ableism

On casual ableism (and Alexa's existential crisis)

17:40

I wish someone could sit me down and explain to me in easy terms why I reach heights of productivity at 1am when I have to wake up in 4 hours. I really wish.

——

As you probably noticed, despite it being a while since last post, the blog got total theme remake lately. So it's not exactly the fact of me being busy that kept me away. Sure, that's true for the first part of the January, when I had been finishing my midterms, but since the beginning of February I was basically free.
But I kept having doubts. As you know if you follow this blog regularly, my family is not exactly perfect. And abusive family can mess with your head pretty badly. And so I let myself believe for a while that what I have to say doesn't matter, and even more - that I have no right to say my opinion, as I'm in the wrong. In the wrong about my rights, my right to live, to be respected. That I should just shut up. That I have no right to help and to aids and so I should stop the fundraiser and hide cause people don't want to see me.
Luckily for you I have a bunch of lovely spoonie friends who called me out on my temporary existential crisis and here I am, as good as new. And with suspicion of lupus, currently in diagnosis. I'm not kidding you, guys. My friends call me a chronic illnesses collector. I think my body just really, really hates me. Can't blame it really, with amount of sweets I devour daily…
Anyway, the point is, I felt inadequate and wrong, and since I spend a lot of time on social media, I felt I'm not being a good person. So I tried to educate myself on the subjects I felt I know not enough about, and one of them was racism. Poland is… very white. So I read, and read, and read, and I started to notice things.
My mum is an awesome ally. She always supported me in all fields, when I came out as gay and then when I had been learning about my gender more and more. When I got sick, and then on the wheelchair. When she found out about how I was raped. Always, she was always there for me. And she is a really great, open minded person.
But, I realized my mum is very casually racist sometimes. And here is the thing - she is only on the topics where she doesn't know what she's talking about, and I'm sure I was the same. Like for example about the lack of Black movies out there. And there is one thing that hit me like a truck full of bad metaphors. It's a lot like people who piss me off everyday with their casual, thoughtless ableism.
Example: one of my teachers who keeps saying I need to go out and meet more people, when I’d LOVE TO meet more people but it's just not realistic when you're stuck in bed for 23 hours a day crying from pain and the remaining hour you try to do uni work. And when you live in a place where buses only visit occasionally and ramps are rarer than unicorns. You get my vibe. I am NOT secluded from people because I want to.
But then again, someone who's not in my skin have no idea about that, and they think they're helping. And I appreciate, really, but if I hear the same stuff twenty times a day, at the twenty first time I'm gonna get mad, cause how many times can you explain??? It's just that this 21st person is unlucky today.
And my point is, we need to explain, yes, but abled people - and not only abled abled, but anyone who doesn't have physical disability, should try their best to listen. We all suck sometimes and I know it took me a while - and knowing a Deaf girl I had a crush on - to start really listening to Deaf people and checking my own privilege. And, well, starting losing my hearing slowly. So my point is not to vilify or accuse people, but to try to explain to them - to you - why the fuck we get so angry when they try to help. And why I yell so much. Ooops.
I think that subconsciously until now I thought people who do that are vile. That they do it on purpose cause they're too lazy to try to listen to me. It took my mum to open my eyes, and make me realize that maybe no one ever explained it. Maybe I'm a first wheelchair bound person they ever met. Or first outspoken one. Or the disabled people they did meet were too pissed to explain, the reality I know all too well. I'm not a patient person, but I'll try to be more, cause that one’s on me.
Then again, it takes being comfortable with your disability to be able to educate people and be helpful and not eternally mad. It's been a year in February since I'm on a wheelchair and only now I keep realizing that I'm actually okay. That I'm not broken. I just happened to be different but world where everyone is the same would be awfully boring.
So - listen to your friendly disabled person, and as a friendly disabled person keep in mind not everyone is out there looking to take your rights away. Sure, sadly a whole lot of people are, but some are just uninformed, I think? We have all rights in the world to be angry, but, at least for me, knowing not everyone is out there hunting me down, helped me feel a tiny bit better.

In other news, I gave link to this blog to my English teacher as an example of both my activism and everyday English writing. I'm bilingual and I'm using English much more often then Polish (trust me on talking to my mum who doesn't speak it and halfway realize she has no fucking idea what I'm saying…), but majority of my work outside of activism is a WIP and I struggled to find finished stories, of the ones I know how to finish quickly. And this blog is what I'm a bit proud of, actually.
Why am I saying that? Cause here goes official apology for the amount of swears I use, I am sorry, I have a mouth like a sailor and I am aware of that, I feel my writing style lacking without it, and it's probably a vice on my behalf. However, I do not feel it appropriate to change it in my posts, cause it's genuine, it's how my train of thoughts goes, and that's how I just am, and this blog is to show a real - as much as that's possible online - me. So. Please keep my apology in mind when I inevitably break into cussing next time someone asks me how do I have sex.

