Cripple Perks: The Unreasonable Luxury of Living While Disabled
“Accommodations are things that we need, and deserve, in order to lead our lives. But they’re treated—we are treated—like we’re trying to pull one over on the rest of society.”
s.e. smith is a National Magazine Award-winning Northern California-based writer who has appeared in The Guardian, Rolling Stone, Esquire, Bitch Magazine, and numerous other fine publications.
Enter your email address to receive notifications for author s.e. smith
Success!
Confirmation link sent to your email to add you to notification list for author s.e. smith
More by this author
Making Connections Through the “Trans Trade”
The act of the trans trade, and its ritualization, came readily to hand for me, but it’s a distant possibility for so many of us.
Listening to Long Covid’s Lessons and Teachers—Today and Tomorrow
We will adapt. We will find new nesting places. But there will be no return to “before.” Not for the flock.
In a Time of Mass Mourning, Grief Stories Are a Lifeline
In our constrained culture where public, raw grief is not socially acceptable, I fear that grief stories are being asked to do too much.
More in this series
How Disability Helps Me Find Life in Death
“If losing your friends all the time is a dismal way to live, closing yourself off from humanity is even more grim.”
Disability Sucks Sometimes. Why is it Taboo to Say So?
Disability ruins everything, these stories tell us: disability itself is tragedy. These people’s lives are over, apparently, even though they are palpably still here.
How Mental Illness Became a Scapegoat for Trump’s White Supremacy
When you attribute someone’s evil actions to their mental health status rather than their actual root cause—like white supremacy—then that evil is no longer presented as a choice.