Disability Pride

Dispatches from a Post-ADA World

De: Ben Mattlin

Narrado por: Anthony Michael Lopez

An eye-opening portrait of the diverse disability community as it is today, and how disability attitudes, activism, and representation have evolved since the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

In Disability Pride, disabled journalist Ben Mattlin weaves together interviews and reportage to introduce a cavalcade of individuals, ideas, and events in engaging, fast-paced prose. He traces the generation that came of age after the ADA reshaped America, and how it is influencing the future. He documents how autistic self-advocacy and the neurodiversity movement upended views of those whose brains work differently. He lifts the veil on a thriving disability culture—from social media to high fashion, Hollywood to Broadway—showing how the politics of beauty for those with marginalized body types and facial features is sparking widespread change.

He also explores the movement’s shortcomings, particularly the erasure of nonwhite and LGBTQIA+ people that helped give rise to Disability Justice. He delves into systemic ableism in health care, the right-to-die movement, institutionalization, and the scourge of subminimum-wage labor that some call legalized slavery. And he finds glimmers of hope in how disabled people never give up their fight for parity and fair play.

Beautifully written, without anger or pity, Disability Pride is a revealing account of an often misunderstood movement and identity, an inclusive reexamination of society’s treatment of those it deems different.

Excellent

Well, rounded, thoughtful, thoroughly researched. Very accessible to those new to the movement as well as seasoned veteran and advocate. Will definitely be referring back to this resource often and recommend to colleagues and other advocates and allies.

Do Read

Only read this if you want to be a better person. Suck less, listen more. That’s not what the author says, it’s just a suggested strategy for people like me.

Informative and well written

I am so inspired and empowered by this book. Becoming disabled, four years ago was really difficult and this book helped me find pride and value in a beautiful community. Thank you, Ben!

Sobering

The sobering fact of Disability Pride is that the disability achievements chronicled are now being rolled back during the current administration at a rapid pace nationwide. I felt like a deer in the headlights reading this book from 2021 because I knew what was around the corner in 2025. Our country often goes through ebbs and flows and incremental progress in disability rights. Now more than ever is the time to be proud and fight to maintain and grow our rights, services, supports, and inclusion in society.