…the need to offer a positive account of mental illness—one that does not define the essence of mental illness exclusively as the absence, lack, or failure of the power of reasoning…
On the Importance of Conceptual Contrasts Madness, Reason, and Mad Pride
Awais Aftab
"Brooke Wilkinson, director of academic initiatives within the Division of Undergraduate Education, said she also consulted disability studies programs at other universities and drew upon the expertise and research interests of faculty at UCLA.
Marks and Wilkinson, both professors involved in adding the disability studies major in the fall, said they also considered topics that are increasingly discussed in society.
“(There was) a sense that disability, civil rights and disability justice had become not only a campus issue and not only a legal issue but part of our social discourse in a very profound way.” Marks said."
I'm a firm believer in making space for marginalized people. I am a minority in many ways, except that I am white. I acknowledge that privilege, and try to use it to benefit others.
On my way to the #ScrapTheGreenPaper (on #disabilityreform) protest outside Leinster House (which houses the Irish parliament). These proposals if implemented would make life a lot more difficult for many with #disabilities and disabling illnesses. 😡
I #read via #audiobook When She’s Ready by Ruby Dixon. The audiobook is both When She’s Ready and When She’s Lonely. Both are very pro-consent post-slavery human-alien #romance. I find these Risdaverse #books entertaining & mostly safe, more so than her other series. (I ❤️Ruby even when it’s scary.) #reading#book#romancelandia@romancebooks
WSReady: https://amzn.to/416lwHF
WSLonely: https://amzn.to/47Dz4g6
I want to add something to this post about the 2nd #book in this #audiobook compilation: When She’s Lonely by Ruby Dixon. The FMC in this story has significant hearing loss that impacts her daily quality of life. If you look for stories of MCs with disabilities, and like or at least accept human-alien #romance & sex, I recommend this. I recommend it anyway, but especially if this is in your areas of interest. #sciencefiction#disability@romancebooks@romancelandia
"Woman told exhaustion was just ‘A-level stress’ overcomes debilitating diagnosis: Elizabeth Hope, who was diagnosed with ME, has since overcome her adversity to become an award-winning wheelchair dancer"
We welcome insider tips on what the new University of California Office of the President's Disability Rights Office is conceived to be, and who they're hiring as leaders/staff.
The nice thing about digital art is it never has to be finished. On this one I got too deep into the image. There's a lot going on you can't see cuz the midtones are too dark...
The non-gendered warrior SHOULD be creating themself (to coin language) out of and battling dark chaos, a bright spark headed toward a dim light... they never know if there's a goal...
"#Poverty does not breed nobility of character. Or humility. It just breeds hunger of body & soul.
#Trauma does not breed compassion. Just pain. And the spreading of pain.
#Disability does not secretly empower you with courage & persistence. It just limits what you can do.
Toxic Positivity is a modern cultural plague. It just keeps you buying stuff. And working harder and harder... to buy more stuff.
Religion for consumers.
This kind of positivity is not spiritual. Or uplifting. Just one more yardstick measuring my failures. Inspiring movie by inspiring movie.
What doesn't kill you? Does NOT make you stronger. Not often enough. It just doesn't kill you. Breath after breath... after breath.
The difference between Strength and Misery?
Not a choice. But it is very real.
Honor it.
This is a raw, unfiltered truth. Many of us who are autistic... live it. But we don't talk about it.. much. At least not out loud. Not with typical folks. Not among other neurodivergents, either. Maybe not even to ourselves.
I don't know about you. But I mask a secret shame in colors of anger, resentment, regret.
Why? TV, Hollywood, the damn New York Times Best sellers list...? Together, media create our social mythology. Championing only the lifestyles of effective people. Ya know, folks who turn out tons of widgets. And consume mass quantities while flicking screens...."
Good news? The UC Riverside Highlander Editorial Board realized that ableism and inaccessibility are problems worthy of an op-ed.
The bad news? They're not questioning the systemic ableism at UC, but just questioning how efficiently it's implemented. The client of the SDRC is University of California and its desire to meet as few of its bare minimum obligations under disability law as possible. The client is not disabled students. Highest common denominator accessibility should be the default and going beyond that worked out without interference from "experts" at stonewalling.
Does anyone know of any good journal articles or essays on how one's perspective on disability rights and/or disability justice can be influenced by whether one is born disabled or later becomes disabled (and how long one has been disabled if one becomes disabled), and one's connection to disabled community? @disability#InternalizedAbleism#Disability