Celebrating Disability Pride Month with Social Media

How social media has increased disability confidence and is Creating a new narrative

When I first lost my eyesight, I can admit that I didn’t have a lot of education about disability. There were not a lot of blind folks around me, and I didn’t have any resources to learn more. I think people around me felt pity and in return it caused me to feel bad about myself. I couldn’t find any popular disability narratives and hadn’t heard of disability pride month.

So you can imagine my surprise in 2020 when I got a DM from the model and powerhouse, Jillian Mercado. She was asking me to be a part of a piece for refinery29 highlighting disabled people within the creative space. The story was in celebration of ADA30. I read the DM multiple times because I honestly couldn’t believe that she’d consider me for a piece so big. The experience was an absolute game changer for me. Not only was it a great opportunity, but it also made me aware of other disabled folks living their disability with confidence. I got to learn about other disabled people that are charismatic, charming, creative, sexy and all-around influential. Each of the individuals in the piece were living their best life on social media. I had never seen that type of disability representation before. It was beautiful.

Disability pride month goes far beyond just being proud of my disability. Don’t get me wrong, of course I’m proud to be a blind, black woman. But the month just has so much more significance than that. Society is being exposed to more stories about what it looks like to actually live with a disability. Social media is a huge factor in this. One major positive aspect of social media is the amount of people with disabilities who are now able to control their own narratives.

One major positive aspect of social media is the amount of people with disabilities who are now able to control their own narratives.

Natalie Trevonne

Social media is dampening the effects of traditional media‘s outdated representation of disability. Society has access to conversations about disability from actual disabled folks. In my opinion, celebrations like disability pride month only amplify more accurate storytelling. In the spirit of celebrating disability, I’d like to highlight some social media creatives who I believe are really living their disability with confidence.

Three disabled creatives living their disability with confidence on social media

Lauren Lolo Spencer is not only an amazing actress, but a powerful presence on social media. She is always showing up unapologetically disabled to every space she rolls into. Audiences consistently get to see her enjoying life. You can find her all over LA attending the hottest events and showing up as the best dressed. I love this for her because this is not what I grew up seeing from the disability community, let alone a disabled woman of color. If you’re not following Lolo already, then you should be and don’t forget to check out her new book, Access Your Drive and Enjoy The Ride.

Shaheem Sanchez is a talented deaf dancer who educates his audiences about American Sign Language by often adding it into his choreography. He has mastered such a creative way to introduce ASL to his audience all while doing what he loves. Shaheem uses the vibrations from the bass in hip-hop music to follow along with the beat. He also memorizes the lyrics in time with the beat so that he’s in sync when he dances with others. And if you’re following Shaheem, then you know he uses comedic short form videos to address issues around the deaf community and educate people about his disability.

Belle Bakst is a fashion editor and stylist based out of New York City who puts the “style” in stylish. Belle is known for her bubbly personality and incredible fashion sense. Most recently, she took her followers on her journey to bling out her new prosthetic eye, a life-changing opportunity for her. And if you follow “the little fashion stylist,” you won’t be disappointed. Belle is constantly letting us know where all the sample sales are and where to buy all your favorite designer brands.

The Power to Increase disabled Stories

Disabled creatives on social media are slowly shifting perspectives about disability in a way that’s proving to be both positive and meaningful. I personally have been impacted by social media’s power to increase disabled stories. I finally get to hear stories from people who look like me. My hope is that this type of diverse and authentic storytelling can be transferred over to Hollywood so that disabled folks can start to see themselves on screen as well. But until then, I encourage the disability community to celebrate disability pride month with confidence. Our voices do matter! If you’re outside the community, I encourage you to use the month to learn about as many disabled folks as possible. Social media is a great place to start!