#disabled autonomy

[yrfemmehusband]

ALWAYS ask before touching someone’s mobility aid!

even if they drop it, even if it’s out of arms reach, there is nothing wrong with asking before helping, and many of us prefer it.

[bookquotesfrombooks]

“We have a right to autonomy, to make our own decisions—even when we make mistakes. We have a right to make mistakes.”

Jules Edwards

I Will Die On This Hill

[outskirts-of-life]

we finally harvested my two girls , frani and miranda 🪴🪴

lately i've been working on selectively breeding Zkittlez to make an ultimate anti-seizure / anti-autoimmune-disease-pain medicine .

[flowercrowncrip]

I wish that instead of talking about “independent living” as disabled people we talked more about “autonomous living”.

I think when a lot of people see “independent” they assume it means living alone without other people. And some people assume that independent living services aren’t for them because they need 24/7 care. Or non disabled people think it’s pointless because many disabled people can’t live on their own.

But what we call independent living often includes having access to carers/ PAs/ support workers. It’s about having freedom to make all the meaningful choices we can, having the support and equipment we need to live comfortably and safely and to access the community and other activities. And I feel like “autonomous living” describes that better.

[mxmorbidmidnight]

Disabled people are people. Therefore you can’t start touching me or grabbing my things without permission. If I say don’t touch me you do not ignore my wishes because I’m disabled. Just like any other person I have a right to autonomy over my body and my decisions. Unless you have been given permission or it’s an emergency, you cannot simply start touching me. I’m not an object I am a person. Being disabled doesn’t mean you, a random stranger get to make decisions for me. If it seems someone is in need of help ask them. If they say no you don’t then forcefully help them because you think you know better than them what they need.

[genderqueerdykes]

i was reading the recipe suggestions on some of the cans of mackerel i have in my cupboard, and I've noticed that on all of the recipe suggestions for pasta, seafood, anything really say "try this for a low-calorie, low carb, low fat, low sugar dinner". you. need those things when it comes to be mealtime. calories are a measure of how much "energy" you can burn, not how much weight you will gain from eating the food. carbohydrates get broken down into starches, sugars, and fibers, which are all necessary for you to function.

your brain & body operate primarily off of fats, sugars, and proteins, but i've noticed that protein is the only thing we push as absolutely necessary, which just isn't true. whenever you idle and not in motion, your body has nothing to do with the extra protein you're bringing in. it will be stored as extra fat if you do not give that protein a reason to build muscle tissue instead.

your brain consumes 20% or more of the sugar you take into your body- our brains NEED glucose, you literally need sugar to think. if you feel depressed and like you're sluggish reacting to things, thinking, remembering things, and other mental processes, if you are the kind of person who refuses to eat any sugar at all due to wanting to be skinny, you are doing your brain a huge disservice:

i can't stand the hatred towards dietary fats, because it's causing so many people to be outright miserable or even sick. you need fats to function. they are an excellent source of energy and are literally required for you to be able to move, think, and combat disease. they are not this icky thing that you need to avoid at all costs. fats are extremely important for brain development, as well as brain function, and even immune system function:

also for many people, 2,000 calories or less per day is nowhere near enough. your brain actively consumes calories, fats and sugars while you are awake, no matter what you are doing:

i sincerely refuse to believe that if JUST YOUR BRAIN ALONE consumes somewhere in the ballpark of 400-500 calories just for being awake and active that we can only survive off of 2,000 calories a day. capitalism, diet culture and fat shaming forcing us to starve ourselves of vital nutrients so we are weak and too tired to fight back against the bullshit we face every day. food is important.

food isn't just to satiate the feeling of an empty stomach. it is the ONLY way you get vital fuel in order to keep moving, living, thinking, and breathing. vitamins and minerals are NOT the only vital aspects of food. you're not meant to restrict how many nutrients you get at FUCKING MEAL TIMES. YOU NEED FUEL. PLEASE FUEL YOUR BODY AND BRAIN. A CONVENTIONALLY ATTRACTIVE BODY ISN'T WORTH SUFFERING AND LIVING YOUR WORST LIFE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[starfishinthedistance]

Friendly reminder that if you support reproductive rights and bodily autonomy but say that disabled people shouldn't have children because they'll pass down their genes which is "cruel" or "abusive", you do not support reproductive rights and bodily autonomy. Reproductive rights do not only concern abortion for cis white abled women.

[m0thmancore]

hot take that should be much more lukewarm than it is: if your feminism doesn't have room for piercings and tattoos and dyed hair and collars and animal ear headbands and stuff like that, it's not really all that feminist.

people can just do what they want. if they want to get cosmetic surgeries or use different names or pronouns or dress "weird" those things are just allowed. cringe is dead. doing things that don't affect others in any meaningful way but make you feel good is good.

people can decorate their mobility aids. wear clothes with metal studs on them. go out in horrendously loud tie-dye mess clothes. we love that. that's bodily autonomy for you.

being loudly queer and gay and trans and a feminist and disabled and a legitimate animal and a furry is cool as fuck actually it's 2023.

use whatever swear words you want. the weird old WASPs giving you stares are because they're not as cool as you.

this also goes for kinks and those who (safely and consensually) practice them btw, even that one you find weird.

