Caitlin Wood, Criptiques - May 28, 2014
F*cking amazing. In less than 30 minutes, host Caitlin Wood and guest / Criptiques anthology contributor Cheryl Green bring some of the most fundamental concepts of disability culture and politics to life.
For example: Cheryl Green peels apart an old chestnut slogan about disability:
“People need to get with the program and see us as valuable, complete, whole human beings. And it’s not, 'See my ability, not my disability!' I find that treacly shit to be bullshit. I think that is so silly, 'See my disability, not my disability!' First of all, if you don’t see my disability, I’m not going to get any accommodations. Second of all, c’mon now, how are we going to hide this, you know? And third, why in the hell should I be expected to hide it? Why should one kind of person be encouraged to be proud of some part of their identity, but if it’s a disability, 'Oh, don’t see it, nope, we didn’t see it! Don’t talk about it. It’s bad!' No, it’s not bad. Maybe it’s hard, but it’s not bad.”
Cheryl is also hilarious and on-target in her critique of "disability awareness" ... where it comes from, what it's for, and the bizarre stunts it inspires.
This is more essential listening for people new to thinking about disability, and for people who think they have disability all figured out!
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