Thanks to everyone donating to my wheelchair fundraiser, I'm close to my goal but sadly I have to get a corset and it's urgent apparently, so that's what I'm gonna spend the money at firstly. Maybe one beautiful day I will stop getting new diagnoses and be able to finally, finally get this goddamn chair. For now, thank you for saving my pathetic life, and expect corset photos and maybe more writing if it actually works and helps me sit up more.
Stay strong!

ableism

On one minute friends

22:17

On one minute friends.



Oh how I love I just literally killed the first mosquito of 2017. In February.

But. To the point.
I want to formally apologize for the lack of posts lately. Who would know dying would be so exhausting. I crashed from maniacal episode (I'm a freshly diagnosed, still unmedicated, bipolar person) to depression and I just kinda…stare at the ceiling and wish I could cry.
But while I was hopelessly turning in my bed tonight, I remembered something that might have been a good idea for a blog post. Or bad. You decide.
I remembered when I was 18 I guess, I was writing a different blog, kind of my thoughts on different subjects. We need to estimate here that 18 y/o me was an undiagnosed, traumatized idiot, with the key word here being idiot. I was in pain everyone was saying was a psychological thing after rape, that was also in a huge part ignored by medical professionals around me. I suppose I wanted attention? Literally I have no idea why I did what I did. It's one of those things I can't remember actually doing, but I know I did. And maybe it was the attention thing, or the fact I was highly psychotic back then and couldn't differentiate between facts and reality if I tried, but the fact remains, I was a total disaster.
You see, I cannot lie. If I was a mythical being, I would be a faerie. It's not to say I don't lie, cause of course I do, don't we all? but I suck at it and it's super uncomfortable for me, i can't keep track and I just hate it. I'm this person who'll come out to you and tell you about all traumas 5 min after meeting you (ask Ki, I literally did that to her and we remain best friend). And when I lie, I almost always come clean, and usually try to escape the consequences if I'm to be honest, cause I'm a coward too.
Anyway, I have no idea why I lied on the blog then, or rather colored the reality as some will say. I'm highly suspicious it was the attention seeking thing, but I just…have no…idea?
I wrote a post about my ex high school, the one I was expelled from (or rather kindly asked to leave if I don't attend therapy, which for me is the same thing cause you cannot just blackmail someone with “stop being mentally ill or lose education” ya know?). I lied in the post about how I came out to my peers and that it was the reason I was expelled with a huge BOOM. Which didn't happen. I was asked to change schools cause yes, they minded me being an outed gay person very much (how I was outed is a whole another story, I didn't do it myself either) but they mostly minded my self destructive habits and was “worrying about me corrupting my classmates” I think was the quote? I have no idea why they'd think so, I was suicidal but not making some suicide pacts with friends! That came later? Anyway, I was half happy to leave and half mad they made me, my mum was pissed, and so I was taken from school and moved to another nearer my city, without a dorm so I lived at home, and put into a loving care of a psychiatrist who then sexually abused me, but hey you cannot have everything.
And so when I posted the Lie Post as I'll call it now, I got two comments - one from someone who recalled their days at boarding school, and one, anonymous, from who said was my former classmate.
And I remember two lines. One was “you're living in some kind of illusion” - which was true then just as is now so I cannot really say anything…
And the other “the saddest thing is, we liked you”.
You may think, as I did back then, and even couple of months ago still, that it's kinda cruel. To say thing thing to who turned out to be a terminally ill person. But the thing is, it was my fault, and they had right to be angry I suppose.
And I kept wondering who wrote it. Was it a girl I hated cause she was better than me at literally any conceivable thing? Something I would now admire as a person who is not disabled and has strength to do stuff, and is amazing at them. But that's post-dying-epiphany me. Cause one thing I learned this rainy cold November day was that life is unpredictable as fuck, and holding grudges will get you nowhere. But I think to forgive everyone and decide to learn to appreciate everyone you have to have this major life changing event happen to you. And it's not to say I'm in any way better, cause I'm not. In any way. I just had a fucked up thing happen to me and I see world differently after it.
Was it the perfect girl’s best friend who I always thought was looking down at me and was weirdly condescending- but she wasn't. It was my low self esteem and a victim complex speaking. She was kind. I wasn't.
Was it a girl who was perfect at English and we competed at it which was totally unfair cause as a bilingual person I shouldn't compete with someone still learning? And she was good. I was introduced to English at 4 y/o and listened to it a lot before that. She was just learning at school, and we were the same level. In which way that was fair? I didn't put effort into my English - she did.
Was it a girl who was so ethereally beautiful I couldn't speak a word to her cause I'd stutter? Who I'm still a bit in love with just cause I was then?
Or her best friend who made me realize I was a lesbian, and skip the whole major crisis connected to it, cause she was so fearless in her love to girls, so open, so beautiful. I owe her so much, she made me stop being afraid.
Or was it a girl I was crushing so hard at my abuser was jealous of her and would beat me over her. I think I still love her somehow, that amazing she was.

