A Celebration of Pride in the Disability Identity
“Disability is not a dirty word”
“Having a disability is not something to be ashamed of, and such euphemisms deny the existence of disability and reinforce the stigma surrounding disability rather than embracing it as a valued aspect of diversity.”
Director of the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR) for the Administration for Community Living.
The first Disability Pride event was born in Boston in 1990. Parades and festivals followed after in major cities across the country like Chicago, L.A., and New York. Disability Pride is a time for recognition and celebration of the Disabled identity and the unique culture of disabilities communities. Disability Pride is an opportunity for everyone to show off their whole selves and be PROUD of exactly who they are!
Dismantling “-isms”
Ableism is discrimination and prejudice targeted against people with disabilities. Ableist ideas and actions can be purposeful:
use of slurs and pejorative language, even when it’s not directed at a person with a disability ( e.g., the “R” word),
segregation of people with disabilities,
failing to meet accessibility requirements, or
unfair employment practices, and more.
But, often ableism is the result of unconscious or implicit biases, learned prejudices persistent in society, and careless ignorance:
assuming people with disabilities need your help, or that they want to be “fixed” or “cured”,
pitying people with disabilities, or
conversely, using disability stories as inspiration to the non-disabled (sometimes called “Inspiration Porn”),
infantilizing people with disabilities,
ignoring invisible disabilities,
questioning a person about their disability, or
assuming your own experience is universal, and many others.
We are all responsible for putting an end to ableism in our world. As with all -isms, we must go beyond simply considering ourselves “not-ableist”. We must actively listen, recognize, and act against ableism where we see it.
Photo Credit: Official White House Photo by Pete Souza, 2011
“Human variability is immense. We see and hear in varying degrees, our limbs are of different lengths and strengths, our minds process information differently, we communicate using different methods and speeds, we move from place to place via diverse methods, and our eye colors are not the same. Some of us can soothe children, some have spiritual insight, and some discern the emotions of others with astounding skill. Which bodily and mental variabilities are considered inconsequential, which are charming, and which are stigmatized, changes over time - and that is the history of disability.”
Kim E. Nielson
A Disability History of the United States
Beacon Press, 2012
“Disability Culture is a world that reflects who I am.”
— Neil Marcus, Performance Artist
From the YouTube channel of Neil Marcus
Recorded at the University of Michigan Initiative on Disability Studies (UMInDS) Spring Conference 2012: Disability/Culture: An Arts-Based Research.
Contact
Feel free to contact us with any questions.
Email
info@disabilitypridesc.org
Phone
(843) 564-8810