15th January 2024
bbc.co.uk/accessall
Access All – episode 86
Presented by Emma Tracey and
Aidy Smith
EMMA- Hello
Aidy Smith. How are you?
AIDY- I’m
very well, thank you.
EMMA- What
are you doing here?
AIDY- I’m
here to help out with a little bit of sign language. And we are going to be
delving into a brand new bunch of words that have come out within the British
Sign Language, all to do with LGBTQ+.
EMMA- Oh
yes, and that’s later on in the programme. But sticking with language actually,
that’s a useful, helpful way to get into this, neurospicy, we talked about this
last time. Because you’re a bit neurospicy, aren’t you?
AIDY- I
am. I’ve got Tourette’s, I’ve got ADHD, a mixed bag of wonderful things.
EMMA- Right.
So, you promised me, because you're a bit of a drinks expert, you promised me
you’re going to do me a neurospicy margarita. Did you make one? How did it
taste? Was it amazing?
AIDY- I
did make one. It took several variations: I put a little bit of chilli in
there, a little bit of jalapeno, some gorgeous Reposado tequila, a little bit
of agave syrup, and of course not forgetting a lime. And it was simply
beautiful. Next time I come in I’ll bring you one.
EMMA- Oh
please do, I need to taste this neurospicy margarita. Right, on with the show.
MUSIC- Theme
music.
EMMA- From
this snazzy new studio in London – I am telling you, it smells like a showroom
– this is Access All, the BBC’s home for disability and mental health. I’m Emma
Tracey, and this week I’m going to be talking to the Wheel Housewife of Essex –
get it? Wheel: she’s a wheelchair . Housewife: she’s a mum and she’s
married. Getting it? Making it sense? Also I’m going to be learning the brand
new shiny BSL sign for throuple. Throuple. Useful, I would say. You might be
listening to us on 5 Live, and if you are and if you like what you hear, please
subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts from, and then we will come down
onto your device every single week. Lucky you.
British
Sign Language has always had a rich vocabulary, and it’s always evolving, just
like our society and what we talk about in English is. English LGBTQ+
vocabulary has been growing and changing, and it’s broader nowadays and it’s
being used much more openly than before. But BSL signs haven’t evolved just as
quickly or in the same way. So, some very, very clever people in UCL,
University College London, have got together with Deaf Rainbow UK, a deaf LGBTQ+
organisation, to develop 20 new signs all around this area to address the lack
of LGBTQ specific vocabulary. Dr Patrick Rosenburg from UCL was part of the
project and he’s here, and he’s speaking through his interpreter, Karen Newbie.
Patrick, you’re so welcome, thank you for ing us.
PATRICK- You’re
welcome, thank you.
EMMA- It’s
great to have you here. And also I’ve got Adie Smith with me, friend of the
programme, part of the LGBTQ community. Hi Adie, hi again.
AIDY- Hello.
Always lovely to see you.
EMMA- OH,
lovely to see you again. You’re here to help, because I actually can’t see, so
you’re going to help me to understand some of these new signs, to describe them
to me. And you’ve got some questions for Dr Patrick as well, don’t you?
AIDY- I
do indeed. I will be your homosexual set of eyes today, darling.
EMMA- Amazing
and fabulous, thank you so much. Right, so back to the story of these new
signs. In November 2023 video clips of the new signs were added to the Deaf
Rainbow UK glossary webpage. Patrick, can you tell us what some of these new
signs are?
PATRICK- Well,
at UCL we have DCAL, the deafness, cognition and language research centre, and
some of the staff there got together and we saw a funding opportunity that came
up which was to improve equality, diversity and inclusion there at UCL. And the
aim was to improve relationships between UCL LGBTQ+ staff and the rest of the
staff community. And so we decided to work with an organisation called Deaf
Rainbow UK, who already had some signs established; but we needed more because,
as you’ve already explained, the vocabulary has moved on significantly in the
hearing community. And so we developed these signs and well, fingers crossed,
we’ll see what happens to those signs now that they’ve been released on the
community, we’ll see what the uptake is.
EMMA- So,
you’re hoping that the deaf community will embrace these signs and use them for
those ?
PATRICK- Yeah.
Well, who knows? We’ll see what happens. It’s the first attempt. The thing
about language planning and using new vocabulary is you can’t force people to
adopt this, you know. Language has to evolve organically, so you can have
language planning strategies to create new signs, but then there’s no guarantee
that those signs will be taken up positively by the community. So, you just
have to let them go, see what happens, and some of them will run and some of
them will drop out of use. And then, you know, you can develop more and again
go through the same process.