And you know, my predicted lifespan is 40, and I'm 22 now, so I'm not going anywhere yet. But I want to, in some way, say goodbye to those girls. Thank them. Cause I have a fast paced life ahead me, full of trying to fit a whole life in couple of years. And I think it's time to say goodbye to the past.
And I doubt they'll read it, they'll find a way to this blog. But maybe they will.
So here you go.
Thank you B (what was your real name? We always called you that) for being someone I still can look up to. Thank you Z for laughing with me when I was sad and wanted to die - I'm not sure did you know? Or was it just that you're always so nice? Thank you M for being a fair rival, someone I admire and wish best. Thank you Be for allowing me to learn to love someone unconditionally from afar and showing me beauty. Thank you O for making me who I am now, for being unafraid and teaching me to be so as well. Thank you C for everything, every smile and small talk, oh gods how I loved you.
Thank you P for being the loveliest roommate and caring about me even after I left, you're an amazing person, you're gonna be famous one day, I know it. I hope to see it. Thank you E for being my best friend back then. You saved my life and I love you still, even though we lost touch.
And to the rest, thank you too. For being for me when I needed you and laughing at me when I was sad. For just being friends in a class, you know?

And you may think this post is weird, and excessive, and unnecessary cause who thinks about high school like that? But it's not why I write it, I don't even write it cause I'm ill.
The year I was at this school I was every weekend at home beaten, raped repeatedly and psychologically abused and tortured, and it's not a hyperbolic speech. And when I came back to school for a week days, it turned out my school psychologist I couldn't trust. But the girls were always there and had my back. Even though I was a terrible, terrible person. And this is about that, cause I'm making my peace with the past.

But it's not only that.
This post is about friendship. About people who are important in your life journey even if they're there only for 5 months, or 2, or a day. About kind people who make me want to fight my uneven fight still.
Maybe my point comes across, but if not, I'll make it clear.
When I found out I'm incurably ill, my world kinda shifted? And I'm in some weird change moment now. And I'm trying to learn to be kind and good. To be nice to everyone. I learn how to say thank you.
Learn with me.

ableism

On abled people - once again

09:47

Blogging with Alex - your everyday dose of angry screaming!  

 Okay, I wanna start with thanks to everyone who messages me about this blog. You guys keep this angry lesbian going, I wouldn't have any motivation without you. You're great. Kisses to you.  

 And shoutout to my dad’s girlfriend who’s stalking me on social media! I wonder of you found me here as well?  

 Today is one of the shittiest days of my life. And considering my past that is a huge thing. You see, there are days when I’m happily and patiently enduring abled people's antics.  
Today is not that day.

 Sure, every time I go out with my dad it's An Adventure, so I shouldn't really expect anything else, but apparently life can still surprise me.
 Today my dear father told a person helping me with opening door..not to help me. Which proves further he still doesn't believe me that I'm actually, you know, slowly dying.
But hey, it's not like we spoonies have to prove our disability over and over again! It's not like I carry my geneticist opinion with me everywhere! And my disability ID! Not at all!
 Except we totally do and I totally am.   

 We have to prove ourselves all the fucking time. Everyone around thinks we’re faking for social benefits.  Ask any disabled person and you’ll learn that those so called benefits are literally nonexistent (I just learned it's actually nonexistent and not “unexistent”. Huh. The joys of foreign speaker.).

 Abled people want our things. They want our bathroom, our ramps, our accessibility devices. Everyone around me keeps saying I only have my iPad cause I wanted a new toy.  Since i got it along with my stylus, I relearned how to draw, I started writing my novel and new fics again, I actually am able to take notes on lectures and I, reading books again cause I finally can hold it. All in less than two weeks.
 But the thing is people don't want to see. They don't want to see my progress and be happy with me, they choose to be jealous over accessibility devices I have.
I've got people saying that I'm lucky I cant take care of myself cause I don't have to worry about future. They don't understand that I do. I have to. More than them. I have to deal with fact I'll be dead before 50. You will never understand how that feels unless you're dealing with that. I dread everyday, cause I'm on a countdown. Not to mention I have no one to take care of me in case something happened to my mum. I literally will be left to die.
 But hey, I don't have to worry about finding a job!  

