So, if you follow me on twitter you’ve probably been seeing me use “#WeAreMore” a lot lately, and you’re probably like, “What the heck is that all about?”. I know I talked about it a little in my “I Look Sick In My Blue Genes” blog post, and in the podcast I did with Levine Media Group and Global Genes. I’m going to clear it all up now!
We Are More is a new advocacy initiative that I’m so excited about. We Are More is a group of chronically ill and disabled young adults who want to show the world that we are more than our illnesses and disabilities. We are not disease specific, and our board reflects this.
Something we have found is the media does a terrible job at portraying disabled young adults (refer to my blog “Media Madness”). “…is it too much to ask for there to be some disability representation in the media? Sure, there’s that one girl in a wheel chair in that one episode where the main characters are learning a lesson about kindness and acceptance. And sure, there are shows like Red Band Society or Chasing Life. But, in their attempt to be inclusive and educational, these shows actually perpetuate ableist culture.” – quote from “Media Madness”. Our goal is to change the way society thinks through the medium of media. We will eventually be starting a YouTube channel and doing other advocacy through social media.
Our first project is making a two and half or so minute “trailer” to give people a taste of who we are and what we plan on doing. We will be including videos, pictures, and interviews that show, while yes we are sick, that doesn’t define us. We are more than that.
If you have an interest in being involved or seeing how you can support our project email contact.sickchick@gmail.com
Xoxo,
Sick Chick