sundries

[rm]

In the last panic to get ready for this trip.

Anyone here want do so some basic web development for Erica and I? Not a whole lot of $$, but also not something hard. It's an afternoon of your life in all probability. Drop me an email if you're interested, we'll be in touch probably when I get to Switzerland. -- Done!

When you stand up and decide to make stuff, especially stuff that's challenging or confronting in theme and style, a lot of stuff can and will go wrong. The people you thought were on your side won't be, not just with an absence of support, but sometimes with judgments that can seem a little startling. This can be extra hard when you're doing work about a topic or a life you're supposed to be embarrassed by.

So let's be clear. I'm a queer woman working with another queer woman on a show about sex work that features a character with a disability who is an adult with his own life, history and sexuality. The show also contains a lesbian romance and two awesome M/F friendships with sexual overtones that provide some romantic ambiguity. These characters are not dumb, and they're not doing sex work because they can't do anything else.

The show is not targeted at women vs. men or gay people vs. straight people. It's not a "wink-wink, nudge-nudge, celebrate your bachelorette party with us" show (although you can if you want). We think what's identificatory about of the piece is the theme of persona and the gulf between who you are and who you want to be. And we think what gets people in the door ranges from "oooo, hot chicks in fetish gear" to "woman changes her life" to "people singing about the weird hidden worlds of New York."

This is a story about longing for a world you can only buy half of and how we fill the gaps.

Sound interesting? You can help us by either donating towards making our workshop production come true and/or spreading the word.

Randomly, a friend noted last night that I often use the construction "person living with a disability" and she said that that read as me being really uncomfortable with people with disabilities. So, I just wanted to tell you what I told her, which is a) I'm sorry if I gave anyone that impression and b) it's an artifact in my writing from when I was writing a lot of material for the website Disaboom, which requires that construction as part of their writers' guidelines. I'll try to pay more attention to this one.

Profiles of several subway preachers.

Now, I have a lot of laundry to do, a pounding headache, and a flight to catch. More later.

Comments

the token gimp approves this message

[chicleeblair.livejournal.com]

I'm sure I'm not the token gimp on this blog, but it underscores my point.

People first language is a must when working in generalities. A person with a disability is a person first.

Note that this wrecks havoc on word counts (three for one) and in my personal life you can call me crip mc-cripface if I know you like me.

Re: the token gimp approves this message

[rm.livejournal.com]

But if "person with a disability" is okay, it's ONE LESS WORD than "person living with a disability" so I'm all excited and shit.

Re: the token gimp approves this message

[chicleeblair.livejournal.com]

This is true. I have heard "Person living with..." but that just seems like a lot of words to me. I don't know... My view on person first language is that it should be unnecessary. It's built to remind people who would otherwise not think so that people are people first.

Once those people are eliminated I have no problem going back to disabled. I am disabled. Fact. I am also blonde, loud and caffeinated. In my view, the victory comes when we eliminate it to the level of any other adjective.

Re: the token gimp approves this message

[chuckro.livejournal.com]

I feel like, once the "not thinking of them as people first" mentality is eliminated, you'd no longer need to refer to "people with disabilities" as a collective at all. Kinda like the discussion of the QUILTBAG the other day. There's very little that someone missing an eye and someone with problems walking have in common if you're not making an overall comparison to "normal" people.

Re: the token gimp approves this message

[chicleeblair.livejournal.com]

I disagree with this, somewhat. There are bonding points between people with disabilities that have nothing to do with labels and even accessibility. No matter how much better the world gets at adapting, there is still the part where your body does not do something that it "should", and there is a connection with other people who deal with that, no matter what.

Another gimp approves this message

[gwyd.livejournal.com]

I don't have a strong opinion on language construction, but I do agree that the whole, "my body is not cooperating" thing is an underlieing bondiung experience.

Re: Another gimp approves this message

[feyandstrange.livejournal.com]

I have created and am popularizing the term "bodyfail" for this stuff. (Although 'bodyfail' doesn't necessarily cover 'brainfail', for some reason.)

Re: Another gimp approves this message

[natf.livejournal.com]

Mine is brainfail in many ways - it is a progressive neurological condition (Multiple Sclerosis) that causes mental, cognitive and physical disabilities. It is also considered an autoimune condition. I personally do not feel comfortable with 'brainfail' or 'bodyfail' to descrive my condition because it varies from day to day (sometimes my main symptoms are physical disability and sometimes cognitive, for example) and so tend to stick with "The MonSter" that is eating my axons/myelin sheath.

another disabled person over here. fat, too! glasses-wearing and geeky, too.

[bizetsy.livejournal.com]

I agree that person first language is a good standard.

I've had people call me horrible, horrible names in regards to my disability (spinal/cord injury), say that it didn't exist, etc, etc. At this point, I myself am fairly desensitized to name-calling of this type. However, for others, I believe in following the best standard possible.

Thanks for caring, rm.

Re: parent of a child with disabilities

[rarelylynne.livejournal.com]

I'm cool with "living with" in general, but we go with child/kid with disabilities b/c it's shorter.

Re: the token gimp approves this message

[natf.livejournal.com]

As another gimp reading rm, I commented below before reading the comments. Just adding a, "Hi!"