 You see, you all want our stuff without taking actual disability, you don't want wheelchair, shitty hands, pain, dying. You just wanna nice stuff.  

 And I know I've written about this before and I'm repeating myself. But maybe, just maybe, it'll stick with someone. It'll change someone. So I'll keep saying that.  

 On the other news, uni started today and I still have no idea what I should do. On Wednesday I'm supposed to try to meet some of my teachers..and beg them to let me work from home?  The thing is, begging…well. It's not my style. I'm more of a “you won't get me accessible classroom, I will see ya in court” person. So. Await updates on my hopeless case. 

 And if you're religious could you maybe pray for my gran? She's having a major surgery and I'm really scared she won't make it.   

 Thank you for all your support. 

ableism

on acessibilities

04:24

Today, guys, I’m gonna keep it short. We have several stuff to talk about, thanks to people messaging me about this blog. And me? I am mad and I am bitter – so the usual.
Let me start with my fave one.

I hate abled people.

If you ever used the disabled parking spot, this post is for you specifically. Offended? Suck my dick.

It all started with my hands going bad. I used to use my laptop for everything, as writing by hand became impossible about a year ago. But hey, we live in the age of internet, so I’m gonna be fine. Right? Wrong.

About a month ago I started having trouble typing. On a good day, after twice the dose amount of oxy, it was…kinda…possible. Today, for example, I’m typing with my fingers taped and after what I think was 40mg of oxycodone, and later some blessed soul will beta my typos. Team work, guys.

The thing is, I’m starting uni soon, and while I’m gonna study most classes at home, there are two I’m gonna attend. And I cannot take notes.

Along with mum we decided to buy me an ipad. Ya know, I’ll be able to record stuff, notes are easier done typing on screen, this stuff. Also drawing on better days. But for me and my unemployed single mother of two it’s a HUGE thing to spend 2k on a tablet. Or anything, really. We had our gas almost cut last month and it didn’t happen only cause the guy was a good guy and saw me on wheelchair and took pity. Hashtag wheelchair privileges I suppose.
I have a rich dad. Maybe not insanely rich, but positively loaded. Said dad is abusive asshole too, and perpetual child support avoider. Also tax fraud. You get my vibe.
Yea, you guessed that, I gritted my teeth and begged dad for help. Hence my rant.

You see, when a disabled person gets accommodations, literally EVERYONE wants to use it, steal it, take it away. I got to uni and everyday have to wait cause someone with two working legs is going on my ramp. Someone abled is using my accessible toilet so I peed myself couple of times. People take places in my queue spots. Not to mention the usual, aka parking spots. You get my vibe.

They – you! – want my accessibility and “cool stuff” without actual disability.

So I have this to say to you: TAKE IT. Take my pain, my not working legs, take my loose joints and constant headache. Take my hands I cannot use anymore and my fucked future I dread. Take my inability to get to uni classes and a grocery shop. Take my hand ache from wheelchair. Take uneven pavements. Take it! It’s yours! And then you can also have my cool tablet, my cool chair, my toilets and spots.

Cause guess what? I need it! To live! To survive! Like you do every day without even thinking! To be on the same level as you! And yet I never am, am I? Cause you take everything and then leave me to literally die, refusing my disability level and welfare.
So. Wanna my stuff? Take my pain too.

--------------------------------------------------------------

One thing done. Now the other.
I do not approve of people who sexualize me and this blog. I talk about sexuality and masturbation and sex FOR DISABLED PEOPLE WHO NEED TO HEAR IT. I write for people who need to be empowered. Not for you to jerk it! So stop messaging me how hot is it that I masturbate. I don’t wanna hear it and I don’t want you. I’m gay, always was and always will be. That means NO MEN. I’m a lesbian and I won’t sleep with you. It’s not the purpose of this blog. Come on guys, let’s behave like adults. I know I’m sexy, you know I’m sexy, we do not need to talk about something that is obvious and established.

--------------------------------------------------------------

I’m pretty bad lately with my back going worse and since it’s hard to type lying flat in bed I’m not sure when the next update will be. Sorry. Hopefully tablet will let me write more often.

And also, if any if you are reading this and need to talk to me, to just rant, to address something I wrote or not at all, I am available at bitterlesbiangrandma.tumblr.com, hit me up at private messenger. I know some things are not to be said in comments here, so you can talk to me there.

