Looking at the comment I've linked above, you might think "That's just someone being a jackass, it's not really abusive language." Except that it's part of the culture that exists in the comment section of many feminist sites that says Disability is the Worst! Thing! Evar! As though none of the readers of your site, or any other progressive site, will have disabilities, or have family members, friends, or lovers with disabilities or "birth defects".
It is difficult for me to believe or convince others that "feminism is for everyone" when these sort of toxic remarks are left unchecked, when ablist language is used as insults throughout comment sections, and when the rare times that women with disabilities are discussed seriously tend to focus entirely on reproductive choices, and not on accessibility issues, support issues, or the increased chances of abuse, be it sexual, physical, or emotional, that women with disabilities experience.
Frankly, the complete silence on the amount of written abuse that people with disabilities, or women whose children have disabilities, are getting in your comment section at the moment disturbs and distresses me. Although there is little you can do at this point regarding the post in question, I would appreciate it if you would consider this an actual problem - one that affects women and men who read your site. We exist. We're real. Like you, we're not made up of only our reproductive bits, and it would be nice to be considered when you make posts.
Women whose children are born with such "defects" are often held responsible for such things, or hold themselves responsible. They wonder what they did - did they eat the wrong thing? Did they exercise too much? Not enough? Did they go to the wrong doctor? If they had had the right test, what would have happened? When someone's response to an "undesirable" person becoming pregnant is to go "OMG! There may be birth defects! This can't be allowed to happen!", it plays into those beliefs and fears.
That's creating a culture of ablism, and further plays into the idea that there's something wrong with families who have children with disabilities, and that disabilities are something that doing all the "right" things will prevent.
Sincerely,
Me
Blog Only Tidbit:
Don's mom was older than 35 when she gave birth to him, a much-wanted and very loved child. As most of you know, Don has Marfan's Syndrome. It's normally genetic, and runs in families, but it popped up in Don, and no one else. It's a "birth defect".
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troubleinchina) wrote,
