Category: Disability Justice

Barbie and her journey of diversity

Ruth Handler wasn’t a homely woman, raising her babies and doing the housework. She was out co-founding a business with her husband that would later take the world by storm. That business was Mattel, started in 1945 and now an international toy enterprise. Ruth never played with dolls herself, but she knew her market. Returning from work, Handler watched her daughter playing with these little paper dolls. You had to cut them out along with their separate clothes, which you then had to attach. She played with them for hours and hours. They’re fiddly and annoying. They aren’t fun. Quite rightly, Handler thought her daughter deserved better.

It was the ’50s, and baby dolls were the one of the most popular toys of the time. Handler wanted her daughter to think that she could be anything growing up, not just a mother and a wife. That wasn’t all that she was, and it wasn’t all she wanted for her daughter. So, in 1959, the first Barbie doll was released. A doll to reflect the modern woman of the time. Barbie wore what she wanted, went where she wanted, and wasn’t relying on a man to look after her.

Fast forward 60 years, and Barbie has had every career going. She wasn’t simply dressing up and going to fancy parties with her tag-along, afterthought boyfriend, Ken. No. She went to the moon. And she did it years before Neil Armstrong did in real life. Laziness on his part if you ask me. She has been a paramedic, a pilot in the Air Force, and a president of the United States. With the world accepting that women could do anything, Barbie was there to inspire upcoming generations.

In 2015, the Fashionistas line had hundreds of new designs. There were Barbies with different shapes, skin tones, and heights. This included dolls without hair, some with vitiligo, and a cornrowed Ken. By 2019, dolls were released reflecting disabilities as well, featuring those using wheelchairs, hearing aids, and prosthetics. In the UK, the top two bestselling Fashionista dolls were in fact the ones using wheelchairs.

“Barbie has continued to evolve over the years to better reflect the world girls see today, adding more diversity for endless storytelling possibilities,” Mattel said on their Barbie website.

So, of course, this had to come up in the Barbie film, showing exactly how far times have changed. One of the first scenes is a sequence of very different women, with a voice-over declaring “this is Barbie” for each one of them.

Because Barbie is every woman. Even from the start, her creation wasn’t about her being blonde and white. She was about the joy of growing up and the freedom to do whatever they desired. Not being confined by ideas of gender or disability. She represented a wider world to those who play with dolls. As such, she was always meant to change and embrace all looks and aspects of womanhood.

As I finish writing, I too am embracing these aspects before going to view the film in all its technicolor glory. In an Oppenheimer hat.

Later days,

Petrus

August 3, 2023
Fannie Lou Hamer: Disability and Civil Rights Activist

Remembering disability rights activists

“We’re sick and tired of being sick and tired.”

Fannie Lou Hamer, 1917-1977

Content warning: Racism, racist violence, police racism and violence.

Who was Fannie Lou Hamer?

Fannie Lou Hamer was a Black civil rights activist. At the age of 44, she found out she had the right to vote. But, in the Southern states, Jim Crow laws prevented Black people from registering to vote.

Hamer went on to fight for the fundamental right of every Black person in the US to vote.

In 1962 Hamer joined the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). She went with 17 other Black people to the courthouse to register to vote. They had to pass racist literacy tests to register. Afterwards, police harassed and fined Hamer and her companions, claiming their bus was “too yellow”.

On returning home, Hamer’s white employer sacked her and evicted her from her home.

Hamer became an SNCC Field Secretary. In 1963 while on a speaking tour, Mississippi police arrested her and other activists.

The police viciously beat the activists over a period of 4 days. The injuries left Hamer with life-long disabilities and scarring. She experienced sight loss, damage to her kidneys and a permanent limp after the attack.

Hamer continued to campaign, speaking at the 1964 Democratic National Convention. Her passionate televised speech influenced the legislation that banned local racist voting laws.

Hamer helped form The Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party and stood for election. She used her campaign to highlight issues of poverty and hunger.

Hamer’s activism and determination in the face of brutality have had a lasting legacy. She is widely considered to have helped to lay the ground for the disability rights movement.

The American Association of People with Disabilities created the Fannie Lou Hamer Leadership Program. It supports young Black disabled advocates to boost voter registration across Black communities. The Fannie Lou Hamer Freedom High School in the Bronx, New York is named after her.

You can find out more about Fannie Lou Hamer, disability and civil rights activist here.

You can also read a biography of Fannie Lou Hamer here.

March 27, 2023
A tribute to Judy Heumann (1947-2023)

We were sad to hear that Judy Heumann, a leading disability rights activist, passed away recently.

When we started to campaign on digital accessibility we heard about Judy. Her determination and refusal to accept discrimination have motivated and moved us.

Judy Heumann’s life and legacy

Judy worked hard to make our world more inclusive. Her work led to groundbreaking legislation for disability rights in the United States.

“We will no longer allow the government to oppress disabled individuals. We want the law enforced. We want no more segregation. We will accept no more discussion of segregation.” Judy Heumann

Judy caught polio when she was 18 months old. She experienced segregation when her mother enrolled her at a kindergarten school. Judy was not allowed to go to school. The principal believed Judy’s wheelchair was a “fire hazard”.

Judy’s mother challenged the decision. After four years of home instruction, the school allowed Judy into the building. However, she was treated like a “second-class citizen”. Disabled children’s classes were held in the basement. This segregated them from non-disabled children most of the time.

Judy continued to face discrimination when she trained as a teacher. She was subjected to humiliating questioning and denied her teacher’s license. But she kept fighting and sued the New York Board of Education to be able to teach. She won and was the first wheelchair user to become a teacher in New York State.

Judy became known as someone who would fight for disabled rights. She began to make contact with others who had similar experiences of discrimination.

She formed Disabled in Action in 1970. The group was at the forefront of the civil rights movement for disability rights. New legislation was in development in the US. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act would make discrimination against disabled people illegal. President Richard Nixon blocked it.

Judy led disruptive direct-action protests at Nixon’s offices. Throughout her life, Judy showed absolute determination to take action. This included staging a 28-day sit-in. She refused to accept discrimination.

“I wanna see feisty disabled people change the world.”
Judy Heumann

We’ll remember her as an inspiration and honour her legacy.

We’ve seen many moving tributes to Judy. She has become known as the mother of the disability rights movement. She guided and supported younger generations of activists.

It’s a fitting tribute to her and other disabled activists to continue campaigning for disability justice in all areas of life.

Rest in power, Judy Heumann.

Sabrina and Angela

March 12, 2023