It’s July, which means that many Americans are pulling out their red, white, and blue stripes. But there’s another flag associated with this month — one that you’re less likely to see in your neighbors’ front yards. This equally important flag, the Disability Pride flag, has a black background with five stripes in red, gold, white, blue, and green.
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The color red represents physical disabilities, while gold represents neurodivergence, white represents invisible and undiagnosed disabilities, blue represents emotional and psychiatric disabilities, and green represents sensory disabilities. The black background represents mourning for the disabled people who lost their lives to ableist violence, prejudice, eugenics, or social or interpersonal neglect.
Sexism, racism, and homophobia have dominated political discussions in recent years. But ableism — which is discrimination against people with disabilities — rarely enters the conversation.
One reason why ableism isn’t addressed is that it’s so ingrained in our society that it’s hard to notice.
Many people use disability terms, like “blind,” to mean something negative, like “ignorant” or unaware.” Others hate that they can’t park in accessible spaces, or make the disability the punchline of a joke.
Ableism can also be subtle. Many stories and movies paint disabled people in a deceptively “flattering” light, showing how they can “overcome” the supposed “misery” of their disabled lives and help motivate non-disabled people to reach their goals. This phenomenon is called “inspiration porn,” and it’s problematic because it objectifies disabled people for a non-disabled audience. Furthermore, it insinuates that life with a disability is tragic and horrible, which often isn’t the case. Another form of ableism involves saying that they don’t perceive successful disabled people as truly disabled. While this might seem like a compliment, it stems from the ableist belief that disability makes people completely incompetent.
Many shy away from discussing disability because it makes them uncomfortable.
However, knowing disability history sheds light on centuries of ableism and prejudice. For instance, in 1927, the Supreme Court ruled that states could pass laws forcing sterilization on people with disabilities. In the 1800s, women who didn’t conform to gender roles, runaway slaves, and LGBTQ+ people were labeled “mentally ill” and forced into abusive mental institutions. Activists with disabilities put decades of effort into trying to obtain equal rights, and finally, in 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act, which protects disability rights, was passed.
This reflects a disability “double standard.” Society uses disabled people as props, making them uncomfortably visible, but many people with disabilities face ableism in silence.
The disability pride movement offers a perspective that respects both disability and personhood.
Despite the growing awareness of ableism, it’s still prevalent in society. Although the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires public buildings to be accessible, many are not. One survey found that 60.4% of respondents had serious difficulty entering most public buildings. State and federal governments often underfund special education, which has faced record discrimination suits in recent years. People who receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI), a monthly Social Security payment for low-income disabled people, can face ”marriage penalties” that strip them of their disability benefits when they marry. More recently, when people refused to stop the spread of COVID-19 because it wouldn’t impact “most citizens,” they dismissed immunocompromised people with disabilities who could die from the illness. Also, Republicans propose a $600 million Medicaid cut, which would hurt millions of people with disabilities. Additionally, R.F.K., Jr. has insisted that he will “cure” autism by September, even though most autistic people don’t want a cure.
July’s Disability Pride Month is incredibly important. For people with disabilities, Disability Pride Month is a time to celebrate self-acceptance. For nondisabled people, this valuable month is an opportunity to learn disability history and confront their ableism. When we celebrate Disability Pride Month, we move closer to making the world more equal for all.
Featured Photo by Rollz International on Unsplash.
