How to Make Disability Masking Unnecessary
Or: Setting the Stage for True Disability Inclusion
Image Description: A person wearing a dark orange shirt holds up a rough white fabric mask with eye holes to their face with both hands.
The question that I’m now asking after contemplating disability masking, the reasons for it, and the costs to the individual is: what would society look like to make masking unnecessary? What would I require to safely put down the mask and just be my true, disabled self?
Accessibility Everywhere and Attitudinal Inclusion
It still happens regularly in my daily life that I find accessibility barriers and their acceptance as a part of the standard disability experience. Few people question these barriers and believe that society has a responsibility to proactively remediate or erase them without a lot of additional pleading and advocacy effort from disabled people.
Alongside these issues is the accepted belief that full disability inclusion is a “nice to have” and not a “must have”. This is despite several laws enacted that declare equality, accessibility, and inclusion for disabled people a requirement. I am still told on a regular basis that I expect too much, ask for too much, and that accessibility and inclusion “cost” too much.
While I would argue these barriers cost our society too much in productivity and inclusion. No one ever seems to want to consider and discuss the costs across generations of the disabled people not being able to fully contribute to society due to these persistent, unaddressed barriers. Until these expectations are flipped, I don’t see how I can feel safe to be disabled, claim my space, and become equitably included.
Erasure of Derogatory Words, Attitudes, and Their Casual Societal Acceptance
Unfortunately, language is still a huge problem. At least once a week there is a news story about someone “overcoming” their disability, or “confined” to a wheelchair, or a personal favorite (sarcasm!) “bound” in some way, or some other such nonsense that is demeaning to disabled people. These words and beliefs are widely accepted and perpetuated throughout society.
It betrays a lingering sense of disabled people being “less than”, of how they must continue to fight for the barest glimpse of inclusion. And with these words depicting accepted attitudes, of course disabled people cannot feel safe in unmasking.
Disabled people are not “less than” and don’t deserve a “less than” life of lowered expectations, access, and inclusion. Our society needs to look hard at its language and what it means, in order to root out these beliefs and adjust them for acceptance of disabled people.
Being Believed and Respected with Every Aspect of My Disability
A large part of disability acceptance and laying the groundwork for safe unmasking is believing them. Understanding that what you see is not the full story. That your assumptions are just that, possibly false beliefs dependent on the mass historic exclusion and rejection of disabled people.
The first step is to stop making assumptions about disabled people. The second step is to believe them when they communicate about their disability and inclusion needs. It sounds simple, but rarely do these two things happen.
In my life, with a very apparent physical disability, I am still not always believed about my pain, fatigue, and physical limitations. I became afraid to ask for accommodations because I was rejected or disbelieved when I explained my disability, the invisible aspects of it, and the growing supports that I require. Of course, I then cover up my deeper disability and mask as much as possible because it became unsafe to express my true self.
A Widespread Rejection of Ableism and Belief That Disability Is Everywhere
Collectively, it is more acceptable to sideline and exclude disabled people than include them in our society. We regularly use derogatory language, reject opportunities to create a more accessible world, deride the gifts that disabled people can contribute to society, and disbelieve them about their own disabilities (despite them being the experts). All of this is continued because society believes disability is a rare and fleeting human experience, rather than common and expected in life.
As I have said before, anyone who lives long enough will experience disability. Many of us were born disabled or acquired a disability at a young age that has created a lifelong expertise. But instead of embracing these facts, disabled people are regularly sidelined and excluded by ableism, by the belief that nondisabled humans are superior — when they are just another type of human.
Essentially, humanity needs to reject this thinking and embrace disability as an essential aspect of the human experience. Once we do this, masking will become unnecessary because all people will be accepted for who they are, disability or not, as people just trying to live the best life they can.
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Thank you, Kelly, for sharing your lived experience and wisdom, and for providing practical steps we can all take to be more inclusive--"The first step is to stop making assumptions about disabled people. The second step is to believe them when they communicate about their disability and inclusion needs." And language matters. We can do better.
Excellent piece. I am proud to call you my friend.