Search Results for: ableist word profile

AWP: “The Disabled”

Ableist Word Profile, anna rants, i'm right here, identity, media and pop culture, normality, othering, representations

People with disabilities/the disabled are not a collective group that all agree on anything. Asking what “the disabled” want or “the disabled” are doing is exactly like asking what “women” want and what “women” are doing. Women are individuals. Some of them are women with disabilities! We don’t all want the same things, but grouping everyone under the same umbrella, as though we are a Collective rather than Individuals With Opinions and Needs is… well, it’s pretty damned ableist, as well as being arrogant, ignorant, and irritating.

Stigma Kills: A Concrete Example

activism, disability activism, justice, language, make the world a better place, media and pop culture, mental health, normality, othering, social attitudes, Uncategorized, violence

Often when bloggers or activists push back against ableist language and stereotypes in the media, especially pop culture, someone will respond with an argument that there are more important disability issues to address and that the topic at hand is mostly irrelevant to disability rights as a whole. This has happened with each of the … Continue reading Stigma Kills: A Concrete Example →

Recommended Reading for October 26, 2010

recommended reading, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

firecat at Party in my head (DW): How To Be Sick I went to this talk because I have chronic health conditions that affect my mobility and energy levels, and I am a caregiver for my mother, who has Alzheimers. I’m a Buddhist and my study of Buddhism has helped me work through grieving over … Continue reading Recommended Reading for October 26, 2010 →

When She Was Bad

intersectionality, media and pop culture, mental health, television, , , , , , , , , ,

Moderatrix Note: This is a post from my “Summer of Buffy” series (or “Season of Buffy” for my Southern Hemisphere friends, who want to be MONSTERS and have different seasons and ruin my pun, but you are my favourite people EVAH and I love you!), which I thought was appropriate for cross posting, due to … Continue reading When She Was Bad →

I Bet It’s Exactly Like That!

intersectionality, language, media and pop culture, mental health, military, news, othering, oyd rants, , , , , , , , , , ,

[Trigger Warning for descriptions of violent thoughts of self harm] Oh, by now, faithful readers, you know where we are about to go. We are about to go on a little journey into my mind, the scary place that it is, where I open the floor to discussion about the ways that, once again! Stars … Continue reading I Bet It’s Exactly Like That! →

BADD: Why I Write

activism, intersectionality, justice, make the world a better place, politics, poverty, resistance, social attitudes

(This was originally posted as a BADD contribution at my tumblr.) I spend a lot of time blogging about and against ableism, about being a person with a mental illness, about the way policies and cultural attitudes and assumptions act to disadvantage people with disabilities. But for some reason, I was having a lot of … Continue reading BADD: Why I Write →

Guest Post by Sasha Feather: Book Review of The Rejected Body

bodies, books, identity, life changes, representations

If you are at all interested in Disability Studies (DS), I strongly recommend this book. I felt like I had a kind, clear teacher and friend leading me by the hand through basic and advanced concepts in DS, especially relating to feminism and ethics. It is the most accessible and worthwhile academic text I’ve ever read– I don’t have a good track record for reading non-fiction books or textbooks, and I was riveted to this book. Partly this is because The Rejected Body speaks so directly to my own life experience as a person with a chronic illness. Susan Wendell also has a chronic illness, ME/CFS, which is what led her into DS from Women’s Studies.

Guest Post from RMJ: Athletes with Disabilities: Arm-Wrestlers as Exceptions and Inspirations

bodies, media and pop culture, news, normality, othering, representations, social attitudes

Matthew’s accomplishments are not notable in this article: only his disabilities. I’m not quoting or going through the whole article because the able privilege is so dense. The first line is indicative of the attitude taken in the article: Matthew doesn’t “bemoan”, unlike those other people with disabilities who would surely be champion athletes if they just tried. The construction is an ableist implication that other folks with disabilities are lazy whiners. Throughout the article, every reference to barriers Matthew faced is immediately matched by emphasis on how he overcame this disability. The focus is not on his exceptional effort and achievements, but on the “heartwarming” “good cripple”.