Polly explains how disability is ultimately a social construct, and does not define who you are or what you are capable of, but it can certainly mark and impact our lives. She writes about the lack of representation of Disabled people in media, and the impact it can have to actively speak out. Read more below.
Hello 12 year old Polly. First up, let’s get you up to date with life currently. You are about to (hopefully!) finish a Master’s in Human Rights at Columbia University. Yes, it is in New York (cool right). You are focusing your studies on how inclusive the Disability Rights Movement is and looking particularly at intersectional praxis. This in part inspired by your undergraduate degree at the University of Oxford where you wrote your thesis on the Section 504 Protests in San Francisco. It is also inspired by your 8 months working for Disability Rights UK where you got to talk to wide range of DPOs and hear their visions and concerns. You were also able to help them launch their TikTok ( a bit like YouTube but with shorter videos). You did also achieve your dream and have competed in not one but two Paralympics in 2016 and 2021 (2020 ended up being postponed for a year due to a very scary global pandemic).
Here are a few lessons I wish I had learnt sooner:
1: You are Disabled
I know everyone has told you they can’t see it, but you are in fact one-handed. That is not going to change. You will find out far too late in your academic life that you also have ADHD and dyslexia. Yes, “clever” girls do not have to neurotypical. They are part of who you are. Own it.
2: Being Disabled can be pretty cool
You are about to start competing quite seriously in para-sport and be around far more Disabled people than you have ever been in your life. You will make life-long friends and realise they have a variety of similar experiences to you. They will make you feel empowered. Value your Disabled friends and community.
3: Everyone experiences disability differently- lift up others and acknowledge your privilege
You are Disabled and will face discrimination and prejudice because of this. It sucks, and you will continue to fight it. You also need to remember though, you have grown up very privileged. You have a supportive family and a private education which undoubtedly aids you getting into Oxford University. You are also white, your gender identity is the same as the sex you were signed at birth (cisgender), and you are romantically straight (to name only a few).
You need to be aware that the discrimination you face is not the same as what others face. Disability is ultimately a social construct and your background mitigates a lot. You need to actively support those around you who face greater struggles. This comes from amplifying their voices with your power as opposed to speaking over them.
4: Be Aware of Inspiration porn
Para-sport and the Paralympics are great, but be aware of ‘Inspiration Porn’ in the words of a fantastic activist Stella Young. You are not innately inspiring because you are Disabled and do sport- people will continually try and spin that message.
What you are doing is elite sport and that can be inspiring in its own right. However, you are not a representative of the disability community at large. Your ability to compete has been driven by immense privilege from paying for equipment to having parents who could drive around the country so you could train and compete.
5: You are capable of romantic love
You spend a long time thinking that you can’t be seen as attractive. This largely comes from the fact that no lead in the rom-coms you watch at an alarming rate has a disability. The rom-coms are inaccurate in more than one way, but importantly Disabled people are capable of love in all its forms. At Tokyo 2020 you will make some silly TikToks which make light of Disabled dating (even though you have not- much to the disappointment of you- been on a single date at the grand old age of 20). They get picked up in a quiet news week, and you start having to think and talk about these issues publically. You realise they do matter even, if you are perhaps not the best person to talk to.
6: Activism is so important and can come in a variety of forms
The most important thing to do in a world of injustice is to act. This can come in bigger ways. You run for student government on the basis on advocating for students with disabilities. You also join Disability Rights UK and do some very exciting work. Activism, though, can be impactful in so many different ways, and the Disabled community often have to do things a bit differently. Talk to those around you, question assumptions if you are able to. Make TikToks, make art (maybe not for you), do sport. Be unashamedly yourself- this itself it an act of protest.