EMMA- I
love the idea of language planning and creating new words. Okay, so there is a
long list of 20 signs which Aidy and I are now going to read out the English
words.
AIDY- Well,
I was looking at the videos online, Emma, and when I looked at the word gay
there was a particularly handsome man in that video, so I think I’ll go with
gay as my first one.
PATRICK- So,
you’ve got your flat hand with the other hand with the thumb up on it. Emma,
put your left hand flat with the palm up, and then take your right hand and
make a thumbs up shape with your right hand.
EMMA- I
don’t even know what a thumbs up is nearly.
PATRICK- Yeah.
Then place the right hand on top of the left palm and wiggle it backwards and
forwards.
AIDY- Good
job.
PATRICK- Yeah.
It’s like a cat walking along.
EMMA- Why
is it that?
PATRICK- I
think the other thing is to when we talk about sign language is that
signs can be arbitrary, there doesn’t necessarily have to be a reason why
they’re shaped like they are. So, some signs are not iconic, iconic being that
they visually represent the thing that they’re referring to. But some signs are
completely arbitrary and they just are what they are. The same with spoken
language: why do we use the words we use? They don’t look like or sound like
the thing they depict often. So, it’s the same.
EMMA- That’s
such a really important thing to , because I am sort of drawn to ask
why a sign is what it is; whereas if you look at the word, I don’t know,
dungeon, why is it called a dungeon. Why did I think, why did I say dungeon? I
have no idea [laughs]. But do you know what I mean, I would never ask somebody…
PATRICK- It’s
a bit early for us to talk about dungeons, isn’t it? [Laughs]
EMMA- Why
is a word a word? I don’t know. Who knows? Right, let’s go through a few more
of these signs. Throuple.
PATRICK- Oh
yes, throuple. This is the sign for throuple: so if you’re right-handed with
your right hand you hold three fingers out.
EMMA- Like
this?
PATRICK- Three
fingers pointed upwards, so your palm facing yourself. Yeah, keep your pinkie
down, that’s right. So, pinkie and thumb out of the way. Three fingers, and
then move, as you move your hand slightly away from you you close your fingers
together.
EMMA- So,
three?
PATRICK- Yeah,
exactly. Well done.
AIDY- Fantastic.
EMMA- Thank
you. I’m loving this.
AIDY- So,
there must have been a lot of challenges with the lack of vocabulary for the LGBTQ
community. Can you describe what some of those have been?
PATRICK- Well,
the deaf community is already a marginalised community, and the deaf LGBTQ
community is even more marginalised. So, their opportunities to develop and
understand their identity are more limited. And that leads to many more
instances of mental wellbeing issues within the community. And so creating
spaces to consider vocabulary gives people a chance to understand themselves
better and to engage more with other people if the language is more suited to
them. And so creating new signs, well, you know, these concepts in and of
themselves are complex, they’re not straightforward often, and so we needed to
think about them in much greater depth. And so that’s what we did in order to
the community better.
AIDY- And
how long has it taken for this process to happen?
PATRICK- The
whole process of creating signs was around about three months because there was
a planning stage, prior to that we had to get people in place, we had to have a
survey, we wanted to invite from the community to come in and we did
that on three different occasions, so we got from within the community
before we then filmed and edited in time for the launch party.
EMMA- Launch
party, I like that idea.
PATRICK- Oh
yeah, it was really fantastic. And we had a deaf drag act at the party to
introduce the new signs to the audience.
EMMA- Brilliant.
PATRICK- It
was really lovely. You know, you don’t see deaf drag very much out there in the
mainstream, so it was a good opportunity for people to actually see that deaf
drag artists exist, so it was really lovely.
EMMA- Yeah.
But just to say, these signs are not official-official vocabulary, are they?
PATRICK- Well,
like with any vocabulary in any language it’s down to the people using it, you
know. Then the more it goes into general usage then it would be accepted into
some kind of dictionary. So, we had to launch these things into the community.
And some people have their own views about the signs, and that’s perfectly normal.
Some people disagree with some of the signs that we introduce and some people
love them. It’s the same with the spoken languages of the world: words pop up
into use and sometimes they disappear quite quickly, and sometimes they get
completely adopted and they’re in use for many, many decades.
EMMA- Was
there any particularly divisive sign? What was the sign that got the most
arguments going or whatever?
