For all the lovely ladies here on the community, Happy
International Women’s Day!
Today is a day to celebrate YOU, your mothers, your
sisters, your daughters, your gal pals and all that is great about being a
lady. Whilst being a woman is not without it challenges, and for some of us in
the community those challenges come with additional challenges, today let’s
concentrate on the joys of being a woman.
The internet is a fantastic tool for us girls, of all ages,
abilities, races and faiths to make friends, make their voice heard and
generally just come together (to cast a spell on Donald Trump, for example).
Right here in the Community there are plenty of lovely ladies to inspire,
motivate and support you and I think it is really important that we make the
most of each other!
And so as a small gift to you, my fellow women of the Scope
online community, here are 10 ladies that will brighten up your Twitter feed.
1) Caroline
White – @carolineplayle
A must follow for parents of disabled
children, Caroline tweets with humour and love about life with her 9 year old
son Seb who has Downs Syndrome. Her book The Label is an honest and thoughtful
insight into what it means to have Downs Syndrome and has been a huge hit, much
like her Twitter account.
2) Samantha Renke
– @samrenke
It’s surprising that Sam has time to tweet with her busy schedule
as an actress, public speaker, blogger and disability campaigner. After
appearing in those fantastic Malteasers adverts Sam has become something of a
household name thanks to her wit, sass and honesty. On her Twitter account you
will find pieces she has written tackling huge topics like sex and dating, all
with good humour and sincerity. If nothing else, it’s great fun keeping up with
her glamourous daily antics!
3) Penny
Mordaunt MP – @PennyMordauntMP
Now I know what you’re thinking,
politicians aren’t good at Twitter and I understand. With Ed Balls tweeting his
own name, and Donald Trump well… you know…male politicians don’t set the
tweeting standard very high. However, the new minister for disabled people has
a very strong Twitter game. Recently Penny was all over social media putting
disability in the spotlight at London Fashion Week but that’s just one example
of her tweets full of promising news for the future of disability in the UK.
4) Nikki Fox
BBC – @FoxNikkiFox
With so much fake and negative news flying
around, having Nicki Fox on your twitter feed will be a welcome break. The BBC disability
correspondent tweets about real issues, relevant topics and always has a
positive outlook for disability.
5) Ruth Owen
OBE - @RuthOwenOBE
Whizz-KIdz CEO Ruth’s twitter account is a happy place
to be, full of uplifting stories about the work that Whizz Kids do. Perhaps one
of the biggest issues that disabled people face daily is the lack of inclusive
and accessible travel options, following Ruth is a great way to keep up to date
and get involved with the Whizz-KIdz #getonboard campaign to put an end to
disabled people being excluded from public transport.
6) ToyLikeMe
– @toylikeme
Ok, technically ToyLikeMe is an organisation rather than a
lady BUT it probably won’t surprise you to know that the brain power behind
ToyLikeMe is indeed female. In response to the total lack of diff:ability
represented in children’s toys, ToyLikeMe are on a mission to make sure that
the toy industry becomes more inclusive. On their Twitter you will find teddies
with cochlear implants, Barbies with prosthetic limbs and plenty of heart
warming tales to go with it.
7) Sarah in Wonderland
- @WonderlandBlogs
A blog about disability, beauty and lifestyle? What’s not
to love?! Sarah’s twitter is a lovely combination of make up reviews and honest
thoughts on life with chronic illness. Recently, Sarah made a wonderful
appearance in a BBC Three video entitled “Things Not To Say To Somebody Who
Uses a Wheelchair”, which is well worth a watch and can be found on her
Twitter.
8) Liability
Magazine - @liabilitymag
Whilst glossy magazines are my guilty pleasure,
I’m sure I’m not alone in thinking they fail to represent disabled women or
provide any real sustenance (apart from all that great advice on how to please
your man…) cue Liability Magazine, an online magazine written by a group of
fabulous women all with one thing in common – a disability. So this is sort of
a bonus feature on the list, as you get LOTS of lovely ladies for the price of
one.
9) Katherine
Newstead - @SciPhiKat
Co-founder of The Everyday Ableism Project
Katherine is well worth a follow for her tweets about important issues faced by
disabled people every damn day. @everydayableism is an open discussion for all
aspects of disability, illness and mental health from relationships to
inaccessible hotel rooms so it’s a great place to share experiences and find
support.
10) Mary Russell -
@MarySoDateable
You may well recognise Mary from the time she appeared on The
Undateables and stole the nation’s heart. Since then she has been on a mission
to make fashion accessible for all, so she is worth following to keep up to
date with the diversification of the fashion industry. Plus, she’s a keen
cyclist so her Twitter may even motivate you to get on your bike this coming
spring.
Do you have any ‘must follow’ ladies to
share? Which women inspire you? Let us know your favourite twitter, instagram and facebook people to follow.
