Why Dieting Failed Me as a Migraineur
In a break between activities, you notice it. This morning, your head was heavy with thoughts and plans, but you now find yourself unable to string together sentences. Your eyes are unable to focus — you keep seeing lines and waves that aren’t really there — and it feels like your brain has been replaced […]
My First Partner Left Me Because of My Disability
This is about how abled people can be flakes, and my ex-boyfriend is a jerk, yes, but also how my reality is considered a worst-case scenario for some people. It’s a terrifying what-if, a possibility so terrible and with such frightening ramifications that my ex partner had to run to save himself. The surprising thing: […]
How Pride Events Still Exclude Me and My Disabled Peers
Rainbow flags swirled all over West Hollywood as festival goers poured into the already crowded sidewalks. Gay people shouted “Happy Pride,” high-fiving and hugging and validating one another. The final day of Los Angeles Pride 2010 festival crescendoed with Kelly Rowland performing her final song and smash single, “When Love Takes Over.” The air was […]
What Non-Autistics Don’t Understand About Autism
I hung out with two autistic children today (Jane, 5 and Harry, 7) and realized a few things. I spent an hour or so playing Minecraft with Harry and talking with Jane about how excited she is to be having a baby sister come this weekend. I told their mom (my godmother) that I simply […]
Accessibility and Fashion: How ASOS is Bringing Inclusivity to Design
Scrolling through Twitter the other day, I was surprised to see this tweet about fashion inclusivity and accessibility – something that I, as a newcomer to the disability community, had never considered as something that would have an impact on someone’s life. The tweet is by Chloe Ball-Hopkins, a Paralympic athlete and wheelchair user, who […]
Disney Channel’s ‘Andi Mack’ Is One Of The Most Diverse Kids Shows To Date
Image Description: Main character, Andi Mack, displayed in the center of the photo, and she shows to have an excited smile. Behind are fun decorations displayed in a room. In the top right corner, there is the title of the show, ‘Andi Mack’ in blue letters. Many of us remember fondly the “Golden Age of […]
Your Guide to the Most Accessible Pens for School and Work is Here
Image Description: Picture of purple fountain pen. For many people with structural disabilities, hands are the first thing to go. Which is unfortunate, to say the least, as hands are normalized into every single aspect of able-bodied society. Many assistive technologies are inaccessible to the majority of the public, and even then, either insurance won’t […]
The Shape of Ableism: Why I Will Never Watch Another Guillermo del Toro Movie
Image description: still from The Shape of Water: Elisa and the creature face each other lovingly through the glass of his tank. I didn’t get to the The Shape of Water until well after it had been awarded the Oscar for best film. A few months late to the party, entering the cinema I was […]
The Far-Right’s Attempts to Silence Journalists are Attempts to Silence the Most Vulnerable – and it’s Nothing New
Image Description: Journalists sitting on the ground in a huddle holding their microphones and cameras, along with protesting signs. Shortly after 2:30 pm on June 28, 2018, journalists working at the Capital Gazette in Annapolis, Maryland were violently interrupted by an armed attacker. Before the gunman was taken into police custody, he gunned down 5 […]
Astral Connection: How Virtual Worlds Gave Me a Place to Belong Outside My Body
Image Description: An avatar in a virtual world shown mixing music, with ranbow shoulder length hair and black angel wings. “The intellectual may feel enslaved in matter. If only she could escape from the body. But the mind will not fly unless we embrace the body as a path to freedom.” – Joanna Frueh In […]