Author: Isabel Mavrides-Calderon

Isabel Mavrides-Calderon is a 16 year old latina disabled disability rights activist and organizer. She focuses her work on campaigning for policy change, community outreach, and creating tangible intersectional change. Her other passions include competitive public speaking on National Speech and Debate Circuit and playing with her chihuahua. You can find her on all social media: @powerfullyisa

Do We Look Tragic to You?: Media Influences and Systemic Ableism

A group of disabled queer Black folks talk and laugh at a sleepover, relaxing across two large beds. Everyone is dressed in colorful t-shirts and wearing a variety of sleep scarves, bonnets, and durags. On the left, two friends sit on one bed and paint each other’s nails. On the right, four people lounge on a bed: one person braids another’s hair while the third friend wearing a C-PAP mask laughs, and the fourth person looks up from their book. In the center, a bedside lamp illuminates the room in warm light while pill bottles adorn an end table.

[Image Description: A group of disabled queer Black folks talk and laugh at a sleepover, relaxing across two large beds. Everyone is dressed in colorful t-shirts and wearing a variety of sleep scarves, bonnets, and durags. On the left, two friends sit on one bed and paint each other’s nails. On the right, four people […]