Warning: Offsite links are not safe spaces. Articles and comments in the links may contain ableist, sexist, and other -ist language and ideas of varying intensity. Opinions expressed in the articles may not reflect the opinions held by the compiler of the post and links are provided as topics of interest and exploration only. I attempt to provide extra warnings for material like extreme violence/rape; however, your triggers/issues may vary, so please read with care.
Disability Bitch: Disability Bitch gets a bit of hot action:
The reports have led certain commentators to describe sex with disabled people as “one of the last taboos”. Amazing. Simply by having sex and being physically abnormal, I am engaged in some debauched endeavour, of which most people dare not speak. Such a thrill!
But, readers, shall we talk about it? I think we should. I did a little journalistic investigation of my own and discovered that this story did not simply land in the tabloids from nowhere. It was, shall we say, inspired, by a report in Community Care magazine, the industry journal for social workers. Community Care had published an article on the question of whether Individual Budgets for disabled people should be used to pay for sexual services. It was seemingly initiated by a debate between social workers on their own internet forum, a debate which ended up being quoted widely in the national press.
Laura Hershey: Remembering Two More Heroes
Barb was a T1 paraplegic who also had multiple sclerosis. In the 1980s, she worked in the independent living movement in Missouri and Oklahoma. Then she decided she wanted to start a business designing and selling advocacy posters and other products and service. She encountered opposition when she asked help from Kansas Vocational Rehabilitation. They tried to use the rules to limit her choices; she taught herself the rules and beat them at their own game. Based on that experience, Barb wrote a consumer manual aptly titled “How to Kick Ass and Win.”
Keri: not funny (interesting discussion in the comments as well)
Okay, so I know that the community I’m ranting about is kind of made for people who are obsessive and/or compulsive about lists and correct data and having everything Just Right. That means there are going to be jokes and comments about OCD, since a lot of what appeals to people of this community might come across as OCD-type things to people who don’t give a shit.
But, seriously, folks? It’s getting old and Very Unfunny. The first time I saw the “CDO is like OCD, but better: it’s alphabetical, like it should be” “joke”, I thought it was [stupid], but made sense for people who don’t really know about OCD except for media depictions. But people keep using that joke. And it is not funny. It’s not funny the same way the “dog = god” dyslexia “joke” isn’t funny. It trivializes a very real disorder and creates misunderstandings of what it really is.
Dave Hinsburger: The People Who Are The “R” Word (Dave does a lot of posts and discussions and goes into classrooms to give talks about “the R word”. I really recommend reading his posts about it, and perhaps pulling them out the next time someone insists that no one calls actual people r#tarded anymore.)
No matter what the fearless defenders of freedom of speech say, there is a huge difference between a word to describe something that slows fire and someone who learns differently. There’s a huge difference between a thing and a person – but, no, maybe not. After reading their diatribes regarding their freedom to spit out hurtful words, they may, really, not see people with disabilities as fully human with a human heart capable human hurt.
Haddayr: ‘Drive-by’ ADA Lawsuits?!??
Who cares if you “turn business owners against the ADA?” I don’t want them to feel warm and fuzzy. I want them to OBEY THE LAW. Businesses will not do right by people unless they fear lawsuits. They have no motivation other than money. As a matter of fact, the ADA has no enforcement arm and they depend on people filing private lawsuits to get places to comply.
In The News:
US:
Disability Scoop: Despite Reforms, Problems With Restraint And Seclusion Persist [Trigger Warning for discussion of abuse of students with disabilities] “According to state records, teachers in at least three Iowa school districts have violated the rules, which limit the types of restraint allowed and circumstances in which they can be used.”
If you’re on Delicious, feel free to tag entries ‘disfem’ or ‘disfeminists,’ or ‘for:feminists’ to bring them to our attention! Link recommendations can also be emailed to recreading at disabledfeminists dot com. Please note if you would like to be credited, and under what name/site.