And in the end, thank you for being so warm and positive about me writing this blog. I hope I managed to at least entertain someone, if not teach or empower. It means a lot you appreciate it.


ableism

On my gender being "a wheelchair woman".

17:50


 You know, if usually I’m a mess, then since these last two weeks I am A Mess. I would look for an excuse why I wasn’t writing any posts, but the truth is I’m ill and it’s the best excuse you can have. Chronic fatigue and pain kicked my ass and I caught costochondritis (google it, honestly, it’s an awful illness we EDS folks catch like a common cold. It’s my second one in last three months.) which tied me to bed running on aspirin and oxycodone, so I was in no shape to write. I still am, to be completely honest, but I had to share my thoughts on this lovely topic. Lovely being high sarcasm.

Blowing my college fund completely, I got a Smart Wheels-like wheelchair. I ordered it in February, but it was ready just this Monday. It enabled me to go out much more than I used to, taking the strain of wheeling, which was becoming unbearable on my hands, from me. And I am now seeing the “casual world” (in opposition to the world I saw on rental chair, only hospitals and clinics, and once a park) from the perspective of a person on wheelchair. And oh do I see things.

Month ago I took part in wonderful interview, the one I mentioned before, on topic of disability in queer women. Among other things, my interviewer said one things, that I now tested very painfully in reality.


Women [whether cis or trans] on wheelchairs [I’d add that with visible disability in general] are perceived as a completely different, new gender. Gender that is robbed of any sexuality, is completely non-sexual. They’re no longer women, they’re a different species that is seen as unable to be understand. [paraphrasing, obviously, as I do not possess any transcript of the session]


And we are. We totally are. I saw it before, to less extend, but now I see it in full light.

It can be small – like total lack of male gaze on us ( meaning sexually objectifying gaze), sudden lack of romantic proposals at all, no dates, no interest in us. I’m a fairly attractive young woman. Hell, I’m gorgeous. I’m also fairly intelligent, charming, cute, funny. Before my disability became visible, I had people “in real life” crushing on me, asking me out and so on. Now, as a wheelchair girl, the only people interested in me are people I met online, who got to know my personality first, before meeting me and seeing my body. Men do not stare at me as they did before – which for me as a gay woman is genuinely nice, but still proves the point. I can both feel it, and had people say that they noticed it too.

It can be a bit worse – as people treating our bodies as a public property, touching the way they wouldn’t touch an abled person, asking inappropriate questions. As doctors seeing out bodies as sexless. As health providers suddenly forgetting we have sex lives. As people being confused we are sexually active or even not-asexual at all.

You probably wouldn’t grop a stranger woman’s body in public, would you? I had people, regardless of gender, who did, who even went as far as casually touching my boobs. But I shouldn’t mind, should I? After all I’m not a sexual being at all so why would I mind someone touching my private places. (I wanna specify: I do not think breasts are sexual organs, they’re for babies. But in general, they’re perceived as a rather intimate part of the body.)

When at the first time I applied for disability, I got a doctor who had no idea what EDS was, and from just looking at me told me I’m a nice girl and should go marry and have babies and not “want to” be disabled. The second time, the same doctor, I had a card from my usual doctor providing all the details on my illness and how it stops me from various aspects of life, as studying, working, driving a car etc. This time? I was not a nice girl anymore, I was just a broken body. The difference was literally so palpable my dad thought we both went crazy suddenly cause it cannot be real.

It can also be my favorite type of ableism aka “I could never date a girl on a wheelchair”. Or even better, followed by “you’re cool tho, no offence”.

No offence taken, obviously you cannot see me as a sexual being, as a hypothetical girlfriend, as I am made of metal pieces and wheel gears and I do not possess a sexual body at all.

You see, I was only out a couple of times and I have more than a dozen of these stories to tell. I am literally the other gender now, I am invisible at best and outward hated at worst. I am not seen as a woman, as a future mother, future teacher, future lover, no, I am sexless, I am completely washed of any sexuality.

You see, I’m a rape survivor with severe PTSD, I am also accidentally a person on asexual spectrum, whether those two things are connected I’m trying to find out by therapy. But even I, not being terribly enthusiastic about sex, do actually mind this. Very much.

I am a woman. And I want to be seen as one. I want to be seen as a sexual being cause I am a sexual being. I am not fond of being treated as a little child.

So to y’all who could never date a girl on a wheelchair. Look at your reasons why so. We’re people just like you. Girls, I am just a girl, just like you. I am sexual like you. I wanna have sex like you – with you. I’m not a different gender.


