Disabled, Queer Man Goes Viral with Inspiring and Empowering Hashtag
Written by Joseph • March 27, 2018
He’s created the #disabledjoy hashtag to help challenge perceptions around disability A tweet challenging people’s perceptions of disability has gone viral in the last 48 hours. Twitter user Andrew (@menajew) posted the following message on Sunday. ‘There’s a common misconception that you can’t be Disabled and happy. That you can’t express joy, and if […]
He’s created the #disabledjoy hashtag to help challenge perceptions around disability
A tweet challenging people’s perceptions of disability has gone viral in the last 48 hours.
Twitter user Andrew (@menajew) posted the following message on Sunday.
‘There’s a common misconception that you can’t be Disabled and happy. That you can’t express joy, and if you do, you must not be hurting or Disabled anymore.
‘I propose a new hashtag to empower us and show people otherwise: #DisabledJoy.’
The tweet, which includes photos of a smiling Andrew, has been re-tweeted over 1,000 times and liked over 4,000 times.
Andrew identifies as queer and disabled. In a second Twitter posting, he provided more information on this own particular forms of disability.
‘In case you’re wondering, I have a severe chronic pain condition and bipolar disorder.’
He also clarified that he wasn’t wanting to project the message that disabled people feel joy at all times, but encouraged people to, ‘Just share a moment when you did.’
Others welcomed the tweet and its message.
‘When my husband was first diagnosed with his auto-immune and started to walk with a cane, we decided we had a choice,’ said Caryn Downing. ‘We could spend every day being miserable or we could be happy that we had each other and enjoy the good things. It isn’t always easy, but we’d rather be happy.’
Spreading #DisabledJoy
The hashtag has now begun to spread. Other people are sharing photos and information on their disabilities.
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