PATRICK- There
were a few where there were some arguments. For example the word queer, there
are some signs already in use, but some of them can seem a bit degrading, like
the one that is at the waist with a hand moving downwards. But, you know, some
people like them and want to keep them, don’t want to lose them, but some
community wouldn’t agree with retaining older signs.
EMMA- So,
the waist moving downwards, what does that…?
PATRICK- Yeah,
you, sort of, hold your spread hand out and your thumb bounces off your hip,
and that’s the sign of queer.
EMMA- Is
that what they used to say like limp-wristed?
PATRICK- Exactly,
yeah. And it would appear some people would say to have negative connotations,
but some people use it, so it’s fine. If
you’re content and comfortable to use it then keep it. It’s not for us
to decide what people should or shouldn’t do. Some people say they’ve reclaimed
the sign in a positive way.
AIDY- It’s
interesting because I think in general in language there are some words
that are looked upon as derogatory, and it’s obviously the same in sign
language.
EMMA- And
actually disabled people sometimes say they’ve reclaimed words too. Patrick, do
you see it that way?
PATRICK- I
agree.
EMMA- Aidy,
you have some additional questions.
AIDY- I
always have questions [laughter]. So, my next question: Emma and I always talk
about dating lives and our stories and this, that and the other, and I always
fill her in on my dating shenanigans. I am interested to know, it’s first of
all quite difficult in the LGBT world to date, and second of all to have a
disability it’s even more difficult to date. So, are there any stories you’ve
heard from your, well our LGBTQ+ community, but specifically within the deaf
community, of the hardships that they face?
PATRICK- Options
can be limited. It was funny, this morning I was having a think about deaf
dating experiences. And so there was a deaf event where many people got
together and I met this guy on the first night, and now we’re married. And
what’s interesting is that the thing that brought us together was being deaf.
It was a deaf event, people were there from different parts of the world, and
we just happened to meet each other there. So, it can be really overwhelming
for single men generally. It can be funny as well, quite comical. But there are
a plethora of different experiences. And if you want to meet other gay deaf men
then obviously the dating pool is smaller and, you know, expectations may be
greater. What’s your dating life like? [Laughter]
AIDY- How
much time do you have? [Laughter]
EMMA- Would
you go for another neurospicy?
AIDY- Yes.
So, neurospicy is a term, a new term that is being really ed and loved
by the neurodiverse community because we just like that word. So, yes I would
go for someone else who was neurodiverse or neurospicy. And I’m thinking
perhaps my future husband has Tourette’s and ADHD as well.
EMMA- Hmm,
maybe.
AIDY- Who
knows?
EMMA- I
need to know, Dr Patrick, how your interpreter is g neurospicy?
PATRICK- [Laughs]
no, well the interpreter is g a sign that we have neuro that’s already in
use, and the sign for spicy, as in hot food, spicy food. So, you take your
right hand with your index and middle finger pointing out, so all the other
fingers curled in, and put it up to your forehead and then pull it back from
your forehead to the back of your head around the side of your head. Yeah,
neuro.
EMMA- Okay.
And spicy?
PATRICK- And
spicy, so your fingers are wiggling, all your five fingers are wiggling in
front of your mouth to indicate hot food.
EMMA- Hot.
PATRICK- Spicy.
EMMA- Dr
Patrick Rosenburg and Aidy Smith, and interpreter Karen Newbie, thank you so
much for ing me. I’ve learnt so much and it’s been a lot of fun.
AIDY- Love
it, absolutely love it. And we all now know how to say neurospicy.
EMMA- And
Aidy thank you so much, as always, for ing me for this item.
AIDY- My
lovely, I will see you very soon with a whole load of neurospicy cocktails.
EMMA- Yum
yum.
There
have been some cracking learning disability related stories in the news this
week. And who better to talk them through with me than Scott Watkin in 2009
became the learning disability co-tsar, so he worked for the government on
learning disability issues. And he is now head of inclusion at SeeAbility, a
charity for people with visual impairments and learning disabilities. Hi Scott,
how are you?
SCOTT- Hi,
Emma, I’m really good. It’s nice to speak to you again.
EMMA- Yes,
because we have spoken over the years, haven’t we?
SCOTT- We
have, yes, on many occasions. And I’m thrilled to be here today and delighted
to talk to you.
