95 Quotes by Stella Young

"For lots of us, disabled people are not our teachers or our doctors or our manicurists. We're not real people. We are there to inspire."

"For me, disability is a physical experience, but it's also a cultural experience and a social experience, and for me, the word 'crip' is the one that best encapsulated all of that."

"It's undeniable that what we are taught as a culture to believe about disability is at odds with traditional notions of masculinity."

"I've got the best job in the world; I love it. I get to meet so many interesting people, and I get to make sure that other people with disabilities can tell their own stories as well."

"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."

"I let go of the notion of wanting someone to ignore the way I look in order to find me attractive, because really, what kind of relationship would that be? One where someone's only attracted to you because they're ignoring a fundamental part of you? No thanks."

"I identify very proudly as a disabled woman. I identify with the crip community. I didn't invent the word 'crip'. It's a political ideology I came to in my late teens and early 20s."

"I'm a full-time wheelchair user. And yet, given the right circumstances, I am able to work."

"In days gone by, short-statured people were not only labelled as ugly, stupid and freakish, they were often owned by aristocrats and treated, at best, as entertainment and, at worst, as pets."

"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."