I, like many women, buy into patriarchal standards of beauty every day. I very rarely leave the house without make-up. I dye my hair. I wear clothes that I choose carefully for how they make me look to the outside world.
Stella YoungRead
There are real-world, devastating consequences for disabled women marginalised by the kinds of attitudes that deny them full agency over what happens to their bodies.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the serious impact of societal attitudes on the autonomy of disabled women regarding their bodies.
Stella Young highlights the critical issues faced by disabled women, particularly how societal attitudes can undermine their autonomy and agency. The denial of full control over their bodies not only reflects a broader marginalization but also results in real-world consequences that can be devastating, stressing the need for awareness and change in these attitudes to empower disabled women.
In practice
In a lecture on women's rights, one could reference this quote to highlight the need for inclusive policies.
I, like many women, buy into patriarchal standards of beauty every day. I very rarely leave the house without make-up. I dye my hair. I wear clothes that I choose carefully for how they make me look to the outside world.
We often hear that people mean well: that so many just don't how to interact with people with disabilities. They're unsure of the 'right' reaction, so they default to condescension that makes them feel better in the face of their discomfort.
In my own home, where I've been able to create an environment that works for me, I'm hardly disabled at all. I still have an impairment, and there are obviously some very restrictive things about that, but the impact of disability is less.
We fill our lives with all sorts of things that make it easier for us to get along in the world: wheelchairs, crutches, grabber sticks, hearing aids, canes, guide dogs, modified vehicles, ramps, as well as other kinds of services and supports. Disability does not necessarily mean dependence on other people.
For me, disability is a physical experience, but it's also a cultural experience and a social experience, and for me, the word 'crip' is the one that best encapsulated all of that.
We are a society that treats people with disabilities with condescension and pity, not dignity and respect.
Man can see his reflection in water only when he bends down close to it, and the heart of man, too, must lean down to the heart of his fellow; then it will see itself within his heart.
I do not suffer from Autism, but I do suffer from the way you treat me.
What Iβve loved most after you, is myself: that is, my dignity and that strength which made me superior to other men. That Strength was my life. Youβve broken it with a word, so I must die.
We all need one another; much and often. Just as every human creature needs a place to be alone in, a sacred, private "home" of his own, so all human creatures need a place to be together in, from the two who can show each other their souls uninterruptedly, to the largest throng that can throb and stir in unison.
If you really want to get along with somebody, let them be themselves.
I've talked to nearly 30,000, people on this show, and all 30,000, had one thing in common: They all wanted validation...I would tell you that every single person you will ever meet shares that common desire.
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