Reviews tagging 'Ableism'

Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories From the Twenty-first Century by Alice Wong

115 reviews

noahsingh's review against another edition

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism

sorenzs's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective slow-paced

4.5

Such a broad variety of disabled experiences - learned so much even as a disabled person myself. 
Standout pieces:
Radical Visibility by Sky Cubacub
How to Make a Paper Crane from Rage by Elsa Sjunnerson (probably my favorite) 
Why My Novel is Dedicated to My Disabled Friend Mandy by A. H. Reaume 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism and Chronic illness

sjbshannon's review against another edition

informative reflective fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Medical trauma and Ableism

yourbookishbff's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective slow-paced

5.0

Disability Visibility is an anthology of essays edited by disability justice advocate Alice Wong. I don’t think I’ve ever read a collection of stories and perspectives so intersectional, raw and (as a non-disabled person) necessary. The structure of the collection is itself a stunning example of “disabled praxis,” as defined by A.H. Reaume in their essay “Why My Novel is Dedicated to My Disabled Friend Maddy,” as each essay simultaneously adds to and stands apart from preceding narratives, building a collage of experience that reflects the community built by and for those seeking disability justice.  

Loosely framed as essays, these range from first-person narratives to transcribed Ted talks to eulogies to artist manifestos to poetry. Several of these stories reflect the trauma and abuse experienced by those living at complex intersections of marginalization, and I was thankful that every essay includes detailed content and trigger warnings at the start. Through this unvarnished truth-telling, the intention of the anthology is made crystal clear - this is a collection rightfully built to amplify disabled voices for the benefit of disabled people and not for the gaze or comfort of non-disabled people.

I read this slowly, over more than a month, and I’m grateful I took my time with it. It challenged me to think about my own areas of deep-seated privilege and about the systems and spaces I have made inaccessible because of this privilege. It expanded my understanding of and respect for inclusivity and helped me to see the ways in which disability rights work has been consistently constrained by non-disabled people. These stories force us to ask, as s.e. smith does in their essay “The Beauty of Spaces Created for and by Disabled People:” “How can we cultivate spaces where everyone has that soaring sense of inclusion, where we can have difficult and meaningful conversations?”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism

Moderate: Medical content, Mental illness, Police brutality, Suicidal thoughts, Chronic illness, Violence, Abandonment, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical trauma

Minor: Cancer and Child abuse

In this collection of essays, trigger warnings for each individual essay are included at the start of each essay.

lipstickitotheman's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny

4.5

Really stunning collection of pieces. Only thing taking it down in stars is how some felt a little shorter/less fleshed out than I'd expected. Overall a really well-curated selection with great narrative voices. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism

Moderate: Hate crime, Pregnancy, Body shaming, Bullying, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Police brutality, Rape, Self harm, Confinement, Sexual assault, Sexism, Domestic abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, Terminal illness, Classism, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Murder, Chronic illness, Sexual violence, and Racism

zombiezami's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.0

I consider myself familiar with disability justice principles and discussions, and I still learned a lot from this.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Abandonment, Rape, Sexual violence, Police brutality, Cancer, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Genocide, Sexual assault, Chronic illness, Terminal illness, Mental illness, Grief, Sexual harassment, and Racism

Moderate: Pregnancy, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Religious bigotry, Physical abuse, and Murder

Minor: Abortion and Excrement

yourfavavery's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Ableism, Body shaming, and Chronic illness

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, Homophobia, Rape, Panic attacks/disorders, Forced institutionalization, Fatphobia, Suicidal thoughts, Gaslighting, Transphobia, Sexual content, Police brutality, and Genocide

kateyhb's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective fast-paced

4.5

I appreciate that this book is an accumulation of first hand accounts. It is full of both everyday and extraordinary wins and losses told directly from the ones experiencing them. Not every chapter had to contain some “call to action” for able-bodied readers-- stories from disabled folks deserve to be heard simply because we value them and their experiences as human beings. It is so important to acknowledge and appreciate the multitude of  wisdom and value disabled folks bring to the table, while also rejecting the capitalist idea that we are only as valuable as the goods we can provide.

This book helped me consider multiple new struggles faced by disabled folks, and helped me to examine what my role should look like as a co-conspirator fighting against our systemically ableist society. There is so much diversity in the disabled community, and they really don’t need more one-size-fits-all solutions created by well-intentioned able bodied folks. We need to stop and listen. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Racism, Sexual harassment, and Sexism

leguinstan's review against another edition

informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

This essay anthology is simply phenomenal!! Alice Wong did a fantastic job as an editor. The essays in Disability Visability are incredibly diverse and I personally felt that there was something to take away from nearly all of the essays in the collection.

When I say that this work is diverse, I don't simply mean that in regards to author's cultural backgrounds and identities (race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, etc.). Some of the essays are extremely political while others are more personal and intimate in nature. Some are about promoting accessiblity in certain industries while others are about the failings of services put into place for disabled individuals. I deeply appreciate the intersectional and communal focus of Disability Visability and also appreciate the (very justified) rage that was expressed in many of the essays. Respectability politics? We don't know her!

There are  so many wonderful essays and I found it more difficult than usual to pick out my favorites. But here are some of my personal favorites:

• "Unspeakable Conversations" by Harriet McBryde Johnson
• "Radical visibility : A Disabled Queer Clothing Reform Movement Manifesto" by Sky Cubacub 
• "Guide Dogs Don't Lead Blind People. We Wander as One" by Haben Girma
• "Imposter Syndrome and Parenting With a Disability" by Jessica Slice
• "Six Ways of Looking at Crip Time" by Ellen Samuels
• "Love Means Never Having to Say... Anything" by Jamison Hill

Highly recommended!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Chronic illness, and Mental illness

Moderate: Medical content, Racism, and Sexual violence

While my list of content warning is not remotely comprehensive, I wanted to mention that every single essay in this anthology has content warnings listed at the very top pertaining to the particular essay in question. That is fan-friggin-tastic!!

astropova's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

I think everyone should read this book, whether they are disabled or not. This is the kind of book that is vital for the development of humanity, on both a personal and overall scale. Read it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism

There are specific content warnings at the beginning of each chapter/story/essay.