5/25/26 - Listing ethics, the threat to 504, and an art exhibition

We're back!

I had a really nice week off. I hope you all did too! Let's get back to the weekday articles with three that present very different perspectives on disability culture.

Accessibility 200

Alan Schwarz, Forbes.com - May 19, 2026

"The Forbes Accessibility 200 highlights the biggest innovators and impact-makers in accessibility, from juggernauts like Microsoft to VC-seeking startups. Based on more than 700 interviews and input from an expert advisory board across all sectors of business and society, the list highlights companies, individuals, and organizations that make the world more available to everyone."

Lists like this almost always raise questions. For instance:

• Are all the businesses, organizations, and individuals on the list truly deserving? Does the list seem complete and valid, or is it full of obvious gaps?
• How are the lists compiled, based on what standards, and by whom? Are the people involved focusing on the right things? Are they connected enough with the everyday lives of disabled people to know what they are doing?
• Should we be praising businesses, organizations, and leaders based solely on narrow, superficial disability measures, and ignore other things about them that might not be so admirable? Or, should we hold potential list nominees to a higher, broader standard of ethics and impact on society?
• What s the purpose of lists like this? Are they meant to reward good deeds that can serve as examples to others? Are they intended to be useful guides for disabled people on where we might expect better treatment and opportunities? To what extent can lists like this end up simply as marketing tools, popularity contests, or even shields for bad behavior?

Main objections I have seen, and to some extent share, on this particular list include:

• It praises some companies that are in morally questionable businesses, like arms manufacturing – an industry that creates thousands of new disabled people in war zones, while further victimizing thousands who are disabled already.
• It overlooks exploitative employment practices in which some businesses can look like they are open to disabled people, but where actual disabled and non-disabled employees alike are often treated very poorly.
• There is some, but not much involvement of actual disabled people in the making of this list. And, it seems to value expertise from the provider/business side more than input from disabled people on what matters most to us.

I should mention here, for those who don't know, that for several years I wrote online articles for Forbes.com. I haven't written for them since November 2024, when the publication decided to stop accepting my articles. I enjoyed my writing for Forbes.com, but don't especially regret that they decided to move on from my work. I like doing this newsletter much more. And I'm not especially angry with Forbes for doing this list. Many other organizations produce these sorts of "best of" lists with disability themes, and they pretty much all have the same problems and benefits. I understand the value of this sort of thing in theory. I am skeptical of their value in practice.

How a legal challenge over gender dysphoria became a fight for disability rights

Anna Claire Volters, Stateline / The 19th - May 12, 2026

"But in a surprising move, nine states chose to stick with the lawsuit anyway, and in January amended their complaint ... They’re now asking the court to strike down a part of Section 504 that requires states to provide disabled people with services in their communities whenever possible, rather than in institutions such as state hospitals and nursing homes."

This is not a new legal challenge. It's been going on for a while. I think the most interesting theory is that the states attempting to invalidate Section 504 don't want to have an upfront argument about whether disability rights laws like it are good or bad, because most people support them. What they may hope is that relieving states of the need to support disabled people in this way will be a nice side benefit of their more public fight against trans rights. Which suggests that as disabled people we need to make sure we aren't distracted into thinking this lawsuit isn't about "us," or that we are safe since trans people have seemingly already been thrown under the bus. First, we always need to remember there are trans people who are also disabled, so "us" is also "them," and "they" are also "us." But aside from even that, the threat to disabled people's lives – especially our ability to live in our own communities and not be institutionalized – remains very much alive. And while it may be spun as a side effect, and not the main goal of the original lawsuit, the effort to turn the disability rights clock back over 40 years is certainly intentional. And now, for the states that are still suing, killing Section 504's protections have apparently become the main goal.

Near death experiences, ‘crip memes’ and the tyranny of the DWP: the new exhibition powered by illness and disability

Skye Sherwin, The Guardian - May 22, 2026

"The subject matter includes near-death experiences, religion’s obsession with purity, “crip” memes and the tyranny of government paperwork that those unable to work must navigate. Water is a recurring motif, from healing baths to marine ecology and pollution, something that’s grittily brought home in Avril Corroon’s creation exploring how poverty impacts health. The water dripping on to a deep shag rug in the artist’s work was gathered from dehumidifiers in damp, mould-blighted homes in Dublin and south-east London."

Some of the terminology in this article, and around the exhibit itself, might make the whole thing seem a bit abstract and intellectual – detached from disabled and chronically ill people's lives. But the subject matter, emotions, and look of the art pieces clearly reflect concrete, real-life experiences millions of us go through every day. I particularly love the way some of the artists make use of materials that are unique to disabled people's lives – like those always scary envelopes from government support agencies, and even water collected from actual dehumidifiers in over-humid nursing homes. It's disability art at its best and most grounded.

Disability Thinking Weekday is a Monday-Friday newsletter with links and commentary on disability-related articles and other content. You can help promote the newsletter by forwarding it by email or posting on your social media. You can also comment by sending me an email at: apulrang@icloud.com. Collected comments are shared around the first of each month. A free subscription sends a newsletter to your email each weekday. Benefits of paid subscription include:

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