The Politics of Disability - The Intersection of Chronic Pain, Advocacy, Gender Identity, and Sexuality - Part 2

The Intersection of Chronic Pain, Advocacy, Gender Identity, and Sexuality - Part 2

Explicit content warning

03/04/22 • 28 min

The Politics of Disability

Content warning: Profanity, talk of homophobia, ableism, and eugenics

In the second half of this interview, Mary and Cami Randleman discuss growing up in the church, the homophobia they've faced, gender identity, accepting their sexuality, how disability intersects with all of that and more.
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Cami describes themself as follows:
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“I am a Black 26 year old non-binary person. I have had mental health disabilities like PTSD for several years but more recently became an ambulatory wheelchair user because of my endometriosis and chronic pain. Lately I’ve been working on inner healing and the most difficult part has been accepting myself when others do not. I’ve been intent on being myself and being aware of areas where I am suppressed. A big part of this process has been dismantling my internalized ableism and helping to undo the ableism I see day-to-day. I believe that equity and disability justice are necessary for our community to thrive- we deserve abundance and not just survival.”
You can follow Cami on social media here.
You can donate to Cami's GoFundMe here.

The Politics of Disability was named Best Interview Podcast at the Astoria Film Festival in both October 2022 and again in June 2023.

Previous Episode

Fighting for Their Lives and Their Education - The UCLA Sit-In

Content warning: Mild cursing, mentions of harassment by law enforcement

The Disabled Student Union at UCLA (DSU) provides a safe and inclusive place for disabled, neurodivergent, and ill people to feel accepted. Its purpose is to empower students through advocacy, education, and pride, build relationships with the administration and wider community, remove access barriers on campus, and advocate for disability rights.
As of February 14th, 2022, when this episode was recorded, the Disabled Student Union was on day 14 of their protest/sit-in.
They are protesting the administration's refusal to commit to a hybrid program, despite the fact that disabled and chronically ill students are still disproportionately affected by COVID.
Co-founder of the UCLA Disabled Student Union, Quinn O'Connor (she/they)
and member, Christopher Ikonomou (he/xe) share their reasons for protesting and what they and other protestors have experienced during the sit-in.
Follow DSU on social media: @dsuucla (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook)
Note regarding sound quality: This interview was done via Zoom. Quinn and Christopher were outside of where the sit-in is happening and the connection was poor at a couple points. Please reference the transcript (found here) for clarification.

The Politics of Disability was named Best Interview Podcast at the Astoria Film Festival in both October 2022 and again in June 2023.

Next Episode

The Intersection of Being Non-Verbal and Navigating Multi-marginal Identities

Content warning: Profanity, ableist language, talk of homophobia, ableism and eugenics

In this brief but impactful interview, Mary and author/disability rights advocate Sean Gold discuss the misconceptions of being non-verbal, ableism, navigating multi-marginalized identities, and the pandemic.
As Sean is non-verbal, Adam Ross voiced for him during the interview.

Sean Gold (he/him) is a black, gay man with a disability. He is an advocate for people with disabilities, and has one Microsoft certification for web design. In 2020, Sean was elected as president of the disability owned nonprofit organization, Coalition in Truth and Independence. He considers his faith, family, and friends the most important things in g his life. His physical disability is Cerebral Palsy, and he has a Tracheostomy Breathing Tube.
He is the author of the novel Pure Love, Or Is It? (Trigger warning: Assault)
You can follow Sean on social media here.

The Politics of Disability was named Best Interview Podcast at the Astoria Film Festival in both October 2022 and again in June 2023.

The Politics of Disability - The Intersection of Chronic Pain, Advocacy, Gender Identity, and Sexuality - Part 2

Transcript

[music playing as Mary speaks]

Mary: Hello, everyone, and welcome. My name is Mary Fashik. I am the founder Upgrade Accessibility and your host. I’d like to thank you for joining me today, at the intersection of disability and politics. The road ahead can be a bumpy one, so buckle up and let's navigate this journey together.

[music playing]

Mary: Welcome back. You’re gonna need to buckle up super tight ag