Tuesday, 6 September 2016

On identity and representation

32 Years of Challenge Gets You Cake and Stuffies
Dave Hingsburger, Of Battered Aspect, 1 September 2016
... It's an important story, but as often happens her story and the story of her employment has been co opted to tell a different story, a story not about her at all ... The celebration of 32 years of gainful employment of someone with an intellectual disability is a celebration of 32 years of breaking stereotypes, of challenging bias, of demonstrating competence in the face of expectations of failure ...
  • Repost, in case you missed it last weekend's 'Reading and viewing' post
Believing in ourselves as disabled people
Social Skills for Autonomous People, 21 June 2016
As disabled people, it can be very hard to learn to believe in ourselves. We’re often taught not to.

We’re told over and over “believe in yourself, and you can do anything!” and that if we work hard, we can overcome disability. That sounds positive, but it actually teaches us that we’re not worth believing in as the people we really are.

In the name of believing in ourselves, we’re told to ignore key facts about ourselves. We’re taught that believing in ourselves means that if we ignore disability as hard as possible, it will go away and we’ll be ok. But ignoring reality doesn’t change it. No matter how we feel, no matter what we believe, our bodies exist and matter. Our limitations stay important ...


Screen Australia diversity report finds Australian TV still lacks colour
Karl Quinn, Sydney Morning Herald, 24 August 2016
A groundbreaking report into Australian TV drama finds that better quality doesn't necessarily equate to more diversity ...

The Dos and Don’ts of Writing About the Disabled
Nicola Griffith, Literary Hub, 23 August 2016
Recently I have read several articles about disabled people by non-disabled writers. The authors have clearly projected their own fears and prejudices onto the subject of their piece, and spoken for them from that place. If I could say one thing to those authors it would be this: Do not assume that empathy equals experience. You might think you know what it’s like, but you don’t ...

Ideas for the Next Generation of Disability Activists
Peter Gibilisco, Probono News, 25 August 2016
Meritocracy is a belief that seems to me to still be alive and well in the senior management of disability support. It also seems to drive many aspects of public policy, particularly when appeals are made to “equal opportunity” ...

What Disability Means
New York Times, 25 August 2016
Last week, The Times opened a series about disability, broadly considered, with an essay about disability, pride, and identity by Rosemarie Garland-Thomson. We asked readers to share their own stories in the comments and on Facebook ...

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