Why disabled joy?

The better question is why not.

I feel like I’m very much on the right track to becoming “that lady that talks about disabled joy” and I’m very okay with that.

But that does raise the question: why disabled joy?

Why is this the thing that I’m so ready to put all my energy behind?

Why am I so certain that this is the space I need to be building in?

As much as it may seem frivolous or flighty on the surface to focus on joy (and yes, that is my inner critic speaking, thank you very much), I actually have a lot of reasons.

Let me share some of them with you.

Reason 1: I want to

Perhaps not the strongest reason of the bunch BUT it is the most important in ensuring that I give it my all.

Because if I start talking about things that I’m not fully bought into — or things that I think I have to talk about because they make the most “sense” to other people — then you’re not going to get the full Ali experience.

Just a partial one.

I came very much to terms with this last year when I signed up for a speaker program with Iona Holloway and had a kick off call with her to discuss what my talk would be about.

I showed up with two topics in mind. The first was about disabled entrepreneurship and the space that disabled folks could take that they weren’t yet. It was an advocacy type talk, speaking to other entrepreneurs and people who run spaces for entrepreneurs.

And the second one was about disabled joy.

That’s all I said.

And Iona took one look at my face and said “do that one.”

Because when I said “disabled joy” my energy shifted. The tension in my body left. I owned the topic. And even on a Zoom call, she could tell.

Reason 2: People want more (disabled) joy

And I’m not just saying that. I actually have the data to back it up.

The minute I decided I was going to refocus what I was talking about on @seated.perspectives to disabled joy, my account grew by over 1,000 followers after being stagnant for a year.

Ok, it didn’t take a minute, but it was just a couple of weeks, and that was hugely telling.

Also, in my attempts to gather interest for the Disabled Joy Collective — my upcoming online community space for disabled joy — I have gotten over 200 people to join the waitlist. A lot of them are people who didn’t know me before they signed up.

This is such a clear indicator to me that people want more disabled joy in their lives.

In addition to the very important work they do to advocate for themselves and others, disabled folks want spaces for joy. They want to be able to name and celebrate the joy they experience uniquely because they are disabled.

The joy that lives hand in hand with everything else we experience as disabled folks.

Reason 3: Disabled joy will change the world

Does that sound lofty? Yeah. But it’s also true.

There are three core narratives that people (and systems and the media and stories) use around disability.

Disability is tragic.

Disability is a burden.

Disability is something to overcome — and if you do, you’re an inspiration.

These are highly problematic narratives. Disabled folks are constantly battling them or proving them wrong. And it’s exhausting.

They also don’t leave any room for joy.

So by talking about and creating and celebrating disabled joy, we’re providing a different narrative.

One that says that disabled folks do experience joy.

Not only that, they experience unique types of joy because they are disabled.

It says that disabled folks can hold multitudes — both the parts of disability that suck AND the parts that are beautiful and joyful.

It’s a narrative that says that joy doesn’t just belong to the disabled folks that can overcome their disability with feats of strength or ingenuity or fame.

So, really, the question is: why not disabled joy?

Yours,

that lady that talks about disabled joy.