Hi Erin. I’m a disabled college student who just read your article “Writing While Disabled” for an assignment. We had the option between reading a few different articles and I chose this one because I was eager for something to relate to. I was surprised because our experiences have actually been very different, but I quickly realized that is because my disabilities are invisible. For me, I would love to be praised** for going to the grocery store or having friends- everyone expects me to be normal, but I’m not, and I deeply desire some recognition for the effort I put in to meet their expectations. I think there’s a binary where disabled people are either infantilized, held back, even sometimes coddled (mainly disabled men and not women, for the latter) or pushed too hard, have their experiences denied, and have the expectations of normalcy thrust on them. Of course, both are exceedingly harmful. It’s like people just sort of into one of two categories- “normal” and “not normal” and refuse to see beyond that to our true skills and capabilities.
**(I don’t mean I would take your treatment over mine- both are bad. Like it gets to a point…)
Hi Cordelia, thanks for responding to my work! I agree that there’s a weird dichotomy where you are either infantilized or expected to do way more than someone who is not disabled. I appreciate you sharing your experience, and wish you good luck in your class!
Oh, I forgot to list the link: http://boardgamegeek.com/forum/33/boardgamegeek/women-and-gaming
I’ve been a fairly active member on BGG for a few years (user name is zinehappy), but thanks for reminding me of the W&G forum!
Hi Erin. I’m a disabled college student who just read your article “Writing While Disabled” for an assignment. We had the option between reading a few different articles and I chose this one because I was eager for something to relate to. I was surprised because our experiences have actually been very different, but I quickly realized that is because my disabilities are invisible. For me, I would love to be praised** for going to the grocery store or having friends- everyone expects me to be normal, but I’m not, and I deeply desire some recognition for the effort I put in to meet their expectations. I think there’s a binary where disabled people are either infantilized, held back, even sometimes coddled (mainly disabled men and not women, for the latter) or pushed too hard, have their experiences denied, and have the expectations of normalcy thrust on them. Of course, both are exceedingly harmful. It’s like people just sort of into one of two categories- “normal” and “not normal” and refuse to see beyond that to our true skills and capabilities.
**(I don’t mean I would take your treatment over mine- both are bad. Like it gets to a point…)
Hi Cordelia, thanks for responding to my work! I agree that there’s a weird dichotomy where you are either infantilized or expected to do way more than someone who is not disabled. I appreciate you sharing your experience, and wish you good luck in your class!