I’m just a human being. Extremely tired, bitter human being.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

On 28th of July I turned 22. I can't believe I'm 22 and still have to blog about this shit. Two decades of my life and we still have ableism. Yikes.
Anyway, happy birthday to me.

ableism

on dating

09:15

After three years of avoiding anything even remotely related to love and romance, I decided to go back to dating scene.

And I did what every polish lesbian does when in need of meeting new people. I got Tinder account.

This post is not about my dating adventures though. It’s about how dating when you’re disabled looks from the inside.

And it’s not pretty.    
                         
After ditching so many possible candidates who, curiously enough, disappeared among finding out I’m on a wheelchair, I actually met couple of nice girls. In a mess of uni finals and me being constantly sick or in the ER, I managed to schedule a meeting.

And I got tachycardia syndrome linked to drop od potassium level, and landed in the ER for the whole day. Hospital Glam aside, I was pretty disappointed, especially that after that flop our conversations kinda ceased.

I kept talking to others, and liking one girl in particular (shhhh it’s not a crush!) I decided to meet. We’re meeting tomorrow. And here’s what I have to say.

Dating me, and even wanting to be my new friend, you have to realize one thing: you are also dating my disability. You’re dating my wheelchair. And my illness. It comes in the packet.

I’ll probably cancel couple of meeting due to pain being too bad, catching costochondritis for the 10th time this year, or sudden ER emergency.

If that sounds bad for you, if you’re gonna make me feel bad for that, here’s the news for you: you’re an ableist. Surprise!

But it’s not only that.

To get to the meeting, I have to beg. I, like lots of disabled folks, have abusive caretakers. My mum, who cares about me 24/7, is disabled herself, and due to that doesn’t drive. My dad, who drives, is abusive. Hence, being unable to take a bus myself, not having another caretaker, I have to beg my father for help. Cue him humiliating me, putting me down, and sometimes flat out refusing to help.

It happened today, and I still cringe from some stuff he said. And I’ll have to put up with him being the worst caretaker in the world.

You may be curious now, why do I, 21yrs old grown woman, need a caretaker. What does actually a caretaker do. I’m here to provide an answer: being on a wheelchair you need someone with you, to help you on pavements, push you up if the road is steep, handle you things that are too high (like in shops), and so on and so on. For me, with my hands being affected too, I need constant help because I can’t wheel myself for a lots of times. I also can’t just stand up when my chair won’t go through certain terrain. You got me? I need someone to help me with stuff my body will refuse to do.

But let’s say I got to the meeting. Caretaker is out, leaving me with my date. If we want to be actually alone, my date must take the role of caretaker. Even if she’s good at that, imagine how I feel, with an almost stranger taking care of me in this intimate fashion? Pretty fucking embarrassed is the word.

As a wlw (woman loving women) I also have to deal with homophobia that is sure to affect me, and pretty goddamn scary after last events.

And then starts the whole “do we match, do we have something to talk about, do we like each other” stuff.

As usually on this blog, I Am Bitter. I am already tired before I even went out. Instead of being excited about the meeting, I am embarrassed, tired, and scared.

Glamorous life on the wheelchair. Places are inaccessible, people are rude and ableist, I am in pain.

I usually have some ideas what to change so the situation would improve, but without whole societal change here, we can’t reach anything. People’s attitude needs to change, we need accessibility and more ways to get rid of abuse in families containing disabled people, because the ways we have aren’t working. Without that change, all disabled girls, and boys, and nonbinary people, will still have problems connecting, meeting new people, finding love.

I want to be that change.

But I also just want to be 21, love women, enjoy summer and be happy tomorrow.

And while losing my health, I also lost that.


And this is so fucking sad. 

abuse

on Orlando shooting.

01:33

 A/N: this post is not edited. I'm sorry for the mistakes but I am too shaken to do it now.

***
You see me here blogging about disability issues, and I susppose you have some image of me already, based on what I write. Whatever it’s good, or bad, I don’t really mind. I’m happy you’re here, I’m happy to make a difference.

And as you probably already know about me from my blogging I am Very Gay. I identify as a genderfluid woman, in a spectrum between female and agender. And I identify as a lesbian. I am an asexual lesbian, and I am proud to wear a label. I rock pinky-red flag, I love wlw aesthetics posts, I am all here for the rising movement of Sapphic girls.

And, being a queer woman, today at 4am I read about Orlando.

And I am scared.

I live in Poland, far, far away from where it happened. But situation here doesn’t make me feel any safer. It could happen here on a pride on Sunday. It could, and I am thankful to all the gods it didn’t. 
But it made me think about the past, and I want to tell you a story.

