The Space Between Vertebrae
My hands grow cold and rigid. In those blue-tinged palms, I can see my future.
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Posts Tagged: disabilities
On Seeing Myself: Representation and Ryan O’Connell’s Special
“What does disabled look like?”
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Telling a Good Story: A Conversation with Lisa Lenzo
Lisa Lenzo discusses her new story collection, UNBLINKING.
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Death, Doorways, and Dance
Acceptance is a fluid dance
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Breaking the Rules: A Conversation with Amy B. Scher
Amy B. Scher discusses her memoir, This Is How I Save My Life, what to do when all available treatments have failed, Trump’s presidency, and the power to heal.
...moreNo Cure Necessary
At The Establishment, Mariah Ramsawakh discusses the damaging, unrealistic “miraculous cure” trope often found when the media portrays characters with disabilities: People with disabilities are tired of being lumped together as less than able-bodied folk, and being told they’ll only be the “real” versions of themselves when they’ve been cured. When I asked my three disabled participants […]
...moreDifficult Decisions
She was fed exclusively through a gastrostomy tube. Although she couldn’t speak, she often smiled and made noises and expressed pleasure in the company of her siblings. Her parents — worried that their daughter’s continued growth would restrict her ability to join family trips, swing in the backyard, take baths or cuddle in their arms […]
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The Saturday Rumpus Essay: All Bodies Count
Personal representation weighs heavily on the disabled because we don’t often see each other out in the world.
...moreThe Beautiful Private Life of the Other
Italian photographer Olivier Fermariello’s collection, Je t’aime moi aussi (NSFW)—a striking gallery of the sexual lives of the disabled—gives a glimpse into the private sphere of those who fall outside culture’s narrow standards of beauty. These people were willing to give their most intimate appearance to a total stranger in order to let others know that […]
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