RespectAbility: Fighting Stigma Through Opportunity
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“The disabilities community needs to come out of the closet!”
Women's eNews (https://womensenews.org/tag/disabilities/)
“The disabilities community needs to come out of the closet!”
It’s hard—nearly impossible, probably—to really know what it’s like to have a disability unless you’ve actually lived the experience.
It can be hard for teen girls with disabilities to reject the stereotypes they see in the media and in the able-bodied population.
Despite a recent court win protecting accommodations for students with disabilities in school, teen girls with an Individualized Education Program are still worried about their fates in school. DeVos “could potentially really mess up our education system,” one teen said.
Writer Sylvia Colt needs her mother to bathe and dress her, but that doesn’t mean she also doesn’t want to kick her in the nose sometimes.
As a teen girl with a disability, Emily Flores sees no television or movie characters who resemble her. One reason may be the hurdles actresses with disabilities face in getting work.
No matter how many friends she has, Melina Nakos still has no one to share her struggles and frustrations of being a double amputee. This piece is the first in Teen Voices’ Girl Fuse series, an initiative by and about teen girls with disabilities.
“When you are around Danielle the wheelchair is just an object in the room,” says Tomboy founder Rachel Grossinger. Media psychologists say this kind of diversity in fashion helps everyone challenge unrealistic beauty standards.
Many in medical professions and the general population still deem disabled women unsuitable for sexuality and reproduction, says Rickie Solinger in this excerpt from “Reproductive Politics.” Reproductive technologies can also add to stigma.
Petra Rodriguez lost her welfare benefits when she injured her back and couldn’t keep her welfare work assignment. A Legal Aid lawyer says situations like hers help explain why the rolls have dropped–people are just discouraged from applying.