Wheel of Fortune’s Ableism Affects Pat and Vanna, too.

Wheel of Fortune‘s ableist tendencies are endless. I’ve previously written about some of these here. But its ableism extends in other directions, too. Back in August of this year, I made a social media post focusing on Vanna and wrote: She is 62 and still “looks” (is “required” to look) much younger. If she gainedContinue reading “Wheel of Fortune’s Ableism Affects Pat and Vanna, too.”

Minorities, Responsibilities, and Educating Others 

Conversations on social media about privilege and oppression often have comments along the lines of “it’s not the minority individual’s job to educate others as to how they are being oppressive or blind to their privilege.” And this always strikes me as problematic or as, generally, less than ideal.  On the one hand, of course. Continue reading “Minorities, Responsibilities, and Educating Others “

No Room For Disabled People – Chick-fil-A at North Mopac and Parmer Lane

Disabled people are systemically abused, denied access, and misrepresented across the United States, and laws related to us are often ignored or are not enforced. While such problems of access and equity are often far worse in other countries, such is not an acceptable excuse. Case in point: While visiting Austin, Texas, on February 7-10,Continue reading “No Room For Disabled People – Chick-fil-A at North Mopac and Parmer Lane”

Ableism and Wheel of Fortune

Tonight, I watched Wheel of Fortune to do something different and to relax a bit after a busy week. And I got to thinking. My students and I have been talking about privilege and its various manifestations. This evening I got to wondering what they would do if a contestant required a wheelchair or a stool or had some kindContinue reading “Ableism and Wheel of Fortune”

Privilege, Erasure, Cognitive Dissonance

Privilege. Erasure. Cognitive Dissonance. These are just some of the big ideas bouncing around my Frontal Lobe this week. I have three thoughts in particular that I want to share in this article.  1. An under-recognized form of privilege is having a name that can immediately be pronounced correctly, not just by other people but byContinue reading “Privilege, Erasure, Cognitive Dissonance”

Representations, Identities and Experiences, and Acting

Frequent and important discussions occur on the topic of privileged performers playing non-privileged people. For example, all too often a cis-gender person plays a trans person, a heterosexual person plays a non-heterosexual person, an able-bodied person plays a disabled person, and a person racialized as White plays a non-White person. These conversations are certainly necessaryContinue reading “Representations, Identities and Experiences, and Acting”

Ableism is the most important identity marker.

At least once each semester, I’ll usually ask my students at some point, “What is the most important identity factor? You have to narrow it down to one thing.” They’ll usually say race, gender, class, or something similar. These are all good answers. As they give their answer and justify it, I’ll challenge what theyContinue reading “Ableism is the most important identity marker.”

The best medical professionals view the entire family as their patient.

In 30+ years of life, I have never had more than just a few months without at least one medical appointment. Usually, there seems to be just a few weeks between various appointments. (My case of Neurofibromatosis keeps them in business!) I have also been to countless appointments where I was not the patient.  ThroughoutContinue reading “The best medical professionals view the entire family as their patient.”