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Internalized Ableism and Working to Dismantle it


Hi all,

I know I've been away from all of you - and my ideas and inspiration - for a while, but it's good to be back. Good to see all of you again.

As some of you may know, there was some Twitter drama the other day when I saw one of my colleagues had done a photo set in a wheelchair. Their name is Jane Way and they have Ehlers-Danlos, which they have always been very vocal about. That, I (unreasonably) thought, was disrespectful, because I thought (unreasonably) that just because I saw or didn't see photos of mobility device usage proved that they were paying lip service to the fact of disability. So I called them out on it.

Now, I am also disabled, I just don't need any devices to get me around. I have chronic epilepsy, a neuro-psychriatic illness. The fact is that just because I see or don't see device usage is not indicative of whether or not people use them, and actually, it is, medically speaking, none of my damn business. I did take the post down and apologized to them publicly, but it got me thinking: if I had to use a mobility device, would I feel less than attractive? And the answer is: probably yes. So I plead guilty to internalized ableism.

This is not something I am proud of, and I know for sure that I still have internalized misogyny as well. I just want people to know that as I am dealing with internalized ableism, and wrestling that demon, that person was totally right to call me out on my own failings and lack of questioning. I appreciate the fact that I sometimes have to check myself. I have to ask myself questions. I don't know everything about everyone.

I hope that this was a one-time thing. But CALL ME OUT. We can always do better and be better.

Xoxo,

Olivia

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