With July coming to a close, the time for disability pride is officially over. Now it’s time for a new game, and the name of the game is shame.
While it’s fun to wear colorful T-shirts and make celebratory Instagram posts, Disability Pride Month can be really exhausting. For those thirty days, disabled people are forced to be comfortable in our own bodies and to embrace the life we have been given.
Thankfully it’s August now, and disabled people can do what we do best: wondering if we’re a burden and trying to convince ourselves that we’re not and that actually we’re cool and funny and also cute, even.
Charles McNeil, a disabled influencer, told us, “I was really running out of smiles near the end of July there. My cheek muscles can only stay engaged for so long.”
Another disabled person, financial analyst Martina Delgado, felt similarly relieved. “A lot of people at work were commending me on my job performance as a disabled person but like, I hate that job? My real dream is to bake, like the guy in that ‘High School Musical’ song.”
If you’re disappointed that July is over, your feelings are totally valid. But if you’re relieved, that’s valid too! Celebration is not for everyone, and your relationship to your disability is personal.
After all, nothing is better than curling up into a ball under some blankets and pondering your existence in this vast ableist society. Fortunately that’s exactly what August, September, October, November, December, January, February, March, April, May and June are for.