I am a member of a shocking (appalling, really) number of dating apps which means that the simple act of checking my messages can feel like drive-by ableism that I’ve brought down upon myself. Throughout my life, I have cultivated a well learned, low threshold for bull–it’s what has gotten me this far. For better … Continue reading
Amazingly, though, the exercises for the races towards “normal” and “American” are nearly the same. Speak up enough to be inspirational but not confronting. Work hard, but never complain about the hurdles you face. Make the obvious joke and laugh to make them feel its ok. Smile. Always. Continue reading
If we cannot regularly rely on others to write our story, we should do it our damn selves.
You heard me! Fight me. I want disabled people to be unapologetically selfish. I want you to bathe in hedonism and to move with the bravado of a mediocre man explaining to a woman her own expertise. I want to see you striving to love yourselves and in the moments you cannot, being patient with … Continue reading
You knew that there would be a time when I’d have to write this. At least that part of me you know, you had been pushing this part of me away towards the end, the one that needed to speak to express the unpopular. You didn’t like that part of me, but at least you’re … Continue reading
We have to admit that when we downloaded Adoring Allies, we were at a pretty low point in our political lives, we had just broken up with the tall, dark, handsome, and well-spoken man of our dreams and faced the future with pure dread. I mean, look at the prospects! Our relationship with our ex … Continue reading
The following is a presentation I gave for a class on the identity formation of able-bodied people in contrast to representation of disabled bodies. The thesis is that able bodied people use two methods to distance themselves from the disabled identity: ableist language as distancing language and the social commodification of disabled bodies. This is … Continue reading
