Description

An eyeopening portrait of the diverse disability community as it is today and how disability attitudes activism and representation have evolved since the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act ADA

In Disability Pride disabled journalist Ben Mattlin weaves together interviews and reportage to introduce a cavalcade of individuals ideas and events in engaging fastpaced prose He traces the generation that came of age after the ADA reshaped America and how it is influencing the future He documents how autistic selfadvocacy and the neurodiversity movement upended views of those whose brains work differently He lifts the veil on a thriving disability culturefrom social media to high fashion Hollywood to Broadwayshowing how the politics of beauty for those with marginalized body types and facial features is sparking widespread change

He also explores the movements shortcomings particularly the erasure of nonwhite and LGBTQIA people that helped give rise to Disability Justice He delves into systemic ableism in health care the righttodie movement institutionalization and the scourge of subminimumwage labor that some call legalized slavery And he finds glimmers of hope in how disabled people never give up their fight for parity and fair play

Beautifully written without anger or pity Disability Pride is a revealing account of an often misunderstood movement and identity an inclusive reexamination of societys treatment of those it deems different