Tommy and Disability Narratives – My Fave is more than Problematic

As I blogged about yesterday, I can’t listen to Tommy (the Rock Opera by The Who) any more. Introducing kids to music I loved as a teenager is a key nostalgic benefit of parenting, and unusually, they liked it a lot, my kids jamming out to Pinball Wizard. And then … the lyrics filtered into … Continue ReadingTommy and Disability Narratives – My Fave is more than Problematic

Disability and Pop Culture: Alice Wong on Finding Dory

Last week I wrote about Finding Dory and hoping it was good. Although complex and not without its issues (more on that in a second), Alice Wong (founder of the Disability Visibility Project) has mostly very positive things to say. People with disabilities do not see themselves very often reflected in popular culture with authenticity steeped … Continue ReadingDisability and Pop Culture: Alice Wong on Finding Dory

#CripTheVote and Dante: Priorities USA Cuts a New Ad Featuring Disabled Child of Color Speaking for Himself

This is the new Priorities USA ad – Dante. It features a young disabled African-American boy speaking directly to the camera about Donald Trump. A few weeks ago, Priorities USA released the ad Grace, which features who nice white parents of a disabled child criticizing Donald Trump for making fun of people with disabilities. I … Continue Reading#CripTheVote and Dante: Priorities USA Cuts a New Ad Featuring Disabled Child of Color Speaking for Himself

CN: ABLEIST SLURS – Disability and Community: The Challenge

The differences between different disabilities are so great that grouping all disabled individuals into a ‘disabled community’ is stupid. Physically disabled individuals are very different from mentally disabled individuals. People born disabled are very different from people who became disabled in their old age. The differences are too great for there to be any real … Continue ReadingCN: ABLEIST SLURS – Disability and Community: The Challenge

Should Reporters Describe Disability?

Yesterday, the official AP Stylebook Twitter Account responded to a query about describing wheelchair users. Here’s the exchange: @APStylebook Phrase “wheelchair user” is in 2015 handbook, but I still see “confined to”/”disabled” used. How does this change? #RaganChat — Alison Carville (@AlisonCarville) June 21, 2016 We suggest not describing an individual as disabled or handicapped … Continue ReadingShould Reporters Describe Disability?

Disability, the States, and the Great Kansas Disaster

Over the past few years, Kansas has empowered a collection of radical right-wing politicians to put into practice every (Constitutionally-possible) idea that they could come up with. The idea was that they could cut taxes far enough to stimulate massive economic growth. The result has been a dramatic slashing of all mechanisms of funding the … Continue ReadingDisability, the States, and the Great Kansas Disaster