Did you know that July is Disability Pride Month?
If you did, congratulations! And if you didn’t, don’t worry as it is not nearly as big in Australia yet as the LGBTQIA+ Pride Month that happened last month. But hopefully with some more advocating by the disability community and our allies, this will change in the future.
Approximately 1 in 5 people have disabilities in Australia, so 20% of the people in your life should have some form of disability. This doesn’t often happen though because they are either excluded from things or don’t feel comfortable ‘coming out’ as having a disability. Yes, that means most of the disabled people in your life have ‘hidden’ disabilities, meaning you probably can’t tell they have a disability just by looking at them. These are still valid though, and can pose unique challenges such as my mild Cerebral Palsy and Autism.
In fact, there are different coloured lines on the Disability Pride Flag to represent different types of disabilities: green for sensory disabilities, blue for mental illnesses, white for invisible or undiagnosed disabilities, yellow for neurodivergence, and red for physical disabilities. These are of course broad categories, and every disabled person is different, plus you may be lucky enough to fit more than one line like me! The lines are parallel to show how our diverse community comes together to support one another which is one of my favourite things about having a disability.
Disability Pride Flag
It can be extremely hard to feel proud of your disability, especially in a society that traditionally views disabled people as less than non-disabled individuals. The idea of Disability Pride though is not just to prance around saying, “Look at me, I have a disability!” - although I did enjoy fantasising about a group of disabled people doing this! No, it’s also to acknowledge our history of battling ableism and to help advocate for a better future for disabled people.
Feeling proud of being disabled is a lifelong mission but even if you’re not there yet, or don’t have a disability at all, you can still celebrate Disability Pride Month by combatting ableism and amplifying disabled voices.
Although representation and opportunities for people with disabilities is increasing, we still have a long way to go. My hope is that with some improvements, the future generation of people with disabilities will grow up feeling included and proud of their disability!