Happy Disability Pride!

Hello my lovelies and fellow outcasts. I hope you are well and doing your best as always! If you weren't aware, July is - Disability Pride month. Since 1990, we have dedicated every July to celebrating disabled people's contributions to society. According to the founders of Disability Pride, the aim [of DP] is to promote the inclusion, awareness, and visibility of people with disabilities. Redefining the public perception of disability.

I was born with Cerebral Palsy, and I only discovered disability pride a few years ago. I am one in many who often feel second and separate from the rest of society, or at least society has made us feel that way. I didn't really know many people with disabilities growing up, or struggled with the same things I do. All my family members and friends are able-bodied, so for most of my life I have had to constantly explain my disability, or prove that I am disabled.

Thank the internet gods for social media. For disabled people, the internet has provided us a voice and a space, where a community can come together and feel heard and seen. I've met so many other disabled people of all disabilities through social media and I am so grateful for it. I feel like I can openly discuss my disability and my own experiences in this ableist world without having to justify my very existence.

I have become a proud disabled lady, who recognises that though my disability does not define who I am, it has definitively made me who am I. Whereas before, I would avoid mentioning my disability altogether in the hope no-one would ask why I was always limping.

During hot summers, I would layer up nude tights to cover my scars so that I could still wear shorts without people staring at me. If I didn't do that, foundation was the next best and if not black skinny jeans, it was.

Now I don't care. Stare away. It makes me feel famous.

Growing up, I have had all sorts thrown my way from spastic to cripple and all the above. I cringe every time I hear these words being thrown around so loosely. It makes me feel uneasy and angry. The type of angry where you go dead silent and repress everything inside and then people wonder why you're ready to explode at any moment.

I hate the language used to describe disabled people. It is negative. I mean the word dis-abled immediately conveys negative connotations because dis is associated already with the negative lexis': disgruntled, discomfort, disagree, disgrace, etc.

So why would someone with an influence and following betray the very people they are advocating for in attempt poor to reclaim a word that 1) isn't theirs to claim, or, 2) Shouldn't be claimed in the very first place? There is no pride in re-claiming words that convey negative associations and uphold the stereotypical image of disabled people, of which so many of us are actively trying to break down.

I am, of course, discussing Rosie Jones' new documentary: Am I a R*****? The title, for many reasons, has caused a wave of backlash. Rosie, like me (other than name) has cerebral palsy. If it was I making the creating the title, I would have gone with something along the lines: So I am a little bit wonky? As wonky isn't necessarily a negative adjective and can be used in other contexts that aren't harmful nor offensive, and sums up the off balance life that comes with Cerebral Palsy.

Some participants of the documentary have backed out entirely because they raised concerns over the title and they were ignored. They have accused Rosie of putting profits over her own community. Channel 4 is also responsible as they too ignored these concerns.

And it got me thinking about the language and adjective we used to describe ourselves and the disabled community. Now I will not sit here and list words we should use, or give further examples about how the language we used is negative.

Instead, I want you, the reader, to consider how we use language, shape it and encourage it to evolve, whether that's describing someone walking past you, or introducing yourself to a room full of new people. There is a reason the phrase 'think before you speak' exists.

We want to change how people see disabled people, promote awareness, and inclusivity. Re-claiming negative words is not the way to do that, I'm afraid. Yes, it's begins with understanding the language we use, negative or otherwise, but we must teach others why some terms are dehumanising and while others are empowering.

Happy Disability Pride my loves!

P: S I will now write a bio called So I am a Little Bit Wonky, so look out for that soon :)

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