EMMA- Oh,
well we are absolutely delighted to have you. Shall we just jump straight in
with the first story and see how we get on? So, we heard recently that Mar
Galcerán is the first person with Down’s Syndrome to become a parliamentarian
in Spain. She was elected to the regional assembly in Valencia this week. And Galcerán
might be the first in Europe to have achieved this according to Spain’s Down’s
Syndrome Federation. And what I love about Mar Galcerán is that she has worked
her way up. She’s 45 now, she’s been in politics for 20 years, she’s been
working on inclusive policy, and she’s also headed up a charity for families
with children who have Down’s Syndrome as well. So, she’s worked really hard on
disability stuff and now look where she is. It’s really impressive, isn’t it,
Scott?
SCOTT- I
think it’s absolutely amazing. I think it’s the power of self-advocacy and
people in Spain being able to use their own voice to get their voices heard.
And I think it’s a really exciting opportunity for Mar to be able to influence
the Spanish government and to influence the Spanish people. The first person
with Down’s Syndrome to do that in Europe, that is absolutely amazing.
EMMA- You
worked for the government and you have a learning disability. And when you were
the co-tsar what were the things that were challenging about someone with a
learning disability doing things around politics and around government? What
were the things that were difficult?
SCOTT- Well,
I think for me it was about how you represented everyone’s views with a
learning disability across the country, and their families’ views as well, and
how you took those to the minister. Because I think what ministers in
government like to have are the solutions to the problems as well; they don’t
like to always work out the problems for themselves.
EMMA- Okay,
so you have to bring them the problem and the solution at the same time. And
what about day-to-day work, did you have someone to help you? Do you think Mar
will have maybe a person or a co-MP with her?
SCOTT- I
think Mar will have a co-MP with her,
yeah. So, the one thing I had is I was lucky enough to have a whole team of
people around me to brief me and to be able to tell me what I was doing and
where I was going, who I was going to be speaking to, and to tell me how I
should be directing that conversation. However, I know, Emma, that what they
tell me and what I say are two different things.
EMMA- [Laughs]
so, you’re your own person and you always will be?
SCOTT- Absolutely.
EMMA- Another
story in the news this week was about Lily Mills. And Lily Mills is off to the
Australian Open to play in a learning disability tennis tournament. That’s
pretty impressive too, isn’t it? You’re all getting out there doing your thing.
SCOTT- Oh
absolutely, we are all getting out there doing our thing. And Lily is an
amazing lady to be able to get to do that.
EMMA- And
here’s a clip of Lily from the BBC News at Ten:
[Clip]
PRESENTER- Is
tennis the most important thing in your life, do you think?
LILY- Yes.
PRESENTER- Why?
LILY- Through
tennis I have lots more friends. It gives me confidence. It gives me an
opportunity.
PRESENTER- And you’re
very good at it.
LILY- Thanks.
[End of clip]
EMMA- Actually
Lily’s mum said on the news piece that I watched that one of the reasons Lily
loves tennis is because she’s better at it than anybody else. And that’s really
interesting, isn’t it, because when you’re disabled sometimes it feels like
it’s quite hard to find something that you’re better at than anybody else.
SCOTT- Absolutely,
it does feel hard.
EMMA- It
is. What are you very, very good at would you say? What are you better at than
anybody else, with a learning disability or without a learning disability?
SCOTT- I
think I’m really good for speaking up for people and really good at challenging
people to achieve their goals, and making sure that people get that right
. I used to be really, really good at my athletics and running and
achieving those goals as well. I was very inspired by these top athletes in the
Paralympics and thinking one day I might get there. But unfortunately I didn’t.
EMMA- And
is that because you didn’t practice enough?
SCOTT- That
is because I got a job [laughter] basically.
EMMA- And
you can relate to both Lily and to Mar, can’t you? You feel like your story is
similar in a way.
SCOTT- Absolutely
yes. So, I think we’ve all had very similar journeys where we’ve had to all knock
down barriers and smash it really out of the park to try and get what we need
at the right time. But what I would say to people with a learning disability or
people with Down’s Syndrome is that actually you can achieve what you want,
you’ve just got to put the hard work into doing it.
EMMA- Well,
you’re smashing it as well, Scott. I know you were told that you wouldn’t be
able to do lots of things that you’ve done as well. So, thank you so much for
coming on and chatting through this week’s brilliant news stories with me. And
hopefully we’ll get to speak to you again some time.
SCOTT- Thank
you, Emma. Lovely to see you.
MUSIC- Access
All.
EMMA- If
you spend some time on Instagram or TikTok, in amongst all those unlikely air
fryer recipes and pictures of cats you may have come across Nina Tame. Nina
only started talking about disability on social media in 2018, but she’s since
turned it into a job, which is pretty impressive. She’s fiercely honest, she’s
funny, she’s naughty online, and we are here for it. So, let’s get to know Nina
a little bit better. Nina, thank you so much for ing us.
