I am not an inspiration because I am a disabled person. I am not brave, I do not endure or suffer and I am absolutely not an inspiration. When you say those things, you make my life & in turn my body less worthy than yours. Your good health is a privilege. But that doesn't in turn make my body somehow unfortunate or undesirable. Saying you couldn't battle what I do suggests that a) I possess something you don't (I don't) or that b) living in my own skin is so horrifically unbearable you need super powers in order to manage it. I realise that feels to you like a compliment, that it comes from a place of kindness, a compliment, but it is insulting. In reality many won't have any idea of what it is like to live the life I have lived in an impaired body, so your frame of reference for what might or might not be difficult is both limited & likely impacted upon by what the media have told you about my life as a cripple (similar to how you've been told you have to look as a woman, and we've all agreed that's bullshit, right?) My body is more than my impairment, it's more than any perceived limitations. Suggesting I'm inspiring due to a blip in my genetic code means that everything I have worked for as a person is worthless & that my impaired body is the only part of me anyone sees. I want to inspire you because I write powerfully & love radically. I want to encourage you because I am an ally in this political movement. I want to be seen as a critical thinking with important messages. So be aware, when you repost disabled bodies, when you talk about us in comments, when you praise us. We don't want to be your inspiration porn we want to be noticed, acknowledged & appreciated for what we offer as people

A post shared by Imogen's Body Lovin' ? (@the_feeding_of_the_fox) on Jul 10, 2017 at 3:59am PDT