Everything is ready for the orgy. The snacks and drinks are prepared, the disco ball is hanging, and there are mechanical lifts to help people in and out of their wheelchairs. As a few guests mingle and a go-go dancer gyrates, Marvin (played by Eric Graise) rolls onto the stage in his wheelchair to act as emcee. With the help of a sign-language interpreter, he kicks things off by announcing, “I know you’re all dying to tear each other’s clothes off, or to have your attendants take them off for you.” This is no ordinary orgy; it’s “#F*CK Disabled People,” the titular orgy from Episode 4 of Queer as Folk.
Tag: Disability
Believe Disabled People: When People Don’t Believe You’re Sick
Our ableist society takes a binary view of disability. Actually, for many people our disability varies from day to day and person to person. (Disabled And Here, Creative Commons license)
Believe Disabled People: When People Don’t Believe You’re Sick
Posted in Creative Commons, and Journalism
Believe disabled people.
Believe disabled people, whether or not we look disabled.
If you can absorb that statement, you can probably skip this post. However, read on for some more nuance and examples from my life.
Using A Cane With An Invisible Disability
Posted in Creative Commons, and Life
I thought I’d write for a moment about what it means to use a cane as a person with an invisible disability (fibromyalgia).
Invisible disabilities are life-altering health conditions which are nonetheless not always visible to a normal observer. Even a trained medical professional might miss them under casual observation. Fibromyalgia is a debilitating, and poorly understood condition. It combines chronic pain with other symptoms like sleep disturbance and severe fatigue.
I don’t use a cane every day, which can contribute to confusion from people who don’t understand how disabilities can work. I might seem “able bodied” one day, but the next (or even later the same day) be hobbling around in pain.
Quoted In Bitch: Cannabis, Chronic Illness & Unsolicited Medical Advice
Posted in Journalism, and Ministry of Hemp
I was quoted by journalist s.e. smith in a recent article in Bitch on cannabis and unsolicited advice for the disabled and chronically ill.
As editor of Ministry of Hemp, obviously I’m a believer in the benefits of hemp. But I’m also not a fan of giving sick and disabled people unsolicited medical advice. And even though cannabis in several forms is helpful to my disability (fibromyalgia), it’s not a cure.
I’ve tried it, I know how it helps, and I don’t need other folks telling me what to do unless I ask.
VIDEO: Why Public Education Matters For Disabled Students In Texas
Posted in Austin, Creative Commons, Journalism, and Video
In this short video, recorded July 18 2017, Lisa Flores explains why public education matters for disabled students in Texas.
Resistance is ongoing down at the Texas Capitol, and the donations of my patrons are helping me to cover it. Look for more soon!
Using Able-Bodied Privilege To Defend Healthcare & Human Rights
Posted in Act Out!, Creative Commons, Journalism, and Video
They’re loud, they’re fierce, and they’d rather risk death than see their — and your — health care get cut.
You’ve probably seen stories about protesters torn from their wheelchairs as they shut down Senators’ offices, resisting the devastating new Republican “health care” plan that would push even more people into ill health, bankruptcy and death.
To give you a rough idea of how many — there are currently about 29 million people uninsured under the ACA — although many who are insured still suffer from the economic burdens of trying to stay alive. That number may drop a bit by 2026 but under the proposed AHCA, revised or not, more than 50 million people would be uninsured. And we’ll get to what third option would leave no one insured but first, let’s circle back to these protests.
Organized under the hashtag #ADAPTandResist, they have spread across the U.S., from Capitol Hill to legislator’s offices around the country. We’ve all been justifiably horrified to see people defending their right to health care literally dragged to jail, and sometimes bloodied in the process. But as with anyone who places their body squarely in the path of the powers that be, these protesters don’t want our pity, they want our solidarity — because this is a struggle we should all take part in.
They also aren’t new to this struggle either — actually, disability rights advocates from groups like ADAPT are some of the fiercest, and most effective activists around, and they’ve literally transformed the world you live in, to everyone’s benefit.