10 Ways Your Social Justice Work Might Be Inaccessible and Elitist — And Why That’s a Problem October 19, 2020 by Hari Ziyad, Guest Writer Leave a Comment The article was originally published on EverydayFeminism.com and is republished with permission. I’m an artist first. But I decided long ago that my art would be in the service of fighting oppression. Since then, I’ve waded more deeply into social justice spaces, and I find myself surrounded more and more by people professing these same aspirations. Being in these spaces has … [Read more...]
“Stop Looking at Your Phone”?: 5 Ways Internet Technology Helps My Queer, Neurodivergent Family December 16, 2019 by Ginger Stickney Leave a Comment Watching my teens interact on the Internet sometimes feel like coming full circle. My own experience with Internet relationships started in the early nineties on a fetish board, complete with black screen and green print. During that time, I was on the tail-end of an emotionally abusive relationship coupled with a lot of confusion about my sexual identity. Socially awkward … [Read more...]
Why I’m Wary of Being Friends With You When None of Your Friends Are Marginalized November 5, 2019 by Caleb Luna Leave a Comment One day I was grappling with shame and self-consciousness over my tendency to take stock of the kinds of people new people in my life surround themselves with. I was thinking about this in relation to bodies and, specifically, race and fatness. Until that moment I had internalized this behavior as unnecessary, judgmental, and even shallow. But I had a realization that allowed … [Read more...]
Thwarted Belonging and Reasons for Hope: Queer Black Trans Pain Matters September 6, 2019 by Regina Leslie Leave a Comment Content note: This article includes (non-graphic) discussion of a completed suicide. One of my closest friends died by suicide. The days after their death were jarring and bewildering. I carefully tried to drink water, only to involuntarily spit it up while sobbing. I tried to eat, only able to eat soup and beans. (To my horror, the hot Funyuns a friend offered made me … [Read more...]
Why Policing Disabled Folks’ Self-Diagnosis Is Classist August 17, 2019 by Gabe Moses Leave a Comment I get into arguments with people on the Internet a lot these days. It’s kind of one of the only ways to be a disability activist when there are a lot of days where you can’t leave your bed. The most recent argument I had was with a particular kind of ableist disabled person, which, oxymoronic as it sounds, is a thing that actually exists. In fact, I’ve encountered way too … [Read more...]
7 Ways To Make Your Social Justice Space Accessible to Disabled People August 3, 2019 by Gabe Moses Leave a Comment Most social justice movements make a point to be inclusive of as many people as possible, especially marginalized communities. Those movements that don’t do so should. But one group that is often overlooked is disabled people, even though we exist inside every other affinity group. As someone who belongs to multiple “othered” communities (disabled, transgender, working-class, … [Read more...]
4 Ways Sick and Disabled White Folks Can Show Up for Anti-Racism June 8, 2019 by Katie Tastrom Leave a Comment I know that navigating intersections is hard, especially when you have privilege in one area and are oppressed in another. First, we need to remember it is not nearly as hard as living at the intersections of oppression. We also need to be excruciatingly honest with ourselves (and each other) about how these factors influence us at each time and place we occupy. As a white … [Read more...]
Why Economic Access Matters: What’s Missing From the Reproductive Justice Conversation August 2, 2018 by Dawy Rkasnuam Leave a Comment In 1994, a group of Black women coined the term “reproductive justice” in an effort to create a movement that, unlike mainstream pro-choice activism, would be inclusive of people who are most marginalized. To that end, reproductive justice as a movement encompasses far more than abortion rights. It also includes fighting for a living wage, equitable family leave policies, … [Read more...]
6 Ways Your Social Justice Activism Might Be Ableist May 20, 2018 by Carolyn Zaikowski, Guest Writer 1 Comment This article was originally published on EverydayFeminism.com and is republished with permission. Incredibly, some leftist activists still fail to recognize ableism as a social justice issue. But from the 200,000 disabled people murdered during the Holocaust, to the ugly legacies of eugenics and prison-like institutions for the disabled, to the2016 attack against disabled … [Read more...]
5 Ways Ableism Looks in Queer Spaces April 11, 2018 by Nik Moreno, Guest Writer Leave a Comment This article was originally published on Wear Your Voice and is republished with permission. “Ableism shapes attitudes… and systems that ultimately dehumanize… [and] criminalize people whose bodies don’t fit into socially constructed notions of what constitutes a ”normal” human being.”-Edward Ndopu and Darnell L. Moore As queer folks with … [Read more...]
10 Ways We Can Make Leadership Accessible for Sick Folks in Activism September 15, 2017 by Katie Tastrom Leave a Comment I have been involved in activism for more than 20 years and am both a lawyer and former social worker. I mention this not to brag (though I am proud of what I know and what I have done), but to make it clear that I have skills, knowledge, and experience that could help me to not only participate in social and economic justice movements, but to help lead and organize … [Read more...]
