YAB Connection
Image Description: A woman reclines in a bubble bath with a happy and relaxed facial expression. She is resting on a blue wheelchair lift and a white handlebar is attached to the side of the bathtub. There are candles and a cream colored curtain in the background.
Fostering Disabled Joy and Self-Care
Disabled people deserve not just to survive, but to thrive and find joy in their lives, relationships, and bodies. Being disabled does not take away our desire to engage in self-care activities. It is important that people around us listen to us and support us in finding pleasure in our lives. Unfortunately, this is rarely represented in media or societal views, if depicted at all. Oftentimes, societal stigma treats having a disability like a life sentence of suffering. We are conditioned to believe disabled people don’t need to do anything unless it fulfills a medical necessity. Rarely does our world discuss or represent disabled people enjoying their lives, doing things like making art, celebrating with friends, playing video games, or having a spa day. It’s expected that a disabled person would shower to maintain basic hygiene, but not take the extra effort to luxuriate in a bubble bath. In fact, we had to create our own image of a wheelchair user taking a bubble bath because we couldn’t find any online. The only images we did find had a wheelchair sitting on the side, removing the disability from the self-care. Experiencing joy is one of the greatest parts of being human, and no one should be made to feel like joy is not possible for them.
We need to celebrate disabled lives and make self care and self enjoyment not only accessible but actively promoted. Considering this, here are some ways that we find joy as disabled people:
- Hobbies: cooking, dancing, biking, video games, dressing up
- Engaging in healthy, fulfilling platonic, familial, romantic, and sexual relationships
- Decorating mobility aids and equipment to match our style
- Joining communities where we are appreciated and celebrated: social media groups, clubs, community centers, etc
- Going out or doing things with the sole purpose of having fun: concerts, movies, shopping, horseback riding, traveling, going to the pool, parties, cafes and bars
- Taking care of our bodies for pleasure: using nice lotions, doing our hair, bubble baths, face masks, mani/pedis, “spa days”
- Enjoying media: pop culture, TV shows, books, movies, podcasts, music, etc.
- Spending time with people we care about
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