At age 16 I was in all-girls boarding school in another city, and I first time met an outed lesbian. I fell in love with the label, I finally felt I know who I am, I have a place in the world. I was deep, deep in the closet, but I was me. My friend dated girls, and I was proud of her. Proud of me.

I got a crush on a girl from my home town. We got together. Long story short, she was very abusive. 
She would hit me in places no one would see bruises and force me to have sex with her. She would tell me no one will ever love me cause I’m a lesbian, that I am dirty, that it’s unnatural and that she’s the only person who’ll ever love me. That I’ll go to hell. She would force me to walk kilometers to prove me my disability is not real. She wouldn’t let me sit down when we met. It’s possible some of my joint damage is caused by her.

And she would tell me she’ll kill herself and kill my family if I don’t sleep with her.

I didn’t know then that girl can rape another girl, that forcing someone to sex in relationship is rape too.

She would shame me for who I am, and she make me feel ashamed of myself. She made me hate myself and hate the label lesbian. Because it was wrong. And because she was a lesbian too and I didn’t want anything connected to her to stay with me.

When I broke off, with severe trauma and PTSD, all I felt was fear. I was out to my mum and sister, but to no one else. I hated being gay. I hated the community. I hated everything. I tried to force myself to like men. As you can imagine, it didn’t quite worked.

It took me over 3 years to heal. It took me over 3 years to love myself again. I don’t self-harm anymore, I’ve beaten eating disorder. I’m seeing a therapist every week. And, really, 

I’m okay. I wasn’t afraid.

Till today.

First time in three years, I felt fear that I felt with her. Fear of being a lesbian. Fear of loving women. Fear of being out.

And I DO NOT WANT TO FEEL THIS WAY.

All my love is with survivors and their families, with families and friends of those who didn’t survive. I pray for them, I send all good energy their way. The dead are safe and in better place, but we, who remain, have to deal with the loss. Families and friends with loss of loved ones. We, the queer community, with loss of being safe in our safe spaces.

I mourn for LGBTQIA+ youth, who will now be afraid to go to bars, to go to pride. Who will meet significant barriers in meeting ones alike them, to get into relationships, to find love.

I mourn for those of us who are now afraid to come out, or, like me, afraid to be out.

I mourn for those in bigoted families, who will have to listen or even agree to bullshit spawn by their relatives, just to be safe.

I am with all of you, sending energy and prayers your way.

My best friend once told me my posts here are empowering. I’m glad. But today’s post is not, I suppose. It’s my way to say how sorry I am this shit in the world ever happens. How I love all of you in our community. How we need to stand together.

But it’s also my way to say: cry. Mourn. Be sad. Don’t let them tell you to get over it. Don’t let them tell you “not to fight hate with more hate.” No. Be angry. Hate. Be furious.

Cause we have a right to cry, right to be mad, right to be furious. We will not be silenced.
To all my folks in queer community, disabled and abled alike, I stand with you, and I will not be silent.

And I will cry.


And I will scream till the world hears me.

ableism

On having to prove your worth.

03:45



A/N: to all lovely girls who read my blog and found me on tinder: helloooo! Now you know more than you bargained for about my sex life! I hope you still want to date me cause damn, this is awkward.


***

I can’t sleep lately, painsomnia being terrible cause I dislocated my knee (and arm and wrist and some fingers…) and it’s BAD. Like level 9 bad.

But being awake at 1am has good sides, like sudden strikes of productivity and creativity that always hit me at night. So here I am, bringing you my middle of the night thought. Tumblr would call it nightblogging I suppose? And blame Australians.

I was recently driving with my uncle I didn’t see for 7 years. Part of my family, dad’s side, is estranged, and he’s the part of that family, but situation being sudden, we suddenly reunited. It turns out his wife, and my dad’s sister, works with blind people. Now, let me just say that being a (hopefully) future interpreter, and losing hearing myself, I know a lot about d/Deaf and Deaf culture – but I don’t know hardly anything about blind. So sorry, and please call me out, if I say something insensitive or offensive.

We started talking about disability, and beside the fact apparently my uncle doesn’t consider me a disabled person (hey, nice! Take my wheelchair and my pain too, would you?) cause mobility issues doesn’t exist in his world, he turned out to be extremely ableist. “Did you know? They can almost behave like NORMAL people” level ableist. Yuck.

