Stella Young's Quotes
I've lost count of the number of times that I've been approached by strangers wanting to tell me that they think I'm brave or inspirational, and this was long before my work had any kind of public profile.
Stella YoungI once choked on a chip at a friend's birthday when I was seven and had to be sent home, as I'd broken my collarbone coughing.
Stella YoungThe battle to find a workplace that's wheelchair accessible is a feat in itself, let alone an employer who's going to be cool about employing someone with a disability in a job you actually want to do.
Stella YoungToo often, we fall into the trap of thinking 'equal' means 'the same' and that we achieve equality by treating everyone identically.
Stella YoungThe magnitude of discrimination and stigma faced by people with disability in Australia cannot be underestimated. People do not understand disability, and people fear what they don't understand.
Stella YoungWe are a society that treats people with disabilities with condescension and pity, not dignity and respect.
Stella YoungI am not a snowflake. I am not a sweet, infantilising symbol of fragility and life. I am a strong, fierce, flawed adult woman. I plan to remain that way, in life and in death.
Stella YoungI use the term 'disabled people' quite deliberately, because I subscribe to what's called the social model of disability, which tells us that we are more disabled by the society that we live in than by our bodies and our diagnoses.
Stella YoungDisability is often framed, in medical terms, as the ultimate disaster and certainly as a deficit.
Stella YoungI don't generally talk about medical terms when I discuss my position as a disabled person. I take a social rather than medical approach to disability, and so long Latin names for congenital conditions are not relevant.
Stella Young