11/12/25 - Fashion progress, internet abuse, and other insults
Hello again!
I had a bit of a busy day yesterday, with mostly good results. I'm still in the hospital, but working towards a bit of rehab and then home. As for links, here are three that aren't necessarily hard-hitting or newsworthy. They are focused instead on the sorts of disability issues we all deal with, that never completely go away.
“Exclusive, not excluding”: The Future of Fashion Show at London Fashion Week
Laura Wissiak, A11y News - Accessibility in Tech, UX and Beyond - November 8, 2025
"But surprise, surprise, disabled people want to be stylish too! ... Ever since I started working in assistive tech, most of the opinions I have come across fall into one of two categories:
1. I don’t care much for looks, as long as it works well.
2. I want to look put together, not like a cyborg.”
I have always neglected how I look, and only cared about practicality and comfort in my clothes and adaptive equipment. maybe one of my New Year's resolutions for 2026 should be to change that – to look better and bo more intentional about expressing myself through my clothes and accessories.
On Trolls
Jackie, Disability & Determination - October 29, 2025
"Unfortunately, with the positives of the internet and social media come some big negatives. The biggest one being that when people get behind a screen and can be somewhat anonymous, they suddenly feel a lot more emboldened. Social media is a melting pot of angry, hurt, bigoted, hateful, ignorant people who want to take out whatever they’re feeling on anyone they think “deserves” it. People who just want to make others feel bad because they probably feel like sh*t themselves (which is absolutely no excuse for the abhorrent behavior that happens online) ... These are the trolls I’m talking about, and sadly, they run rampant on disabled content creators’ pages.”
We need to keep talking about mean internet comments. We need to keep sharing tips and perspectives on how each of us calibrates our emotional reactions trolls, especially those who target is as disabled people and content creators. I think we all process them differently. For instance, I find it easy to shrug off crude disability jokes and insults, because they are usually so nonsensical. But more sophisticated and individually-targeted rants against significant parts of my worldview hurt more deeply. Maybe that's because more substantive criticisms, even angry and vindictive, often include some truth, or at least a shred of validity. But for some of us, stupid playground taunts are genuinely hurtful. Sometimes, names really are as painful as sticks and stones.
Event Planner Faces Backlash After Organizing Meetup That Isn't Wheelchair Accessible, Responds with 'Snarky and Rude Comment'
Cara Lynn Shultz, People - October 30, 2025
"After the situation 'blew up,' the organizer admitted — 'this may be where I may be more of the a—hole' — he explained, 'I responded with a bit of a snarky and rude remark saying ‘sorry I couldn't go out with my hammer and chisel the night before and make sure the rocky trails [were] smooth for everyone.'” ... The organizer went on to respond, 'If you would have actually read the event when we posted it you would have seen where it's located and that it likely wasn't accessible.'”
The responses to this situation seem mostly on target, and good to be shared in a resolutely mainstream magazine like People. Failing to make what sounds like an informal event accessible is bad, but not unforgivable. But defensive "snark" aimed at a disabled person who complained is inexcusable.
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