#disabilityproblems

I literally had a woman stare at me today until I stopped talking to my mom just so she could ask me, "What are you doing in that chair?!", thinking I was injured or being silly. When I told her I was born with Spina Bifida she got a horrified look on her face and basically said how sorry she was for me.

There has been a lot of discussion regarding diversity in the film industry recently. Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s wonderful and needs to be brought to attention. But there’s something that’s been bothering me for basically as long as I can remember. Whenever 99% of people talk about diversity, they speak about things like race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality. They, unfortunately, leave out a huge group of people in this conversation. That group is people with disabilities. 

So I decided to make a list of times I’ve heard people talking about diversity and leaving disability out of the equation. Because by the way some of these people talk, you’d think we don’t exist. But we do. And I’m tired of feeling like a huge part of my identity is ignored, or worse, only acknowledged when it’s used to inspire other people to better themselves because hey, at least they’re not disabled, right?

This list is by no means exhaustive, and does not include all of the times I’ve noticed the lack of acknowledgement, but just some of the times in the past month or so that I’ve remembered to make a note of the problem. I expect the list to grow and welcome any other articles, speeches, or any other form of communication that ignored disability. Hopefully, at some point, this stops and we start getting the recognition and respect we deserve. Until then, please feel free to add to the list to show that there is a huge problem in our society.

“It's great that the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination is a woman, that she's not the only female candidate in the race, and that two viable Latino candidates are sparring on the Republican side this year. We should also have Asian-American candidates, more than one black candidate, LGBT candidates, candidates from a variety of religions, atheist candidates, and an equal share of female and male candidates.”- “America Ferrara Shut Down An Interviewer Who Thought He Knew Who She Was Voting For.” (Upworthy)

“We have all shapes, all sizes, all ages, all… genders. And they all come together and they all love one another. I have yet to hear any negativity from anybody.”-Tired of negative comments, these badass women created a community. They’re embracing themselves and spreading a body-positive message. 

“This isn’t unprecedented for the Academy. In the ‘60s and ‘70s it was about recruiting younger members to stay vital and relevant. In 2016, the mandate is inclusion in all of its facets: gender, race, ethnicity and sexual orientation. We recognize the very real concerns of our community, and I so appreciate all of you who have reached out to me in our effort to move forward together.” – Statement From Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs

“The aggressively inclusive brand, which placed the first-ever plus-size ad in the magazine, hired the three curvy models to star in its #SwimSexy campaign, each wearing the same gold bikini.” – “There’s A 56-Year-Old In a Bikini In The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue (Huffington Post)