Stella Young
Stella Young
Stella Jane Youngwas an Australian comedian, journalist and disability rights activist...
NationalityAustralian
ProfessionComedian
Date of Birth24 February 1982
CountryAustralia
access side
Personally, I like a generous side of wheelchair access with my cities.
family felt member valued
I have always felt like a loved, valued and equal member of my family.
allowed arms people
People get all up in arms when I describe myself as a crip because what they hear is the word 'cripple,' and they hear a word you're not allowed to say anymore.
country fought grew hung small town younger
I grew up in a very small country town in Victoria. I had a very normal, low-key kind of upbringing. I went to school, I hung out with my friends, I fought with my younger sisters. It was all very normal.
anyone believe benefit concerned fraud money people services spent vital
Believe me, people with disabilities are just as concerned about benefit fraud as anyone else. Money spent on those who are not in need is money that isn't being spent on vital services to support us in the community.
people
People with disabilities are simply part of diverse communities in the U.S.
admit among buy cost earn eat jobs love lucky meet mention money nice pay reason rent work
Even those among us who are lucky enough to love our jobs would have to admit that at least part of the reason we work is to earn money. In between all this work, we like to eat out at restaurants, go on trips, buy nice things, not to mention pay rent and meet the cost of living.
combined echoes myth people sentiment suggesting
The sentiment of those suggesting the Olympics and Paralympics be combined is no doubt well intentioned. But it also echoes the myth that disabled people want to be other than what we are - that we'd like nothing more than to be 'allowed in' with the able-bodied competitors.
constantly exactly life simply strangers
My everyday life in which I do exactly the same things as everyone else should not inspire people, and yet I am constantly congratulated by strangers for simply existing.
access activists fought issues
Physical access is one of the very first issues disability rights activists of the 1960s and '70s fought for.
birthday chip choked home sent seven
I once choked on a chip at a friend's birthday when I was seven and had to be sent home, as I'd broken my collarbone coughing.
australia cannot faced fear magnitude people stigma
The magnitude of discrimination and stigma faced by people with disability in Australia cannot be underestimated. People do not understand disability, and people fear what they don't understand.
afford doctors fortune immunity lived neither since
Doctors are not fortune tellers, and neither am I. Having lived with disability since birth does not afford me immunity from illness.
certainly disaster medical ultimate
Disability is often framed, in medical terms, as the ultimate disaster and certainly as a deficit.