Aidan Stromdahl's 2019 story about Stella Young's TED Talk
Video 1: I am not your inspiration by Stella Young
Sections I want to highlight: 2:00-2:25, 3:20- 4:33, 5:13-6:08, 6:09- 7:10, 8:20-9:17
The first video I want to share with you is a Tedtalk by Stella Young, an Australian journalist, comedian, and disability rights activist. In this TED talk, she discusses her views on disability and how people view disability as a source of inspiration.
Near the beginning of the video she says “this kid had only ever experienced disabled people as objects of inspiration,” and then she goes on to describe how most people view diabilead people are just here to inspire. No one has really viewed me as an inspiration due to my disability.
What I have experienced with kids is that they don’t understand why I'm small so they stare. And the parents don’t know what to do anything so they push their kids away and say “don’t stare” and don’t actually tell the kid why I’m small. After this she shows images of disabled people being used as inspiration. “Because they objectify one group of people for the benefit of another group of people” objectifying disabilied people for the benefit of non disabled people “however bad my life is, it could be worse, I could be that person”
I don’t think this is right. It’s wrong to put disabled people in that position of inspiration. It is taking advantage of them. They aren’t doing anything amazingly inspirational for themselves it is amazing or inspiring to you because you don’t live in that body and don’t have to go through the challenges they go through.
She goes on to discuss how life as a disablied person is somewhat difficult. The thing we are overcoming is not things to do with our body but things to do with our society. “disabled people are more disabled by our societies then our bodies and our body's diagnosis” those kids in those pictures aren't doing anything out of the ordinary they are just using their bodies.
I completely agree with this statement. When people ask me what’s it like being small I say “I am succeeding in a world that it meant for people 5ft and over.” We never try to let our body or our minds make us who we are but it's how we use them the world is not meant for disabled people and we have to figure out a way to work around that. she discusses that when people say “you are a inspiration” they mean it as a compliment. Because We have been sold the lie that disability makes you exceptional, and it doesn't. “I'm learning from diasblied people all the time, not that I am luckier than them but that it is a genius idea to use a pair of barbeque tongs pick up stuff that you drop, or charge your phone with your wheelchair.”
I think that yes they mean it as a compliment but I think they need to word it differently, if you are just minding your business and doing nothing and they say that to you that would be a little weird, but if they came up to you and talked to you and asked questions and then said something like you are an inspiration then it might be ok. She then says “I want to live in a world where disability is not the exception but the norm” she discusses the world she wants to live in for disabled people.
And yes, this would be amazing I Would love to live in a world where being 4ft7in is amazing. But I think there needs to be balance to where the world is add for everyone not just regulate people or disabled people.