Being in pain literally all the time lately, no matter the amount of painkillers, my usual fierceness got a bit dulled, and instead of huge rant I just sat there trying to keep my face straight and nodded. People like to take my trained resting bitch face as an encouragement instead of sign of impeding killing spree, so he kept talking. And he said a thing that resonated with me so much, so awfully.

He told me about a girl who, being almost completely blind, did two PhDs and some additional studies while “abled people like us” (again, thanks for completely ignoring the fact I have severe mobility issues and use wheelchair daily??) are lazy fucks who wouldn’t do it.

And I just broke. Let me tell you why.

Being disabled, you suddenly, as we previously stated so many times, become public property. People feel entitled to tell you what you should do, how you  should be, how you should look, behave, BREATHE.

Let’s say we have two typical girls, average size, white, all in all “normal”, but one of them is on a wheelchair.

Abled girl with unshaved legs is a revolutionary feminist. Disabled girl? Doesn’t take care of herself, dirty, probably smells, disgusting, hit rock bottom.

Abled girl rocking a messy look with no makeup? Cute. Disabled girl? See above.

Abled girl dropping out of uni? Probably needed to go find a job, take care of family, just wasn’t for her. Disabled? FAILURE. WON’T EVER ACHIEVE ANYTHING.

Of course there are race, being fat, gender and sexuality adding additional layers here, but in general you see what I mean?

Being spoonies, we walk everyday having to prove our worth. We HAVE TO study, have to be successful, be pretty, pampered, in full makeup and pretty clothes. We can’t cut ourselves some slack. Cause we’re being constantly judged. We’re either too much or not enough. Too visible – too invisible. Too loud, outspoken, or too quiet. I’m being hated for being “too much” (advocate, colorful hair, LOUD, open about my sexuality, my autism, my mental illnesses, yelling at ableists, colorful wheelchair, you name it I have it) while simultaneously I hear I should try harder, be more, come back to school, fight through debilitating pain, PROVE MYSELF.

The issue here is, for a healthy person that would be too much to stand already, right? But add constant pain, fatigue, so many really scary health issues, disabilities being doubled (mobility + hearing loss, blind AND mentally ill etc.), constant struggle with lack of accessibility… I used to wonder why more disabled people don’t go outside. Now I know. We’re, as my best friend nicely put it, forced introverts. Cause society, let’s be honest, doesn’t like us.

I went to my university yesterday to talk about my return after the leave I took. Let’s ignore lack of support here, and total lack of accessibility (no disabled toilet?? Really??). I was told school can consider my request for accessible classes if they find me WORTHY ENOUGH. I have to prove my worth, prove I won’t drop out, they won’t lose their money.
See a problem here?

Being a spoonie, we have to prove our worth all the time. Or we’re using the air and shouldn’t exist at all. But what if I don’t want to be a famous spoonie? If I don’t want to be a wheelchair bound surgeon or lawyer? What if I want to be, say, a sex worker. I want to be a camgirl. Well, then, first, I’m a taboo (disabled cam girl??? Unheard of!), I’m problematic, I’m too open about my sexuality nobody wants to know about (but THEY ASK. See previous post.), and I am not worthy enough. Same if I want to be something less shocking, and “less glamorous” than a lawyer, like librarian, truck driver, or a barista (shoutout to my lovely spoonies in these jobs, you rock!). I either have to convince people I have a right to live, or I am not given this right.

And this is what we desperately need to change. Cause there ARE wheelie camstars, just as there are disabled prostitutes, like there are disabled librarians and truck drivers, like there are wheelies working in grocery stores or being cashiers at Tesco. And we’re all worthy. Hell, we could lift Thor’s hammer! 
And we’re glamorous. We’re glamorous when we can’t shave our legs because joint pain, when we have face hair or boob hair, or when we’re trans or intersex, Black, latinx (should I spell it with a capital letter? I’m sorry if it’s wrong!), Asian, ANYTHING AT ALL. We’re all worthy, having a college degree or being high school dropouts. Being independent or needing constant assistance. We’re all awesome. 

And ableists miss so much by not wanting to know us. And I feel sorry for them. Cause the most lovely people I met in my life were spoonies. Not abled, stuck up entitled assholes.

See, my fierceness is back, cause tramadol is gold. To sum it up: we need societal change, we need visibility projects and more education at schools and workplaces. We need to make abled people see more, see further, take their head from their asses.

But all in all, we need to stay awesome, and unlearn the compulsive need to prove ourselves. I am trying all the time. Cause maybe I am a failure, but I am an A++ awesome failure, having best friends in the world and badass hair. And, what’s most important – I have time, and I have nothing to prove to anyone, cause I am my own person.

(note: sorry for any mistakes, see: pain + tramadol)