Disabled Zines and Zinesters and Allies

Comment

Comment by incurable hippie on November 19, 2009 at 11:30am

I don't think you're getting what I'm saying. I am a person first, and I do not have disability. Society disables me.
But don't worry, I don't know if you read the last two links I sent, but the medical model language seems common in the States and Canada, the social model language more prevalent in the UK, though I know more and more Americans are shifting to the social model lately. It's as much a cultural issue as a political one, and I'm not saying you're wrong, or I'm right. This is just how I define the world around me. You define your world in a different way. And that's all good :)

Comment by Bradley Adita on November 19, 2009 at 11:22am

@IncurrableHippie & all other Disabled Zines and Zinesters: have you seen the 1995 film, WHEN BILLY BROKE HIS HEAD (& other tales of wonder)?

Comment by Bradley Adita on November 19, 2009 at 11:20am

My zine might have lots of spelling errors and mistake in it, but I dont think of my zine as being disabled. Also I am not perfect, I have made and will continue to make a lot of mistakes and errors but I dont think of myself as disabled either. Even after being diagnosed with bipolar disorder (after a manic episode in Minneapolis in June of 2008) I think of myself as a person first and my abilities and disabilities second. Therefore, I am a proponent of person-first language. I choose to focus on the person, not the abilities or disabilities of the person (not that they are unimportant, just secondary to the fact that this (any given) person is fully human.

Comment by Bradley Adita on November 19, 2009 at 11:14am

"Thats exactly why priviledged folks (fucks) like me (and everyone else),
should feel obliged to whine and kick and scream,
yeah 'til EVERYONE has EVERYTHING they NEED."
- Propagandhi

Comment by incurable hippie on November 19, 2009 at 10:50am

"But applying the Social Model means that the world can get better. If disability is understood as a purely medical phenomenon then our position must remain the same, and the only strategy must be to attempt to normalise ourselves as much as possible, to accept manmade boundaries and prejudices as natural and somehow come to terms with the tragedy of such an existence.

The Social Model means we can look at our lives, and decide for ourselves what is and is not possible and demand the right to fulfil our real potential as opposed to the low expectations we may have had dumped on us."

from here

Comment by incurable hippie on November 19, 2009 at 10:49am

This is a good post about the different terminologies.

Basically, being a 'person with a disability' makes my difficulties, say, getting around into something wrong with ME, when it is in fact something wrong with the places which are not accessible, or which are unsuitable.

I have impairments which may or may not change. The level of disability I experience does not depend on my body and mind, but rather depends on whether society fixes itself enough to let me live my life.

Comment by Bradley Adita on November 19, 2009 at 10:42am

@IncurrableHippie: Okay. Thanx for the information about the Social Model of Disability. I read the article, I dont see where it says anything about referring to people as "disabled people" as opposed to "people with disabilities". Personally, with my own diagnosis of bipolar disorder, I prefer to think of myself as "Bradley with Bipolar Disorder" than "Bipolar Bradley" - but hey,"Bipolar Bradley" is pretty catchy... hehe

Comment by incurable hippie on November 19, 2009 at 10:30am

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_model_of_disability

Comment by incurable hippie on November 19, 2009 at 10:30am

No, I am not my disability, that's the point. I have multiple impairments, but the disability is caused by the world around me. I am disabled by the society I live in, not by my body and mind.

Comment by Bradley Adita on November 19, 2009 at 10:27am

@IncurableHippie: so you "are" you disability? Is that what you mean to say? Why do you take issue with person-first language?

@Bibliophile83: I think we should "allies" almost all people have some sort of disability anyway, or will at sometime in their lives, so why not include people who want to identify themselves as "allies" - do we really need an exclusive group of just "Zinesters with Disabilities" ?

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5
• Next ›
• Page