Stella Young
Stella Young
Stella Jane Youngwas an Australian comedian, journalist and disability rights activist...
NationalityAustralian
ProfessionComedian
Date of Birth24 February 1982
CountryAustralia
esteem image people
Self esteem and a healthy body image for people with disabilities are so often hard-fought.
currently economic life paying taxes
I currently live independently without any funded support. I'm educated, and I'm employed. I enjoy paying my taxes and contributing to the economic life of Australia.
included
I have a condition that is included among the 200 or so classified as Dwarfism.
accessible against asking bad discussion either employer gave immediate interview learned mark potential quickly straight wheelchair work
I quickly learned that asking if an interview space was wheelchair accessible was a bad idea; it gave a potential employer an immediate bad impression. It was either a black mark against my name, or a straight up discussion of why I wouldn't be able to work there because they had no wheelchair access.
celebrated sports
Paralympic sport and other disability sport can and should be celebrated in its own right.
create disabled environment hardly home obviously works
In my own home, where I've been able to create an environment that works for me, I'm hardly disabled at all. I still have an impairment, and there are obviously some very restrictive things about that, but the impact of disability is less.
parents pretended quite worked
My parents didn't know what to do with me, so they just pretended I was normal, and that worked out quite well for me.
accessible bar blocks buses days downtown four seeing single washington york
From my first days in Washington D.C., where I rolled a whole four downtown blocks without seeing a single shop, cafe, bar or restaurant I could not access, to the beautifully accessible buses in New York City, I was in heaven.
incredibly means
In many ways, I'm incredibly lucky to have been born with my impairment and that it's visible. It means my path has been predictable.
beauty conform imposed painful
I do sometimes painful things to my body in an effort to conform to culturally imposed beauty ideals.
built history
Let's not forget that the Paralympics, just like the Olympics, are built on a rich history.
given work
I'm a full-time wheelchair user. And yet, given the right circumstances, I am able to work.
beauty buy carefully choose clothes dye house leave outside rarely standards wear women
I, like many women, buy into patriarchal standards of beauty every day. I very rarely leave the house without make-up. I dye my hair. I wear clothes that I choose carefully for how they make me look to the outside world.
accessible baffling considered depends facilities livable regular suppose
It is nothing short of baffling to me how a city like Melbourne, where I struggle to find accessible facilities on a very regular basis, could be considered the most livable city in the world. I suppose it all depends on what makes a city 'livable' for you.