No amount of smiling at a flight of stairs has ever made it turn into a ramp. Stella Young More Quotes by Stella Young More Quotes From Stella Young Disability doesn't make you exceptional, but questioning what you think you know about it does. Stella Young knowing doe thinking My disability exists not because I use a wheelchair, but because the broader environment isn't accessible. Stella Young disability environment use In case I get hit by a bus tomorrow, I want to make something clear - I am not a snowflake. I am not a sweet, infantilising symbol of fragility and life. I am a strong, fierce, flawed adult woman. I plan to remain that way, in life and in death. Stella Young way-in-life strong sweet We’ve been sold this lie that disability makes you exceptional and it honestly doesn’t. … I want to live in a world where we don’t have such low expectations of disabled people that we are congratulated for getting out of bed and remembering our own names in the morning. Stella Young names morning lying I dance as a political statement, because disabled bodies are inherently political, but I mostly dance for all the same reasons anyone else does: because it heals my spirit and fills me with joy. Stella Young political doe joy I've been an atheist ever since I heard there was only a stairway to heaven Stella Young atheist heard heaven 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. Stella Young aids disability people world The killing of a disabled person is not 'compassionate'. It is not 'euthanasia'. It is murder. Stella Young person euthanasia disabled It is a truth universally acknowledged that from puberty onwards, the female body is disgusting and unruly and must be tamed, trimmed and tinted to within an inch of its life before it can be allowed to roam freely in the public eye. Stella Young body eye truth life Even those among us who are lucky enough to love our jobs would have to admit that at least part of the reason we work is to earn money. In between all this work, we like to eat out at restaurants, go on trips, buy nice things, not to mention pay rent and meet the cost of living. Stella Young nice money work love It's undeniable that what we are taught as a culture to believe about disability is at odds with traditional notions of masculinity. Stella Young disability odds believe culture It is nothing short of baffling to me how a city like Melbourne, where I struggle to find accessible facilities on a very regular basis, could be considered the most livable city in the world. I suppose it all depends on what makes a city 'livable' for you. Stella Young city me you struggle The thing about living with any disability is that you adapt; you do what works for you. Stella Young adapt you living disability Apologies are great, but they don't really change anything. You know what does? Action. Stella Young great you change action I've lost count of the number of times that I've been approached by strangers wanting to tell me that they think I'm brave or inspirational, and this was long before my work had any kind of public profile. Stella Young me work inspirational long I do not identify as a person with a disability. I'm a disabled person. And I'll be a monkey's disabled uncle if I'm going to apologise for that. Stella Young monkey uncle person disability I use the term 'disabled people' quite deliberately, because I subscribe to what's called the social model of disability, which tells us that we are more disabled by the society that we live in than by our bodies and our diagnoses. Stella Young live disability society people From my first days in Washington D.C., where I rolled a whole four downtown blocks without seeing a single shop, cafe, bar or restaurant I could not access, to the beautifully accessible buses in New York City, I was in heaven. Stella Young restaurant city new heaven Disability informs almost every part of my life. It's as important, if not more so, than my gender and sexuality. It's certainly a great deal more important to me than my religion or whether or not I caught a tram, ferry or bus to work. Stella Young my-life me work life I'm a full-time wheelchair user. And yet, given the right circumstances, I am able to work. Stella Young right i-am circumstances work