NINA- Thank
you so much for having me. I’m so excited to be here.
EMMA- What
are the most regular things that you may post about?
NINA- I
mean, I feel like primarily my page kind of is sort of 50% I’d like to think
kind of done in a humorous way, like posts directed at non-disabled people
about disability. And I feel like 50% of my posts are aimed at disabled people,
just about kind of, you know, not being afraid to take up space, how do we deal
with the intrusive questions that often come with disability. Even down to
things like showing people how to a wheelchair on the street, because,
like, most of the time when I see somebody coming towards me and they see me,
more importantly, coming towards them, people will literally jump out sometimes,
like, into the road to get out of my way. And it’s kind of like little things
like that I talk about. The little micro-aggressions I guess.
I
had a guy once who pushed himself up against his van, so his face and his hands
were against his van. My chair’s pretty big but it’s not ginormous.
EMMA- Yeah.
You said the word micro-aggression; that’s a very big scary word.
NINA- Well,
one of the things that I really don’t like it when a stranger will come up to
me, spot my wheelchair, whatever mobility aid, and then ask me what’s wrong
with me. You know, “What’s wrong with you? What’s happened to you? What have
you done?” They just sort of want to know this information. And when I used to
talk to the non-disabled people in my life about it they would tell me that I
was kind of overreacting, that actually strangers are just being really nice to
you, just answer them, and all of this. And it wasn’t until I spoke to kind of
disabled people that they were like oh yeah, we hate that as well. And I say
the term micro-aggression because I watching a YouTube video about it
once, it was about a gnat bite might not hurt that much but if you’re
continually being bitten by a gnat it kind of builds up and builds up.
EMMA- Yeah.
NINA- If
it’s a stranger asking me a personal medical question, whether it’s a stranger
shouting across the street like some hilarious bit of banter about, you know,
have I got a licence to drive my wheelchair or whatever it is, if it was just
an isolated incident you’d probably just laugh it off and be like, this really
weird thing happened to me, this stranger came and asked me my medical
information. But when it’s happening to you kind of every single time you leave
the house.
EMMA- It’s
the drip-drip, isn’t it, it’s the drip-drip effect?
NINA- Yeah,
exactly. And then these little things kind of build up, and then people wonder
why… I always feel like disabled people are just constantly told that we’re
angry or aggressive or something else and it’s like grr, why do you think we
get so cross.
EMMA- Yeah.
So, you’re going to get a variety of different types of comments, and we’ve
spoken to Rosie Jones about trolls, we’ve spoken to other disabled women
particularly about the trolling on social media. Do you get that and how do you
deal with it?
NINA- Yes.
So, if you’d asked me a few months ago I might have said, oh it’s not that bad.
And then I had a post of mine go, I guess yeah, go viral, it got over a million
plays, and it was a really short post. I had glued some tiny little spikes,
like what you’d get on a jacket or something, little metal spikes and I’d glued
them along this strip and put it on the back of my chair in reference to the
fact that sometimes people will literally come up and just grab me and push my
chair.
EMMA- So,
you made something that might hurt their hand a little bit, just a tiny bit?
NINA- Kind
of. It was more of a case if somebody sees that they might…because I don’t have
handles on my chair. I used to and then this happened to me where people had
pushed me a few times. And I was like, I won’t get handles and then they won’t
try and push me. Apparently it makes no difference; people will still try and push
you out of the way. Now, obviously these aren’t actual sharp spikes, but it was
more the kind of visual of don’t touch type thing. So, it was a short, literally
a ten-second video. Oh, the comments! So, for me I am, you know, I’d say I’m kind
of midsized, I would say I’d count as plus sized in this country but that’s
because all our shops are all ridiculous and what they consider plus size is,
you know. But I’m a fat woman and I’m perfectly okay with that, very happy with
that. But those were my comments, it was just endless comments just calling me
fat. There was a lot of, oh well if I can’t push you I’ll kick you down the
stairs then.
EMMA- Woah!
Ableist comments about actually doing you harm?
NINA- Yeah.
I would say there were about 600 comments I think.
EMMA- Wow.
NINA- And
it really did bother me at first. At first I was like, ha-ha, and then after
kind of just reading them for a solid however long it really did, I had a real
kind of couple of days just appalling mental health, just really took it far
too much, sort of, yeah, just took it on board. And then I kind of had a big
cry and I got out of that and had to really kind of reason with myself that for
the most part these commentors are just – well not for the most part – anybody
who puts something spiteful on somebody else’s page isn’t a happy person, isn’t
a content person.
