Disability Pride: a history of fighting for rights and visibility 

As I reflect on my disability identity, I think about my disability origin story. Why is it that I find it so difficult to accept my disability, to not view it as ugly?  

The answer could lie deep-rooted in history. How we have treated disabled people. How those attitudes are still relevant today.  

Disabled people have consistently been misrepresented, and our voices neglected. During the Industrial Revolution, disabled people were institutionalised. Often sighted as not being productive enough for the economy. We were locked away. Many assumptions were enforced about disabled people. We were assumed to have an intellectual disability. Even if we only had a physical disability.  

Disabled people lacked autonomy and freedom well into the twentieth century. The Mental Deficiency Act (1913) allowed authorities to institutionalise disabled people against their will. This coincided with the eugenics movement. A fear of disabled people passing on their genetics. Even if their disability was not genetic.  

Why does this matter when I reflect on being a disabled person in 2026? Because for me, it moves the discomfort away from me and instead is ingrained within society. It shows how difficult it has been throughout history to be a disabled person. We have made progress. I am grateful to those who came before me to enable the freedoms that I enjoy today.  

 Pride can be a difficult word to associate with. But I am proud of the people who came before me. Who were courageous enough to stand up and believe that change is possible.

It also reminds me of why I need to continue to fight – to be seen, heard, and respected