What Disability Pride Means To Me

July is Disability Pride Month, a chance to spread awareness and to show solidarity against the ways we can be treated in society. So, this month I thought we would have a little chat about what Disability Pride Month means to me.

What is Disability Pride Month?

Disability Pride Month runs every July and though it is the month after LGBTQ+ month it is not affiliated with it. This is instead a chance to raise awareness and to show solidarity and allyship with disabled people and the issues that affect them.

This event was started in Boston, America in 1990 and coincided with an act of law called the Americans with disabilities act. Since then, it has become a global movement and a chance for us to shout about how we can hate our disabilities but be proud of everything we are.

It feels so needed, especially as the UK government, both the last Conservative party and the now Labour party want to take money from disabled people through a new Welfare Bill. They chose the first day of Disability Pride Month to vote on it too, which felt very much done to make a point, to me.

Now, disability charities, advocates and a lot of the public don’t know how things are going, but it doesn’t look good. This could potentially see many more deaths, disabled homeless people and even more extreme poverty for some of the most fragile people in the country.

What it means to me

So, though Disability Pride and Gay Pride are very different, they are a chance to show that we are so much more than our illnesses. We are human beings, and by being seen by shouting about how we are proud to exist, we are going against all these MPs who appear to be fans of eugenics.

We deserve to live lives full of whimsy and joy and friends and work, if possible, but if we have bodies that stop us working, we need to be able to live. Trying to squeeze us into poverty to force us into a workforce that is inaccessible is pointless.

People are not faking being disabled to get the small amount of money the government gives us, nor because they are lazy. We just came through a global pandemic, plus diagnostic tools and criteria have improved meaning more people are being diagnosed instead of suffering.

Disability is not a trend, but you do see us more, and that is because social media allows us to post something in seconds. Also, we have better mobility aids meaning that we have more independence and are more able to leave the house.

I am glad we are seen more; I am thankful for social media and blogs so I can share my experiences. I love being a creator, but it is not like having a job, I definitely plan my weeks around rest times and so it isn’t too much.

If you ask me what Disability Pride Month means to me I will always say it means we matter, and our value doesn’t rest in work. If someone is unable to do much for themselves, if they have 24 hour 1 on 1 care, they still matter. You matter, no matter how much society and our government tries to show otherwise.

How to have Disabled Pride

• Remember your worth – We are human beings; we have no need to prove we have worth by making ourselves sick working when we are ill. You are not lazy because you are home, doctors are the only ones qualified to state if you are sick enough to work. We are disabled, we did not ask for it, and we are valued for more than our ability to work full time.
• Find your community – The internet is full of groups, forums, social media, blogs, youtubers with all kinds of illnesses and disabilities. Finding people to follow and chat to who have the same issues is so empowering. Always stay safe online, but it’s a wonderful way to gain insight, get ideas and make friends.
• Unlearn internalised ablism – This is a big one! Throughout your life you will have ideas about what disability means, and they affect how we react to becoming sick. Unlearning those thoughts that are directed towards yourself is so important and helps us to accept ourselves for who we are and what reality of disability is. The world is inaccessible that is the problem not our bodies.
• Celebrate your existence – We are alive, and we need joy and hobbies and laughter and happiness. Life is meant to be enjoyed, take pride in your resilience and have pride in all you overcome every day.
• Educate and advocate (if you can) – By setting boundaries, teaching others and standing up we are showing our pride in who we are. We deserve to be respected and by doing these things we show that to everyone we meet out in the world. Making your voice heard, which is why I started this blog and my YouTube channel, is a wonderful way to have pride in who you are.

Asking me what does disability pride month mean to me, is a very layered question as I am always working on these points, I made myself. It is a constant struggle and that is why we need awareness so much especially now, so I hope this post inspired you to be full of pride in who you are. Let me know in the comments what Disability Pride Month means to you, I would love to know.

Thank you xx

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