By Annaham on 14 December, 2010
K__ at Feminists with FSD: Notes on MTV’s True Life: I Can’t Have Sex Actual, proper terminology was used throughout the show. Chronic pelvic pain conditions were named, but some conditions that overlap were not mentioned at all (interstitial cystitis, for example, was not explored in this episode. This is a shame – interstitial cystitis [...]
Posted in recommended reading | Tagged alternative medicine, asperger syndrome, autism, bipolar disorder, breast cancer, cancer, cancer treatment, chronic pain, death, female sexual disfunction, fraud, media and pop culture, pain, personal stories, reality tv, sexuality, television, the secret, tv, vulvodynia
By Annaham on 25 November, 2010
One thing that has helped me quite a bit as a blogger, writer, grad student and person with chronic pain subject to flare-ups has been speech-to-text software. The basic idea is fairly self-evident: You install the software, plug in the headset that comes with it, open up the word processing program of your choice, and [...]
Posted in accessibility, Accessible Tech, happy posts, technology | Tagged assistive technology, blogging, pain, technology, writing
By amandaw on 19 August, 2010
A long time ago, I decided to start up a series. I lacked a catchy title, so I went with the mere truth: Things That Make My Life Easier. What I meant by that is, of course, things that make my life with a disability easier. Disability can introduce certain complications to a life — [...]
Posted in normality, othering, social attitudes | Tagged ability, assistive, disability, identity, needs, othering, pain, social construction, speak up, treatment
By Annaham on 17 August, 2010
Sarah Fenske at the Phoenix New Times: ‘Til Death Do Us Part: They Got Married. Then Everything Changed This is a love story, albeit one with a medical twist. Unbeknownst to anyone — including Kevin himself — there was a tumor the size of a Granny Smith apple pressing onto Kevin’s brain. Kevin didn’t need [...]
Posted in art, race, recommended reading, social attitudes | Tagged activism, cancer, cancer treatment, chronic pain, chronic pain conditions, creative work, feminism, gender, mental health, mental illness, pain, privilege, race, relationships, social attitudes, theater
By Annaham on 11 May, 2010
sqbr at Poking at Thorns (with gloves on): Disability in Speculative Fiction: Monsters, mutants and muggles Fiction reflects social attitudes, and the social attitudes to disabled people tend to suck. Disabled people are presented as scary, pathetic, exotic, demanding, laughable, etc. But some tropes are popular/unique to SF. It’s not all bad: speculative fiction allows [...]
Posted in recommended reading | Tagged ableism, accessibility, disability in fiction, disability is a feminist issue, feminism, fiction, gender, independence, medical, medical care, mental health, mental illness, pain, pregnancy, science fiction
By amandaw on 1 May, 2010
(Cross-posted at three rivers fog. See more BADD 2010 at Goldfish’s blog.) I’m pretty open about my health issues. To be honest, I don’t know any other way to be. I know how to strategically hide my disabilities from strangers in passing interactions, but from the people with whom I interact on a daily basis? [...]
Posted in accessibility, invisibility, small stories, social attitudes, work | Tagged ableism, accessibility, assholes, badd, badd 2010, chronic illness, chronic pain, disability, disclosure, head asplode, health, migraines, myths and misconceptions, pain, pain management, pain triggers, passing, personal, problematic attitudes, social treatment, stories, things people say, welcome to my life, work
By Chally on 8 March, 2010
On Wednesday, I stepped onto a train during rush hour and watched the last few seats fill up. I thought about needing a seat, needing to preserve some energy to get through the day. I thought about how my knees had started paining on Monday night as I’d settled down to sleep, and how very [...]
Posted in bodies, small stories | Tagged pain, personal, social attitudes
By amandaw on 21 February, 2010
(Cross-posted at three rivers fog.) I noticed something was wrong in the earliest hours of the morning, when my husband had disappeared from bed but I did not hear anything going on in the bathroom and could not see him anywhere. Around 8, he got up to go to the bathroom and I lifted myself [...]
Posted in relationships, small stories | Tagged chronic illness, chronic pain, fibromyalgia, home, interlude, pain, pain management, personal, relationships, stories, treatment, welcome to my life
By Annaham on 13 January, 2010
Author’s Note: This was originally written two years ago, when I was working as a sales clerk at a boutique shop in an extremely privileged area of Los Angeles. As you will probably be able to tell, I did not like this job very much. Looking back, I’m struck that I engaged in a fair [...]
Posted in bodies, class issues, gender, i'm right here, identity, introspective, normality, social attitudes | Tagged ableism, chronic pain conditions, disability, disability movement, fibromyalgia, identity, pain, privilege, problematic attitudes, social treatment
By amandaw on 7 January, 2010
Short background: Rush Limbaugh (link goes to Wikipedia article) is a US conservative radio talk show host who has risen to prominence in the US by inciting “controversy” after “controversy” with hateful rhetoric. He also went through an ordeal some time back for addiction to prescription painkillers, an incident that the US left likes to [...]
Posted in blaming, i'm right here, politics, shaming | Tagged ableism, abuse, addiction vs dependence, chronic pain, color me unsurprised, control, culture, disability, drugs, health policing, i thought you were supposed to be my ally, medications, myths and misconceptions, pain, pain management, politics, privilege, problematic attitudes, the left, the right, things people say, this all sounds awfully familiar, treatment, vicodin
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