'I guess for many people, seeing a petite disabled woman out and about being cheerful is in many ways opposite of what we are told about disability.' ✍️ SamanthaRenke writes for MetroOpinion
Of course, I have brittle bones – you can put me on the moon and that wouldn’t change. But depending on where I am, it affects whether I am actually disabled.
Take my flat, for example: it’s accessible, so it has automatic windows and doors; I have a wet room and adjustable light fittings. In my home, I still have brittle bones but I’m not disabled. Yet, when I go out and about, I am met with disabling barriers. So, in many ways, disability is a social construct.
When I heard about the social model, I can’t express how liberating and unburdening it felt to hear that I wasn’t the problem and my needs aren’t ‘special’, rather I deserve to be treated and respected just like everyone else. Finally, we have the affirmation model. It is a non-tragic view of disability and impairment that includes positive social identities for disabled people based upon the benefits of our lives. For me, this has been a way of being my authentic self by allowing me to say that some days, I don’t like my disabled body, and I experience pain but also acknowledging that
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