Breaking Barriers: Kaylee Bays’ Triumph for Disability Representation on So You Think You Can Dance
In the realm of performing arts, individuals with disabilities often encounter barriers to showcasing their talents. Kaylee Bays, a dancer hailing from Los Angeles who performs on wheels, etched her name in history as the first wheelchair user on So You Think You Can Dance. Her poignant and deeply passionate jazz solo, set to Pink’s […]
Exclusive: Behind the Scenes With Paralympians! Part 2
As a continuation of the two-part series of behind the scenes at the Paralympics, this article focuses on the medals that the athlete’s won, as well as their impressions of the Games after having competed. The four athletes previously interviewed, Sabrina Duchesne, Mikaela Jenkins, Ahalya Lettenberger, and Tully Kearney continued their stories in this section. […]
Exclusive: Behind the Scenes With Paralympians! Part 1
Image Description: A paralympic pool with lanes. One lane divider is blue with orange ends and another is yellow with orange ends. There is a yellow diving board in the foreground of the image with the number 6 on it and handles. Watching the Paralympics on television only gave you a glimpse into […]
Do We Look Tragic to You?: Media Influences and Systemic Ableism
[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 […]
Accessible Adventures in TTRPGs with Sara Thompson
Movies. TV shows. Holiday commercials, even. For the first time in history, the integration of disabled bodies in popular culture is more pronounced than ever. And what better place to add in disabled representation than in fantasy TTRPGs, where anything can happen? This is what designer Sara Thompson (she/they) sought to do with their design of […]
My Disability is Not Your Costume
Halloween is just around the corner, and despite the CoronaVirus pandemic, many people are still planning their costumes for a variety of activities. Personally, I’ve never been much for the Halloween festivities anyway. Growing up as a wheelchair user, it just wasn’t accessible. Still, I love a good costume as much as the next person. […]
Finding the Beauty Within my Own Flesh and Bones
Like so many in our generation, I have dealt with my fair share of body positivity issues. Frankly, it sucks. But that doesn’t stop anyone from inadvertently aiding and embedding impossible ideals of beauty. Most often my insecurity lies within the scars on my legs. Little lines that I have never seen myself without. […]
Humanize with Empathy, Not Sympathy, by asking “What are you going through?”
“The love of our neighbour in all its fullness simply means being able to say ‘what are you going through?’” What Simone Weil touches on here in her 1951 text “Waiting for God” sounds simple and straight forward. Listen to each other, share, and through that develop understanding. So why is it all too often […]
Disability Pride: Five Disabled LGBTQ Activists Who Connected Communities
Pride today largely consists of celebrations, rainbow-clad community members, and corporations capitalizing on the opportunity to seem inclusive. The major strides in advancing LGBTQ rights combined with the nearly nonexistent inclusion of our history in school curriculums can allow us to perceive the past through rose-colored lenses. It is easy to forget the myriad of […]
Pause, Rewind, The Tales of a ‘Deaf Girl’
Illustration by Damaris Contreras Deaf girl … and I can’t hear your words – kettle whistles, chair scrapes on wooden floor, and your lips move across the table telling me… Something. again I plug in my tape player – microphone of my lips, switches of […]