Disabled pride vs. awareness
On July 26th, 1990, George H. W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act. The ADA is a law that gives people with disabilities protection against discrimination in the workplace, public transportation, restaurants, schools, and much more. In addition, the law mandates accommodations that provide access and independence to people with disabilities to live their lives. That’s why July is disability pride month. It is a celebration of the diversity within the disabled community. The law prevents discrimination against all types of disability; mental illness, cognitive, intellectual, sensory, and physical. Each type is represented in the disability pride flag.
Why is it pride month and not awareness month? Awareness is acknowledging a diagnosis, and pride is a celebration. You might donate money to foundations during awareness months, but in pride months, you march and find community. July is a month to recognize all the feelings of people with disabilities. You don’t have to be proud of your disability to be included. July raises up voices of disabled people to tell their stories.
For me, people have always been “aware” of my disability. Because they can see my mobility aids. The questions like “What happened?” or “what’s wrong with your legs?” gets old quickly. Those situations made me resent my mobility aids for “outing” me as disabled. I learned over time that not using them made me slower and maybe look more “special” because of how I naturally walk. In the end, mobility aids provide more independence than unwanted questions.
My workaround for hiding my orthotics was to never under any circumstance wear shorts to school as a child.
That and to pick skin tone colors to make them blend in. (Although this usually made people think I had prosthetics versus leg braces, and having to explain that is awkward). In most pictures, I color-coded my crutches to my outfit. This was to minimize my mobility aids and disability as much as possible. My internal ableism grew out of assumptions others had about my disability. Awareness diminished the amount of pride I had.