"bodily autonomy but only for people who make the same decisions as me about how to decorate and use theirs" isn't good feminism practices.

go forth and be safe ofc but above all be yourself

[librarycards]

Spanning nearly two centuries of global history, the basic pattern of trans misogyny is much older than TERFs, or right-wing Christians, and extremely consistent. Trans misogyny is not a mere psychological and irrational hatred of trans women. In fact, trans misogyny as a concept helps explain how individuals, or interpersonal violence, can act on behalf of the state or other abstract political movements. At the interpersonal scale, however, trans misogyny testifies to the uncomfortable thickness of social bonds across hierarchies of gender, class, and race. When a straight man lashes out after dating or having sex with a trans woman, he is often afraid of the implication that his sexuality is joined to hers. When a gay man anxiously keeps trans women out of his activism or social circles, he is often fearful of their common stigma as feminine. And when a non-trans feminist claims she is erased by trans women’s access to a bathroom, she is often afraid that their shared vulnerability as feminized people will be magnified intolerably by trans women’s presence. In each case, trans misogyny displays a fear of interdependence and a refusal of solidarity. It is felt as a fear of proximity. Trans femininity is too sociable, too connected to everyone –– too exuberant about stigmatized femininity –– and many people fear the excess of trans femininity and sexuality by getting too close. But sociability can never be confined or blamed on one person in a relationship; it's impersonal, and it sticks to everyone.

The defensive fear and projection build into trans misogyny, whether genuine or performed, is an attempt to wish away what it nonetheless recognizes: that trans femininity is an integral part of the social fabric. There will be no emancipation for anyone until we embrace trans femininity's centrality and value.

Jules Gill-Peterson, A Short History of Trans Misogyny.

[neuroticboyfriend]

fat people do not have to be healthy to be deserving of respect and rights like bodily autonomy. yes, including if we experience health issues related to our weight (whether directly or indirectly). disability is not a moral issue.

also. fat people are allowed to make whatever health choices are best for them, and that does not have to involve weight loss. in fact, sometimes weight loss can make things worse, compared to our baseline. generally, dont assume anything about someone's health needs based on their appearance.

[800-dick-pics]

Help Me Get New Mobility Aids!!!

Happy Disability Pride Month! I initially wasnt going to make a post to try to get new mobility aids/tools, but I really need them, so what the hell.

I am a multiply disabled Black lesbian and I have been without proper supportive mobility since the start of the pandemic. I had many of my things broken or thrown away during this time period, and I thought I could go without but its been so long and I really cant anymore.

I need smart/ergonomic forearm crutches because regular forearm crutches wreck my fragile hypermobile wrists, I need braces for both legs and ankles, a shower bench and detachable showerhead. All of this combined is a bit over $550.

I REALLY need this, esp the crutches! My mobility and bodily autonomy would be GREATLY increased If I was able to get these items. I

CA: $sleepyhen

VN: wildwotko

Dm for P@ypal

TLDR?: Disabled Black Lesbian needs new mobility aids for increased mobility and autonomy.

[guiltycorp]

Even though I loved the writing of LoL Jayvik I really appreciate that Arcane is going for a different approach so far, makes things feel less predictable! Instead of ideological differences driving the divide between them it is more so that they are just... out of sync so far?? I mean, during last season Viktor even before his diagnosis was eagerly meddling with the Hexcore with little regard to safety, then straight up went for the illicit and damaging drug to facilitate the transformation process, then when he ran out of that drug he proceeded to try using Hexcore without it (when he already TESTED that on plants and should have known it would backfire) which killed Sky... At which point he went oh shit, ok, I should stop meddling with this thing and just die peacefully maybe. It's not very clear how much of that he told Jayce aside from making him promise to destroy the Hexcore, but Jayce's surprised reaction in s2 when hearing about Sky makes me think it wasn't much at all...? So Jayce doesn't feel as much of an asshole for, once again, going against Viktor's explicit wishes. He pretty much never has the full picture before being forced to make a decision! Idk it makes him very sympathetic to me ngl, just feeling more and more guilt but continuing to fuck up due to lack of knowledge and experience, is that not relatable? And aside from being entirely unprepared for Viktor's death even after s1 I think it's like Jinx says in this Act too, it was something he could fix for once... Perhaps this is why he agrees to the use of Hextech weapons, too, feeling like it's the only thing he can do to 'help' the people he cares about and protect himself too (I guess killing just 1 defenseless child wasn't enough of a learning moment for him lmao). Despite again, this going very much against Viktor's wishes (and Mel's!! we didn't get her with Jayce after this but I imagine she's not very happy with him either... Viktor&Mel team up when). This time Jayce is the one just going for it and hoping for the best despite knowing very little of how it works. I also love how a lot of us in the fandom and also Singed in the series assumed Jayce would be appalled by Viktor's experiments but instead... he immediately goes even further :D And when Viktor wakes up and goes bye Jayce is like ?? but then by the end of the next episode he starts to realise that ohh alright so maybe yeah they should have stopped... Who'd have thunk. I'm not super up to date with League lore but is it really that difficult to find a sane mage for consultation purposes? ...Also I really doubt that hitting that thing (wild rune?) with his hextech-powered hammer was a good move lmao and yet even in this it seems similar to what Viktor is currently doing. Both continue to use the arcane to try and fix things, Jayce through violence and Viktor through transmutation, but it kind of seems like the same kind of mistake. (they are just pretty bad scientists and always have been and i love that for them lmao)

