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Are celebrities the best role models for the disabled community? I’m not sure


Selma Blair revealed her diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS) and has been documenting her journey (Picture: OConnor-Arroyo/AFF-USA.com/MEGA)

Are disabled celebrities the best role models for the disabled community? I’m not sure.

While it is great to see people like me on TV and in magazines, and to have the spotlight put on various conditions, I wonder whether celebrities can truly represent what we go through on a daily basis. Are they, with their wealth and privilege, too far removed from the reality of our day to day?

Actor Selma Blair recently revealed her diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS) and has been documenting her journey via her Instagram page. Just this month, singer and songwriter Sia tweeted that she has a neurological disease called Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and is ‘suffering with chronic pain’.

Yet while Selma, Sia and celebrities like them certainly have good intentions, I suspect my life as someone with a disability looks quite different to theirs.

I wonder if celebrities have to contend with benefit cuts or having care provisions removed? Have they had to attend a PIP (personal independent payment) interrogation to prove their condition to a complete stranger?

Have they been left at a bus stop in the rain because a push chair and suitcase was blocking the accessible seating bay?

There is still nowhere near enough representation to mirror the 13.9 million disabled people living in the UK to date. We don’t just need positive role models but also people we can relate to.

Being open and honest about your life and your journey is a great way to open a dialogue about disability but I’d like to see celebrities help fight the injustices faced by disabled people every day.

Have they been left at a bus stop in the rain because a push chair and suitcase was blocking the accessible seating bay?

For instance, Selma has talked about wanting to launch an accessible clothing line – if this transpires I hope it factors in all disabilities, both visible and invisible, because all needs should be represented.

I’d also like to see them use their platform and their voice to change how society sees and treats us, as unfortunately many disabled people aren’t heard and our views are too often quashed.

I have always found a huge deal of comfort from Paralympian Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson. Not because I was interested in sport (quite the contrary) but because the news of her giving birth to her daughter still stays with me to this day.

The fact that another disabled woman had given birth gave me hope for my own future as no one had ever told me this was even a possibility.

I would call myself a role model but it is something I do not take lightly. Being a disabled person with a public profile brings great responsibility to be as authentic as I can in everything I do, and I hope that is clear in my writing and campaigning.

I share my daily trials and tribulations in the hope that others find comfort and strength in my words and actions. If I’ve experienced something due to my disability, then I know I am probably not alone.

We all have our own journey and whatever that looks like, I applaud anyone who stands up and helps to bring disability into the mainstream. From what I’ve learnt as a disability campaigner, any conversation about disability, mental health or chronic illness that leads to breaking down stigmas and educating society is positive.

In talking about their conditions, disabled celebrities can be a source of hope. I still get a lot out of following Selma, watching her navigate the world and being candid and honest as she does it. Every time she pops up on my feed I think, I got you girl.

When I was growing up I was made to feel it was not OK to be disabled, that I was a burden on my friends and family. It’s because of this that I know how important positive role models like Selma can be in easing that sense of isolation. But to truly make a difference, they have to be relatable.

Like many amongst the disabled community I have internalised ablism that comes from the external oppression disabled people face every day.

I have found myself longing for acceptance for who I am, not just inspiration from a celebrity who by all accounts lives a privileged existence

Disabled people need aspirational figures yes, but we also need people who understand and talk about the challenges we face – people who really get it.

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