At the end of last month I was awarded the North East of Commerce Inspiring Females Small Business Award in recognition of my work as a public speaker and with We Are All Disabled to challenge and change perceptions and disrupt the narrative around disability.
‘Inspiring’ is a somewhat uncomfortable term when it relates to disability and I have always disliked being called inspiring.
The term ‘inspirational Porn’ was coined by comedian and disability advocate Stella Young. It stems from the view that disabled people cannot live a normal life and that they are overcoming their disability by doing normal day to day activities.
Stella said ‘’We’re objectifying disabled people for the benefit of non-disabled people.”
As a disabled person I have always felt embarrassed and patronised when people tell me that I’m inspiring. At a recent networking event someone told me I am inspiration to them. This made me feel deeply uncomfortable and caused me to respond that I am just like everyone else.
Having said that, I was extremely honoured to win the Inspiring Females Award. Knowing that my work and the work of We Are All Disabled is making an impact is very motivating and gives me the momentum to keep moving forward. And being recognised as one of the most inspiring females in the North East business community is a huge achievement for me. It demonstrates not only how far I’ve come in my mission to challenge and change perceptions of disability, but also in my own self-confidence and self-worth.
One of the main challenges to participants in our Disruptor workshops is to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. So I guess my new challenge is to embrace my own discomfort at being described as ‘inspirational’!
Photo by Rainer Bleek on Unsplash
