What Disability Pride Month Means to Me

Many folks know that June is Pride Month, but did you know that July is Disability Pride month? Yup, it’s true! And while folks who are disabled can also be 2SLGBTQIA+, Disability Pride month is for people from all demographics and marginalized communities. We even have a flag!

Designed by Ann Magill in 2019 and redesigned in 2021 to reduce strobing effects on mobility devices, the Disability Pride flag celebrates who we are and represents the diversity of disability.

Each stripe (from left to right) in the flag has a meaning:

Red: physical disabilitiesGold: neurodiversityWhite: undiagnosed and/or invisible disabilitiesBlue: emotional and/or psychiatric disabilitiesGreen: sensory states/disabilities

So, what does this month mean to me? Those who follow me know I consider myself an advocate for disabled voices in literary circles. I want to boost their works and have tried to do this through appearing on panels, co-editing two multi-genre disability fiction anthologies, creating a community initiative for authors who manage spoons, and shamelessly putting out my own fiction that stars characters within the diversity of disability. This month represents a boldness for me to say things like, “Disabled is not a bad word. Autistic is not a bad word. Invisible and not-yet diagnosed conditions and disabilities still make your lived experience valid. Let’s celebrate who we are, and put the message out that we’re here and deserve to be welcomed into spaces without having to beg for accessibility!”

I used to be steeped in internalized ableism. How could I have not been? The plethora of ableism from social, familial, and especially medical circles can truly affect one’s perception of disability. There can be a shame factor, or just as bad, the “maybe I’m not disabled enough” mentality, which can prevent someone from asking for accommodations. I kept getting injured over and over by trying to “overcome” my mobility disability. After a fellow disabled friend encouraged me to use her rollator, my life opened up to me again, and with a disability device, I am thriving!

Now if only I could influence everyone who isn’t disabled to rid themselves of their ableism.

But you know what? I feel encouraged because I am not alone. Every year I witness people who are disabled, Deaf, Blind, neurodivergent, and/or who manage mental illness taking their space in the world. They’re forming communities, speaking against ableism, underscoring the importance of accessibility, and helping each other.

Last time I posted on the Spoonie Authors Network, I wrote an article called “The Edification that Comes from Disability Community.” In it, I talk about going from #DisabledAndAlone (and frightened) to what happened after I connected with others, and how it helped me celebrate myself and others in our communities.

I don’t feel shame about my bodymind. I feel…proud. So, I shamelessly declare:

I have a physical disability requiring a mobility device.I am autistic.I manage conditions that are invisible.I manage mental illness.I have sensory processing disorder.

(But there’s no prize for claiming each stripe of the flag. I want that to be super clear.)

Sure, this month doesn’t diminish that my living with all of these disabilities and states of mind is easy (mind you, ableism and lack of accommodation are often what makes it difficult). And celebrating this month doesn’t mean we ignore what we go through on a daily basis just to wave a flag. What I hope it means to folks is that we don’t have to hide who we are, we feel an opportunity to connect with others who share our lived experiences, and, for a start, we know we’re not alone in those experiences.

Because there are a lot of us out there. I guess I want to believe that together we can do wonderful things, beginning with us loving ourselves as we are. (And maybe also telling ableists to go and visit the sun.)

You deserve to be celebrated. We deserve it. So, claim your space! There’s room for all of us!

If you’d like to connect on social media, I am on Instagram, Bluesky, threads, and facebook.

Happy Disability Pride!!!

Cait Gordon is an autistic, disabled, and queer Canadian writer of speculative fiction that celebrates diversity. She is the author of the award-nominated disability-hopepunk adventure, Season One: Iris and the Crew Tear Through Space! Cait also founded the Spoonie Authors Network and joined Talia C. Johnson to co-edit the multi-genre, disability fiction anthologies Nothing Without Us (a 2020 Prix Aurora Award finalist) and Nothing Without Us Too (a 2023 Prix Aurora Award winner).