Rooted in Rights Blog

We’re here to challenge the status quo, pushing readers and writers alike to think beyond the tired tropes of disability. The Rooted in Rights Blog publishes pieces that share perspectives on disability, amplify key issues and ideas, and make it known loud and clear that disability rights are human rights.

A row of curved mirrors that distort reflections.

Too Disabled? Or Not Disabled Enough?

Imposter syndrome–the feeling that you are pretending to be someone you aren’t–slowly devours me from two sides. On the one hand, I feel “not disabled enough.” My first time voting, I couldn’t reach or see up to the tiny tables…

The bottom half of a person sitting on a floor, holding a cell phone in their hand. They're in a black shirt and red pants, and the lighting surrounding them is dark purple.

“Left on Read”: Coping with Communication Anxiety

Content note: trauma, abandonment, emotional abuse Fall comes around again, and I’m feeling like an angsty poet. All I need to do is find my Bette Porter to inspire my love poems. Alas, all I have is my Chicano Oldies…

White person with shoulder length brown hair in a gray tshirt and jeans. They're sitting against a wall with their head buried in their lap and hand in front of their face.

Justice Should Not Mean Bringing Up Trauma for People with PTSD

Content notes: rape, violence, systematic injustice I used to call flashbacks time travelling. Partly to make light of the situation – is everything really that bad when you can compare it to a Doctor Who episode? (don’t answer that) – …

A painting of Frida Kahlo who has multicolored flowers in her hair, bright red lipstick, and earrings shaped like hands. She is against a background of bright green leaves.

Frida Kahlo: A Bisexual Disabled Mexican Artist Marginalised in Life but Celebrated in Death

Content note: brief mention of cyber assault and suicide I find myself wondering how Frida Kahlo became such an icon. After all, not everyone can claim they are disabled, bisexual female artists of Mexican descent who attempt to live their…

An empty room in a nursing home with a bed, chair, desk, and window.

An Account of Being Sentenced to Life in a Skilled Nursing Facility

Content notes: toileting, neglect, isolation, institutionalization This morning I watched my roommate eat her breakfast on a bedside commode that had been full since yesterday. Again. I don’t really know which stench was worse, the potty or the shame. If…

A person with shoulder-length dark hair sitting at the end of a bed, pensively facing an open window.

Intimacy After Trauma: Navigating Re-Entry Into a Pandemic World

Content note: eating disorders, COVID-19, sexual abuse, sex, trauma How do you let someone love you when you’re afraid of yourself? I first asked myself this at age 17, anorexic and emotionally isolated by the fear of what my body…

A group of people sitting around a table having a meeting, including a white female-presenting wheelchair user.

To Meet Disability Employment Goals, Disabled People Must First Have Access to Care

October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month, so let’s talk numbers: In 2020, 17.9% of people with disabilities were employed in contrast to the employment rate of 61.8% for people without disabilities. Although there have been shifts in employment…

An old jail cell interior with barred up window with light rays penetrating through it reflecting the image on the floor

My Incarcerated Truth: How Solitary Confinement Affected My Mental Health

This post mentions suicide. If you or someone you know are in need of support, please reach out for support. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255 En Español: 1-888-628-9454 For people who are deaf/hard-of-hearing: 1-800-799-4889 Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to…

A pattern of of illustrated speech bubbles that have different emoji indicating harassment.

The Harms of Perpetuating “Illness Fakers”

I had not long been a part of the online chronic illness community when I discovered the Illness Fakers page on Reddit. I only saw it because someone I followed was being harassed, and their content being taken apart on…