littlewonder
Chatty Member
Long time lurker! I feel like I need to write something as I’m disabled and Sofie’s post has been on my mind all day - I’m sorry if it doesn’t make a lot of sense as I’m trying to work out my feelings around why it’s annoyed me so much (and I don’t fancy doing that publicly on their comments because I can imagine it would be received poorly)
It’s not a competition about who is the most oppressed (and I benefit from a lot of other privileges) so I hope it doesn’t sound like I’m playing the pain Olympics but it feels like Sofie is positioning disability as something that is readily catered for whilst fatness is not? The assumption that accessibility is a ‘thing’ is a total myth and I only realised this when I became disabled and found that just leaving the house can be a huge barrier.
Fat disabled people also exist and to say ‘I’m not even asking for accessible seating!’ almost makes it sound like catering to disabled people is much more of a burden than them asking for wider seats??
It is probably a case of unfortunate wording and I’m aware that I’m really sensitive about it but to act like disabled people are catered for really cheeses me off when I have to email every single pub, bar, restaurant, museum, venue before I go because there is never accurate info (if any) on the website - most places never bother to email back or they’ll say ‘we are accessible but there is a small step’. I’d say I can’t get into 80% of shops in my town!
I wouldn’t even be able to get to the bloody theatre easily to use this magical wheelchair access - it costs money (and I can’t crowdfund for bills on my Insta stories), I’d likely have to send medical evidence to receive one of few disabled seats (I have to for gigs), and then I struggle to even leave the house because buses only have one wheelchair spot, I have to book assistance for the train 24 hours in advance and it’s still unreliable and taxis don’t turn up (or can’t fit my wheelchair in or break it trying to jam it in their boot)!
I just think it’s a false and unnecessary comparison to make and the post didn’t even need it - they can make the same point without shitting on other people. Putting a ‘this needs to be intersectional’ as an after thought in the caption doesn’t really mean anything when you make no effort to understand other people’s experiences and publicly shame any constructive feedback that isn’t what you want to hear
PHEW! thanks for indulging my first ever tattle rant x
It’s not a competition about who is the most oppressed (and I benefit from a lot of other privileges) so I hope it doesn’t sound like I’m playing the pain Olympics but it feels like Sofie is positioning disability as something that is readily catered for whilst fatness is not? The assumption that accessibility is a ‘thing’ is a total myth and I only realised this when I became disabled and found that just leaving the house can be a huge barrier.
Fat disabled people also exist and to say ‘I’m not even asking for accessible seating!’ almost makes it sound like catering to disabled people is much more of a burden than them asking for wider seats??
It is probably a case of unfortunate wording and I’m aware that I’m really sensitive about it but to act like disabled people are catered for really cheeses me off when I have to email every single pub, bar, restaurant, museum, venue before I go because there is never accurate info (if any) on the website - most places never bother to email back or they’ll say ‘we are accessible but there is a small step’. I’d say I can’t get into 80% of shops in my town!
I wouldn’t even be able to get to the bloody theatre easily to use this magical wheelchair access - it costs money (and I can’t crowdfund for bills on my Insta stories), I’d likely have to send medical evidence to receive one of few disabled seats (I have to for gigs), and then I struggle to even leave the house because buses only have one wheelchair spot, I have to book assistance for the train 24 hours in advance and it’s still unreliable and taxis don’t turn up (or can’t fit my wheelchair in or break it trying to jam it in their boot)!
I just think it’s a false and unnecessary comparison to make and the post didn’t even need it - they can make the same point without shitting on other people. Putting a ‘this needs to be intersectional’ as an after thought in the caption doesn’t really mean anything when you make no effort to understand other people’s experiences and publicly shame any constructive feedback that isn’t what you want to hear
PHEW! thanks for indulging my first ever tattle rant x
