What Is Disability & Disability Justice?
Sensory
Emotional & Psychiatric
Invisible & Undiagnosed
Neurodivergence
Physical Disabilities
For those we have lost…
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What Is Disability?
Dis(not) - ability(able) is a condition that makes someone not able to do things other people are able to do.
If you can't do something because of physical or mental limitations you are disabled and the physical or mental limitation is a disability.
Rather than always saying "physical and mental health" the term "bodyminds" is used by disability justice advocates to emphasize how inseparable our bodies and minds are.
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Disability The Long Version
There are 3 main models of disability
The Medical Model - Says that disability is the result of bodily misfunction.
Problems - Some disabled people do not have a medical problem to cure. Doctors shouldn't be the gatekeepers of disability.
The Social Model - Says that disability is having bodily differences that disadvantage you within society.
Problems - Some disabilities need medical care or cure not accomodation and would be disabiling in any society.
The Functional Model - Says that disability is the innability to perform certain tasks.
Problems - Some disabilities like chronic pain & fatigue do not affect any specific task but greatly affect quality of life.
As you can see each definition has strengths and weaknesses. So if any of these definitions apply to you, you can identify as disabled, even if some do not resonate.
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Being "Disabled Enough"
There is a common misconception that in order to identify as disabled, you have to be "disabled enough." Often times this is interpreted as using a mobility aid, being unable to work, or having a certain diagnosis from a doctor.
But the reality is disability is a spectrum. There is no cut off point at which you can not say you are disabled. Likewise, there is no point at which you must say you are disabled. People may choose to see their conditions differently, for example some people with autism identify as disabled, some neurodivergent and some both.
The only person who has a right to decide if you are "disabled enough" to identify as disabled is you, because only you know what is holding you back.
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Invisible Disabilities
Part of the reason it is so important not to try to police other peoples disabled identity is that 90% of disabilities are invisible. That means there is no outward sign that the person is impaired.
Examples of invisible disabilities include:
Illness
Pain
Fatigue
Mental illness
Neurodivergence (Autism, ADHD)
Etc.
Some of these conditions may have positive medical tests, but others can only be diagnosed by subjective symptoms. Even if a condition cannot be diagnosed by medical professionals it can still be a disability.
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Disability is NOT a bad word.
There is no need to call someone with an impairment "differently abled." Likewise there is no need to use the term "people with disabilities" over "disabled people." Being disabled or abled is an essential part of our bodymind and not a moral trait.
Most peoples disabilities have nothing to do with whether they are gifted in other areas. If someone with a disability succeeds, their disability rarely helps them do it.
Being disabled doesn't come with magic extra ability somewhere else. We only think this way because the media highlights the stories of "inspirational" disabled people and hides the stories of most disabled people.
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Disability Justice Requires Equity
When we learn about "fairness" as kids we are often taught about equality. It is wrong to pay someone less for doing the same job because they are a woman or because they are black.
But justice requires more than equity. If two people fall down and one scrapes their knee and another their elbow, it isn't "fair" to give them both band-aids on their knee. It isn't "fair" to deny them band-aids because no one else fell down and they shouldn't get "special treatment."
Fairness is not everyone getting the same thing. It is everyone getting what they need.
Equity means everyone gets what they need.
Disability justice requires equity. Not just equality.
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Disability Justice Requires Anti-Capitalism
If you aknowledge equity as justice, than you must give people resources based on what they need.
Capitalism does not do this.
"From each according to [their] ability to each according to [their] need" is a famous Marxist quote.
In the context of disability justice this is not radical, it is fundamental.
If you cannot reward or punish people for ability, you cannot have a system by which the vast majority of the population trades productive labor for basic necessities. Because disabled people have both higher material needs and lower productive labor capacity. We will not get what we need. The society will be inequitable, unjust, not fair.
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Disability Justice & Intersectionality
Ableism has been used to justify all forms of opression.
Women are stereotyped as physically and mentally weaker to justify sexism. Gay and trans people told they are mentally ill to justify repression of their identity.
BIPOC are stereotyped as "lesser races" less capable of physical and mental accomplishment justifying racism, colonialism, imperialism & fascism.
Billionaires are portrayed as incredible geniuses who are so capable of creation as to justify extreme wealth beyond what they could even use or need while poor people are stereotyped as lazy and mentally incompetent.
Because ableism is so intertwined with all systems of opression those fighting for disability justice must also be fighting for the rights of all opressed people. Likewise, we must demand accessibility and solidarity from the movements that work alongside us.
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Disability Justice & Bodily Sustainability
A key part of disability justice is the commitment to sustaining our bodies. Disabled people must learn to take pride in our bodies and existance and prioritize finding sustainable ways to live.
We cannot continue to view disabled bodyminds as disposable.
This means that while the cause of disability justice is urgent and ongoing it we must fight for it sustainably. We must build community and solidarity, systems of distributing funds, food, caregiving & healthcare, mental support and so forth that can sustain both ourselves and our movement.
Not only are these systems of community and solidarity a necessary part of sustaining the movement of disability justice, these systems ARE the movement. We must build a new sustainable and fair economy within the world we live in.
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This Disability Pride Month I want to look beyond just Myalgic Encephalomyelitis or MECFS talk basics about Disability and Disability Justice.
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There is no one definition of disability. Mental Illness Chronic Illness Wheelchair Users Blind, Deaf & Neurodiverse people all have their own unique perspectives on what ability and disability mean.
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The SocialModel of disability emphasizes our need for accomodation and the fight against systemic ableism.
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The Medical Model of disability emphasizes the need for medical research pain management and awareness of Chronic &/or Rare Diseases.
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The Functional Model of disability focuses on the end result and limitations that Disabled People live with as a combination of medical and societal limitations.
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To have Disability Justice we must focus on understanding disabled Body minds in all of our complexity.
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We must prioritize intersectionality and amplifying the voices of the most marginalized.
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We must stand against capitalism and all systemic opression of disabled people.
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We must find sustainable communities of mutual Aid and peer support, finding long-term solutions to living with pandemics and climate change.
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We must have disabled pride in ourselves and in our communities. We must have Mad Pride Austistic Pride Spoonie Pride and more.
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We are living through a Mass Disabling Event as Long Covid rips through our communities.
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It is only through standing together in solidarity that we can all have self-determination and freedom. Collective Liberation.
@sinsinvalid has created a beautiful description of 10 pillars of disability justice. This post only discusses a fraction of them.
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To learn more about Disability Justice I highly recommend
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