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
I have 22 scars on my body from surgery, I have dozens more I put there myself. Continue reading
The word “cripple” evokes many a negative connotation, but considering it is probably the least objectionable thing said during the course of an election in which a presidential candidate regularly insults minorities including the disabled, it’s time to use what we’ve got: shock value. The debate going on about the tag is irrelevant compared to … Continue reading
People are always under the assumption that my parents somehow babied me or made my life as easy as possible because I was their disabled child—nothing could be further from the truth. Unless I was recovering from surgery or some particularly bad fall or incident, I was expected to take out the trash, wash the … Continue reading
I am constantly stepping on people’s feet. Even after 15 years, I sometimes put one of my crutches down and think to myself, “the ground is awfully squishy today.” I don’t mean to, but think about all of the things I have to think about when I’m in public: I have to watch what’s coming, what’s … Continue reading
I love New York. Not in a “sing my way down Broadway” sort of way, but in getting lost down the side street maze sort of way. I love the grit that the ever pressing force of gentrification seems to be pushing out; but more importantly, I feel absolutely anonymous when I am in the … Continue reading
