July is Disability Pride Month—a time to honor the beauty, complexity, and strength of the disabled community.
But what does Disability Pride actually mean? Spoiler: it's not about pretending everything is easy or perfect, and it's not about fantasizing disability. It’s about acceptance. It’s about wholeness. And it’s about finding joy—not in spite of disability, but within the fullness of our disabled identities.
So calling anyone who’s ever wondered what disability pride really means — whether you’re disabled yourself, exploring your relationship to disability, or learning how to be a better ally; this post is for you.
🧠 What Is Disability Pride Month?
Disability Pride Month originated in July 1990, the same month the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law (July 26th). While awareness days often focus on conditions, cures, or prevention, Disability Pride Month is something different. It’s a celebration and recognition of identity.
It's a reminder that disability is not a defect to be hidden or pitied—it's a natural part of human diversity. Disability Pride Month is for those of us living with visible and invisible disabilities. It’s a time to amplify our stories, fight against ableism, and celebrate the power, culture, and creativity of our community.
Disabled people face real barriers—social, medical, physical, and institutional. Pride doesn’t erase that. But it refuses to let those barriers define us.
🏳️🌈 What the Disability Pride Flag Means
Did you even know it existed? Probably not. For those who have seen the bold, diagonal-striped Disability Pride Flag— have you ever looked into what it really represents?
The updated flag, redesigned by Ann Magill in 2021 to be more accessible, is full of deep symbolism:
- Charcoal Grey background: Represents mourning and rage for disabled people who have been lost due to their disability, ableism, neglect, suicide, and violence.
- Diagonal stripes: Intended to signify light cutting through the darkness and barriers those in the disabled community face, progress.
Color Stripes:
- Red: Physical disabilities
- Gold: Cognitive and intellectual disabilities / Neurodivergence
- White: Invisible and undiagnosed disabilities
- Blue: Emotional and psychiatric disabilities
- Green: Sensory disabilities
It’s not just a flag—it’s a declaration: We are here. We are multifaceted. And we are united in our diversity.
🔥 Why Disability Pride Still Matters Today
In a world that continues to see disability as a flaw, and often erases or overlooks disabled experiences, choosing pride is radical. Disability Pride Month is an act of resistance. It challenges the narrative that our worth is tied to productivity or perfection. It combats the pressure to be “inspiring” just for existing.
Too often, we’re told to be quiet about our needs. We’re encouraged to “pass” or mask to make others comfortable. We’re shamed for using mobility aids, for needing rest, for existing outside of productivity culture and social standards. And that emotional labor? It’s invisible to most.
That’s why pride matters. It’s not just waving a flag — it’s:
- Being unapologetic about using accommodations
- Refusing to shrink to fit “normal”
- Finding joy in our disabled bodies and minds
Disability Pride Month also reminds society that accessibility and inclusion aren't optional—they’re essential and should be standard. It's a deeply personal and political act of visibility. Whether it’s representation in media, inclusive design, or equitable healthcare, we still have a long way to go. And pride fuels that journey.
🌿 My Journey to Disability Pride: Embracing vs. “Overcoming”
For years, I thought being disabled meant I had to either “overcome” it or quietly carry the weight of it on my own. It took me a long time to see my disability as more than a burden. Honestly, pride was probably the last thing I felt in those times.
More often than not, I felt insecure. I felt isolated. I felt like I had to prove my worth despite my disability.
But something changed.
It wasn’t one big moment, but a slow series of realizations:
- That I wasn’t alone. There are others who get it—who live it—and who are proud, not because life is easy, but because we’re still here.
- That there’s power in saying, “This is who I am, and I’m not broken.”
- That my life didn’t start when I became “better.” It started when I became whole—disability and all.
Pride showed up when I stopped hiding. When I spoke openly about pain. When I let go of the idea that needing help was shameful. When I met others who looked, moved, or felt like me. When I stopped letting the words and actions of others define who I showed up as.
I learned: There’s strength in naming our truth. There’s solidarity in shared experience. There's security in learning how to love yourself as you are. And there’s immense beauty in how disabled people create, connect, and thrive—despite systems built without us in mind.
💬 Your Turn: What Does Disability Pride Mean to You?
This Disability Pride Month, I want to hear your story.
- 🌀 What does disability pride mean to you?
- 🌿 What are you proud of this month?
- ✨ How do you honor your disabled identity—or support someone else’s?
Let’s make space for our voices. Leave a comment, send me a DM on socials, or share your own stories and tag your posts with #ExclusivelySouled so I can celebrate and uplift your stories all month long.
Together, let’s redefine and spread what disability pride really means.
Hashtags:
#DisabilityPrideMonth | #DisabledAndProud | #ExclusivelySouled | #DisabilityPride | #AccessibilityMatters | #InclusionForAll
✍ Until Next Time,
Exclusively Souled ✌
.png)
0 Comments