[bookquotesfrombooks]

“My right to self-determination includes the right to make bad choices sometimes.”

Cole Sorenson

“And Why Would We Do This?”

Published in I Will Die On This Hill

[thatwitchybitchandco]

We don't talk enough about how forced sterilization of disabled people is legal in many states.

Disabled people deserve bodily autonomy as much as anyone else.

[autisticslp]

Independence vs. Autonomy

I keep seeing posts that make it clear that most people don’t have an understanding of the difference between independence and autonomy when discussing disability. This is especially clear during discussions surrounding aides and caregivers.

Independence is not needing help from anyone. While many people believe that they are totally independent, in reality true independence is a lie. All humans are interdependent. Unless you’re all alone in the middle of nowhere in a cabin you built yourself, growing you own food, making your own clothes, and crossing your fingers for luck if you get sick or hurt, you’re not independent (and even then, there’s dependence on nature, someone obviously birthed and raised you, humans need social interaction, etc).

In contrast, autonomy is having free will, or the ability to choose what you say and do and how.

Obviously, these two concepts are interrelated. People who are more independent in the typical activities society expects usually have significantly more autonomy than those who need more help from others. However, this is not always true.

Someone who can take care of themself and their living space independently but uses up so much time and energy doing so that they don’t have the ability to do things they want to do, such as hobbies and socializing, has high independence but low autonomy.

On the other hand, someone who needs 24/7 care but is able to direct that care and live their life how they want and do what’s important to them has low independence but high autonomy.

Obviosuly, there are situations where increasing independence is very important, primarily when it relates to safety, but in most cases, independence is not what’s most important, autonomy is.

[librarycards]

If one subscribes to an ideology that views people with cognitive, psychiatric, and other diagnoses as mostly incompetent, ‘child-like’ and unable to care for themselves or make meaningful decisions about their lives, then an idea such as independent living or living in a non-institutional setting is quite radical, which is why it was, and still is, so ferociously resisted. It may be useful to understand what one means by a ‘dependent population’ that cannot live 'independently,’ which is what many proponents of institutional and group home living say of people with significant disabilities. Two dimensions could be affiliated with the term dependency: first, dependency on the state for financial support, health care, and other provisions; second, perceived inability of people to engage in their own self care without assistance of others (Oliver 1990). Some disabled people seem to fit both definitions.

In everyday usage, dependence implies an inability to care for oneself and thus having to rely on other people’s assistance. Conversely, independence implies not relying on anybody and requiring no assistance, a concept tied to an individualistic ethos (Oliver 1990). Disabled people often embody a different definition of independence, as exemplified in the principles of the Independent Living Movement. Under this framework, independence is perceived as the ability to control one’s life, such as hiring one’s own aides, and deciding on daily routines. It is not understood to mean doing things without any help from others. When analyzing daily living in modern societies, it is hard to find situations in which any people are independent from one another. Thus, projecting dependence as a characteristic only of 'fragile’ members of our societies (i.e., elderly, disabled, and children) may seem natural, but it relies on a specific North American framework of rugged individualism (Ben-Moshe, Nocella, and Withers 2013).

If anything, in many cases it is societal attitudes that create dependence amongst elderly and disabled people. Inaccessibility of the built environment, patronizing attitudes, historical exclusion from schooling and the increasingly fast pace of life in modern societies are all contributing factors to the social construction of disability (Wendell 1996) and dependence (Oliver 1990). Dependence is not inevitable or inherent within these populations. Dependence was prescribed to people with disabilities, and the elderly, so it seems detached from 'normal people’s’ existence (Finkelstein 1993). An additional problem of the creation of forced dependence and infantilization is that it is often 'masked by loving care’ (Hockey and James 1993) of family members or professionals.

Liat Ben-Moshe, “Alternatives to (Disability) Incarceration”, Disability Incarcerated: Imprisonment and Disability in the United States and Canada.