Help Our Voices Soar

Why has it taken Vocal so long to establish a Disabled Voices Community or create a tag specifically for stories about or involving disabilities? In an era where representation and inclusivity are paramount, the absence of such a community or tag is a disheartening reflection of the ongoing marginalization of select groups who have been marginalized longer than many others. However, the time for change has arrived. It is time for Vocal to heed the call, rectify this omission, and amplify the voices that have been silenced for far too long. Give us the tag.

Representation delayed is representation denied. Disabled individuals deserve more than a token presence or occasional feature; they deserve an empowered platform that fully embraces their experiences. The time for half-hearted attempts at inclusion has passed. It is time for Vocal to step forward and provide the visibility, respect, and recognition that disabled voices rightfully demand. Why does one marginalized group receive their community while other marginalized groups do not even get their own story tag? Even if Vocal is not willing to make an entire community for disabled writers, why not create a greater community called Cultures and provide us with a tag to make our work more visible? Disabled individuals do have an active subculture, one dedicated to emotional support and directing each other to resources we may not know about.

The absence of a disabled tag for writers with disabilities and other diverse voices perpetuates a cycle of ignorance. The time for us to hide behind our words, because we do not feel included in the dialogue, should be over. While the platforms may claim to value diversity, the glaring omission of disabled perspectives and other minority perspectives demonstrates a lack of understanding and empathy. By denying disabled individuals to make their stories more visible, Vocal has failed a large subset of writers. Acknowledgment of the transformative power of disabled voices is long overdue.

Advocacy cannot be postponed or ignored. Disabled individuals have been at the forefront of social change, demanding equal rights and challenging systemic barriers. By failing to provide a platform for disabled individuals to share their stories of resilience, innovation, and activism, Vocal has missed a chance to drive advocacy and become an important social platform for the quieted voices. It is time for a Disabled Voices community. At the very least, it is time for a tag to help our stories from being placed where they do not belong, making them prime targets for complete disregard. Please, Vocal, help our voices soar.

Personal Note:

I write this as a disabled man who sees the world through a lens of disability. We are told not to let our disabilities define us but when our lives are so entrenched in our disabilities, how can we be expected to deny or reject them? My disabilities come with physical and mental barriers, and I cannot simply overcome those through the power of positive thinking. To tell me not to be defined by my disability is narrow-minded and implies, to some extent, that there is nothing that can keep me from achieving my dreams and goals. But there is.

Telling me to accept my station and embrace my impediments is the same as saying go away and stop bothering us because your hardships make us uncomfortable. What do we lose in this bargain? We lose resources, hope, self-worth, and belonging. I think a community like this could foster more success among disabled writers. Not only will it allow our stories to be easier to find, and our perspectives to be shared in force, but it will also provide us with information, show us resources we did not know existed, and help us overcome the roadblocks put in our path by flawed and apathetic systems. This is not a call for special treatment or to segregate our voice from others, it is a call to give us the right tools to make sure our words do not get lost in a wealth of other material. Thank you for reading.