Say it with me! Wheelchairs aren’t sad! Mobility aids aren’t sad! Mobility aids are instruments of freedom!
the biggest tip i can say about trans inclusive language when discussing anatomy is to just say what you mean without trying to find a euphemism, and to be specific to the conversation that you're having. if you're having a conversation about childbirth, say "people who can give birth". not everyone who can give birth is a woman and not every woman can give birth (both trans and cis), so don't say "women" or "mothers" or "females", you don't even have to say like "womb haver" or whatever. "person who can give birth" is specific and clear if you're talking about childbirth.
if you're talking about penis and testes, just say that. "men" in that context is cis-centric. "amab genitals" means nothing, since trans women can have bottom surgery, and intersex people exist in all kinds of physical expressions of sex.
avoid sexualized terms like tits/boobs (use breasts) or dick, balls, etc. those terms take on a context that can make folks feel uncomfortable about their anatomy due to the sexual context. I feel uncomfortable when people try to be inclusive and say shit like "pussy haver" but if I'm reading a medical article about vaginas I'd much rather it be addressed to "people with vaginas" rather than "women"
the more we separate language of body parts from gender identities and actually start speaking frankly and respectfully about anatomy without acting like its some taboo, the better it will be for trans and intersex people. it can help cis people too. you can be a cis woman who doesn't have a womb, you can be a cis man who doesn't have penis or testes. imo this kind of language is inclusive not only for gender non-conforming people but everyone with a physical difference in their sex characteristics, due either to genetics or a lived experience!
I feel like most able bodied people see wheelchairs as the worst thing that could happen to a person. When I discuss my want to have a wheelchair for various reasons, most peoples first reaction is to be surprised that I could voluntarily consider that.
But what they fail to consider is that, unlike them, I very much hate walking. It causes me pain and fatigue, it is a miserable experience.
So to any able bodied person reading this, yes some wheelchair users like walking, some want to gain that ability back, but that does not invalidate the feelings of wheelchair users who absolutely hate walking.
Sometimes you’re gonna have access needs that are incompatible with another disabled person’s and that’s valid.
Neither of you are ableist for not being able to accommodate each other’s needs.
You should be able to rot in bed for 2, maybe 3 hours after waking up before it starts affecting what time it is. If I wake up at 8:30 and lie in bed for 2hr it should still be 8:30 when I get up
heads up for gays that don't use tiktok: you're gonna start hearing the words "demure" and "mindful" a lot more than you used to
As a disabled and chronically ill person "Thank You G-d, who has made me in Your image." is infinitely more affirming and comforting for me than the variation that goes, "...who has made me according to Your will."
It's not that G-d intentionally gave me a body that causes me to suffer because They will it to fulfil some greater purpose.
It's that my body, even as sick and weathered as it is, is a living breathing reflection of the Divine.
Reminding me that my disabled and chronically ill body is sacred too.
Ellis Reed