TL;DR

• July marks Disability Pride Month, a month where people with disabilities come together and celebrate their diverse identities and communities, as well as raise awareness to the ongoing societal challenges they face.
• The first Disability Pride Day was celebrated in 1990 in the United States, simultaneously as the Americans with Disabilities Act was signed into law. The act aims to prohibit discrimination based on disabilities, and since then, Disability Pride Day has grown into a month-long celebration across the world.
• The challenges people with disabilities face are ongoing and there are many ways we can all get involved, such as: Attending events for Disability Pride Month, volunteering at organisations advocating for disability rights, educating ourselves and others on the topic, advocating for accessibility and promoting inclusive policies, and challenging ableism.
• In the future, we want to continuously include inclusivity and diversity items in our shop drops. We want to hear your suggestions for items you’d like to see, so share them with us here!

Celebrate Disability Pride Month!

July marks the celebration of Disability Pride Month: a month dedicated to people with disabilities to come together and celebrate their identities and diverse communities, while also raising awareness to the prejudice and stereotypes often associated with disabilities, and highlighting the pride and voices of those with disabilities. It’s a month for celebrating diversity, as well as advocating for inclusivity and challenging societal barriers. On goSupermodel, we recognise the significance of this month, and although delayed, we want to properly bring attention to it and provide a space where our users can engage, educate and share their experiences safely with us and our online community.

What Is Disability Pride Month?

On July 26th 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act (shortened ADA going forward) was signed into law by the president, marking an important achievement in the disability rights movement that had been gaining attention and following in America since the early 1990s. The goal of the ADA was to prohibit discrimination based on disability in a wide range of areas, such as employment, transportation, and healthcare, and the legislation of the law was a big step towards not just visibility but also wider societal acceptance of and accommodation for people with disabilities.

Simultaneously with the ADA being signed into law, Boston held their very first Disability Pride Day, and since then, many cities across the United States and around the world have hosted events, parades and rallies during Disability Pride. New York held their first Disability Pride parade in 2015 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the ADA, and since then, the singular day began growing into a month-long celebration dedicated to highlighting Disability Pride.

Though the ADA was signed into law in 1990, people with disabilities still face discrimination and lack of proper accommodation, and the societal issues that affect people with disabilities are present in societies all around the world. Discrimination and barriers to employment, challenges in accessing adequate healthcare, and the lack of inclusive and accessible educational institutions are all struggles people with disabilities encounter. Disability Pride Month aims to bring attention to the inequity and societal issues affecting people with disabilities and reminds all of us to connect through sharing experiences, knowledge and action.

It’s important to remember that disabilities exist in a wide range and not all disabilities are visible to others. Mental health conditions, neurological disorders, learning disabilities, and chronic pain are all disabilities that impact people just as much as more visible disabilities might. Disability Pride Month is also about acknowledging the full spectrum of disabilities and reminds us to always be considerate and understanding of others, as we never know what challenges they are facing.

Get Involved

There are many ways to get involved with Disability Pride Month and below, we’ve gathered a few suggestions.

• Attend or Organise An Event: Show your support and learn more about disability rights by attending a Disability Pride parade, rally, or event. If your community doesn’t have such events, consider teaming up with a local disability advocacy group and help organise one yourself.
• Volunteer: Offer your time and help by volunteering in an organisation dedicated to disability rights, whether that is through advocacy work, providing support, or assisting at events.
• Educate Yourself and Others: Learn more about the history of the disability rights movement in the country you’re from, and take time to hear about the ongoing challenges faced by people with disabilities. Engage with art, literature, film, and music created by people with disabilities, and share your newfound knowledge with those around you.
• Advocate for Accessibility and Inclusive Policies: We can all help promote better accessibility and inclusion, whether that be pushing for improvements in physical accessibility, such as ramps and elevators at our workplace or school, or pushing for better inclusive employment opportunities, accessible education, and anti-discrimination laws in our communities.
• Challenge Ableism: Like racism or sexism, ableism refers to discrimination against a group of people and believing them to be “less than”, in this case, people with disabilities. Sometimes, ableism is obvious but other times, we can unknowingly carry harmful stereotypes or prejudice about disabilities or those with disabilities. Reflect on your own attitudes and beliefs about disabilities, encourage others to do the same, and work towards changing any ableist views you may have.

How have you been celebrating Disability Pride Month so far? Maybe Disability Pride is new to you and you're eager to hear more about its history? Or maybe you’re proud to have a month dedicated to celebrating your voice and those like you? Share any knowledge, resources, or experiences you have and let’s remember to be considerate and understanding of each other

A More Inclusive goSupershop

At goSupermodel, we’re always aiming to improve and foster an inclusive and diverse online environment. We’ve previously added items focused on inclusivity and diversity to the shop, either through specific shop drops or in collaboration with dedicated events and campaigns on the site. We want to ensure that inclusivity and diversity have a continuous presence in the shop and therefore, we aim to regularly include inclusivity and diversity items in future shop drops. Are there any items you think would be great to have in the shop? Maybe items specific to aiding those with certain disabilities or clothing items tied to a specific culture you would love to see represented on the site? Share your suggestions with us here!

With love,

The Inclusivity Group