislation, parking permit, problematic attitudes, TAB, things people say, transit, transportation, wtf
By Anna on 25 August, 2010
These names are part of the reason why I think Robert Latimer should always be referred to as a murderer, why I think think Tracy’s death should never be referred to as a “mercy killing”.
Posted in deaths, domestic violence, invisibility, justice, media and pop culture, news, othering, representations, social attitudes, violence
By Anna on 12 August, 2010
I actually do believe people genuinely have no idea about accessibility-related accommodations, and I don’t think it’s some conspiracy or willful ignorance. It’s just the way things are.
Except, in my experience, in the kink community.
Posted in accessibility, autonomy, bodies, invisibility, sexuality, social attitudes
By Ouyang Dan on 11 August, 2010
Courtesy of amandaw I bring you this stellar article that once again rubs in my face how brilliantly miserable the VA is scratching the surface of realizing what is wrong with they way they even see women veterans. If you read along carefully you can even see the lightly sugar-coated condescension artfully woven in TIME [...]
Posted in accessibility, disability activism, intersectionality, invisibility, justice, medical practice, military, oyd rants, policy, violence | Tagged abuse, Department of Veterans' Affairs, disability, disabled veterans, Eric K. Shinseki, exclusion, health care, health care is an accessibility issue, intersectionality, Military Sexual Trauma, myths and misconceptions, problematic attitudes, PTSD, social treatment, the dogdamned VA, things people say
By Anna on 11 August, 2010
At the same time, media & pop culture still use glasses as “code” – either for This Is Serious Work, or This Person Is A Nerd/Geek (and a particular type at that) or a scientist/doctor, or a Serious Scholar. This is true whether the person uses glasses all the time, or if they just use them for certain things.
Posted in invisibility, media and pop culture, movies, normality, othering, representations, television
Latest Comments
Sasha_Feather, Joanna, Ms. M, Jo, Vertigo
Quijotesca, Nana, Teressa, Dani Alexis, Indigo Jo, Quijotesca [...]
Sharon Wachsler
Bruce Triggs
sanabituranima, Sharon Wachsler
Teressa
Jayn, jeneli, Indigo Jo, Jack, The Untoward Lady, Kaz [...]
GallingGalla, Megan, cim, Ben, tekanji, Static Nonsense [...]