A few months ago, I had a run-in with an online chronic illness content creator (say that 10x fast! đ). Their video was entirely inaccessible to anyone with visual or some neurological issues (especially those of us with migraines or seizures), and I very politely let them know.
In the past, Iâve been on the receiving end of that, and I appreciated the feedback, edited my post, and changed how I posted moving forward. In fact, since learning how online content can be inaccessible to many, I have intentionally followed creators who share helpful tips about increasing accessibility across platforms. Because **everyone deserves equitable access.** Sadly, this personâs response was extremely ableist.
Ableism is âa set of beliefs or practices that devalue and discriminate against people with physical, intellectual, or psychiatric disabilities, and often rests on the assumption that disabled people need to be âfixedâ in one form or the otherâ (Definition source: Center for Disability Rights).
Ableism reinforces messages like:
â˘Your needs are too much, or youâre just being difficult, lazy, etc.
â˘You arenât welcome here. This space isnât for you.
â˘If youâre still disabled or canât access this resource, something is wrong with you that you arenât working hard enough to fix.
But in addition to harming disabled folx, ableism harms *everyone.* If content is inaccessible to some people, guess whoâs voice isnât being heard in the commentary? It is a way of systematically silencing and exiling members of our community. That doesnât mean it is always *intentionally silencing, but the impact is the same.
When people donât have the opportunity to hear the voices of people groups who differ from them (for example, if neurotypicals never hear about the lived experiences of neurodivergent folx, if able-bodied people never see folx in wheelchairs, using assistive devices, etc, if white ppl never hear the experiences of people of color, etc) itâs easy to forget that those people groups exist, or take into account their differing experiences and needs, and especially their suffering. Content that is accessible to those with the most hurdles benefits *everyone.*
Disabled folx may be stuck at home for a variety of reasons. Often, online access may be the only access a person has. So letâs make it accessible to everyone. (And if my content or comments are ever inaccessible to you, please message me and I will make every effort to rectify the situation!)
If you see content online, ask yourself:
1. Who can and cannot access this content?
2. If someone canât access the content, what does that mean for them? For the community as a whole?
3. Whose voices arenât being heard bc of this inaccessibility?
All images have a cream colored square on top of a blue background. The bottom left of the slides have a watercolor paint splash and the blog name âthe scrappy raccoon.â
Image 1: title slide with the words âAbleism in Accessibilityâ
Image 2: slide title is âAbleismâ; below is the definition of the word of ableism (written in the caption above)
Image 3: screenshot of my original comment on the post in question which says âidk if anyone has mentioned this but itâs rally [sic] difficult for some of us with visual issues to read captions set over a short, quickly moving video. I would love to read the caption but itâs not accessible to meâ followed my a sad emoji face.
Image 4: A screenshot of two of the creatorâs responses which read âIn fact, Iâve been disabled myself. Much worse than you currentlyâ And âI donât make content for people to stay sick. This is not a âchronic illness warriorâ page. I make content for people who want to heal and are doing so.â
Image 5: A screenshot of one of the creatorâs responses to me which reads âAs you donât *have* to watch this one (if itâs a âhassleâ to click on it to read the caption- which I donât see how it is). At the end of the day, this is my page too and I make decisions as to what type of content to make. Which (as it is now) will benefit the most people in fact and more will see it, as explained. But if I wanted to make content for the whole world and not want insta to promote it, I would make it so that itâs suitable precisely for that funding and only those people. Which would be fine too.
Image 6: A screenshot of the rest of the creators content which reads âbecause itâs my page. Clicking on a video to read is hardly not accessible. And again, even if it wasâŚthen thatâs the kind of content *I* chose to have on my page. Have a great day!â
Image 7: Quote slide says âInaccessibility isnât a âhassle.â It is discrimination. And to refer to it as such is demeaning to those with accessibility needs.
Image 8: Slide title says âQuestions to ask about online content:â The numbered list reads:
1. Who can and cannot access this content?
2. If someone canât access the content, what does that mean for them? For the community as a whole?
3. Whose voices arenât being heard bc of this inaccessibility?
Image 9: Quote on slide reads, âMaking content and spaces accessible for those with the most hurdles to accessibility benefits everyone.â