EMMA- I’m
going to just quickly go onto the fact that you’ve got four boys.
NINA- Yes.
EMMA- A
disabled mum of four boys. We talk a lot about the difficulties of being a
disabled person and those difficulties being, as you’ve often said as well,
about society basically and other people’s attitudes. But what would you say
are the best things about being a disabled parent? And one of your kids is
disabled as well, so being a disabled parent of a disabled child as well?
NINA- Obviously
I was born disabled, but I’ve only used a wheelchair in the last four years, no
five years, however long. But basically with my older children, although I was
still disabled I was walking around on two legs. I always say I’ve parented on
legs and I’ve parented on wheels. And, as you say, for me the challenges that
come with it are purely societal based: not being able to access places and all
the rest of it. But there is so much joy. My youngest is six now, and he still
loves riding around on my lap as much as he can. They take the mick with it. They’ll
get out of the shower and be like, “Mummy, can I just sit on your lap and you
take me to my bedroom to get my pyjamas on”. I’m like, “You’ve got working
legs; you need to make the most of them”. But it’s nice. They think my
wheelchair is fun. It’s got wheels. Kids love wheels. They just think it’s the
best thing ever, and they’ve never viewed it in that kind of pitying way. And
for me just being around the kids, they’re the main people that just treat me
exactly as who I am: I’m just me.
EMMA- Yeah,
warts and all and they take advantage of that, I’m sure. Mine have a little bit
of that too [laughs].
NINA- Oh,
they massively do. Whenever we play a game where I’m chasing them around the
house they’re straight up the stairs, nah, nah.
EMMA- Yeah [laughs]. I
haven’t been able to catch mine since they were about two. But it’s all part of
the fun. Part of the fun is them knowing that they can absolutely outrun you,
and you knowing too but still playing the game anyway.
NINA- It
is. We did it yesterday. Even down a hill they still manage to beat me. I start
off strong and then they catch me up. But you know, just things like that. I
can see other people sometimes, me and my youngest were at the top of this,
like, slope yesterday just ready to absolutely race down it, and I can see
other people looking and smiling because I feel like that in itself challenges
people’s ideas about disability, oh she’s smiling, she’s happy, the child is
happy, you know. And it’s not despite of.
And I
think having a disabled kid, I mean he changed my life really. I mean, all my
children changed my life, but having a child with the same disability as me
when he was born instantly it was like my disability looked beautiful on him.
And I was like, well surely I can accept the idea that it’s beautiful on me as
well. And he was a real starting point for me embracing my disability, feeling
neutral about my body as opposed to berating it, because there was no way he
was ever going to hear me berate a part of my body that he has the same, just
absolutely no way. And even when he started school, and we’d always told him,
if somebody asks you about your disability you can answer how you want, make up
a story if you want, whatever you want. And then he’d come back from school and
just be so tired of people constantly asking. And then I was like, he doesn’t
have to answer. This is actually a really rude, private question, of course he
doesn’t have to answer. And we said to him, you can just tell people to bugger
off if you want because they’re being nosey. It was that realisation that oh,
neither do I.
And
then it was the first kind of post I tentatively put up on my Instagram about
disability was that, was around intrusive questions. I think I was expecting a
load of backlash and just didn’t get it. I just got people going, oh yeah, we
hate answering those questions too. I was like, I’ve found my people! I grew up
being pretty much the only disabled person I knew. I tried to hide my
disability. I always internalised everything. I thought I was the problem, all
of this stuff. And being able to bring him up from such a young age to
understand what ableism is, to understand his disability, to understand what
he’s potentially going to face and giving him the tools to be able to deal with
intrusive questions and, you know, just to be able to empower him has been such
a privilege.
EMMA- Oh,
I love that. And that’s such a beautiful way to end this interview. Nina Tame,
thank you very much for speaking to me. Where can people find you online?
NINA- Nina
Tame, across the board.
EMMA- Nina,
thank you.
Thank
you so much, Nina, I absolutely loved that chat. That’s it for this week. You
can email us, we’re emailable accessall@bbc.co.uk.
We’re on X, formerly known as Twitter, @BBCAccessAll. And I’ll tell you what,
we read every one of your messages and we absolutely love hearing from you. You
can subscribe to us on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. And we’ll
see you next week, same time, same place, more disability and mental health.
See ya.
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