Stella Young
Stella Young
Stella Jane Youngwas an Australian comedian, journalist and disability rights activist...
NationalityAustralian
ProfessionComedian
Date of Birth24 February 1982
CountryAustralia
disabled doctors people
For lots of us, disabled people are not our teachers or our doctors or our manicurists. We're not real people. We are there to inspire.
best cultural experience physical social word
For me, disability is a physical experience, but it's also a cultural experience and a social experience, and for me, the word 'crip' is the one that best encapsulated all of that.
believe notions taught undeniable
It's undeniable that what we are taught as a culture to believe about disability is at odds with traditional notions of masculinity.
best job love people stories sure
I've got the best job in the world; I love it. I get to meet so many interesting people, and I get to make sure that other people with disabilities can tell their own stories as well.
combined echoes myth people sentiment suggesting
The sentiment of those suggesting the Olympics and Paralympics be combined is no doubt well intentioned. But it also echoes the myth that disabled people want to be other than what we are - that we'd like nothing more than to be 'allowed in' with the able-bodied competitors.
attracted ignoring notion relationship wanting
I let go of the notion of wanting someone to ignore the way I look in order to find me attractive, because really, what kind of relationship would that be? One where someone's only attracted to you because they're ignoring a fundamental part of you? No thanks.
came disabled early identify ideology invent late proudly teens word
I identify very proudly as a disabled woman. I identify with the crip community. I didn't invent the word 'crip'. It's a political ideology I came to in my late teens and early 20s.
given work
I'm a full-time wheelchair user. And yet, given the right circumstances, I am able to work.
best days entertainment gone labelled owned people stupid
In days gone by, short-statured people were not only labelled as ugly, stupid and freakish, they were often owned by aristocrats and treated, at best, as entertainment and, at worst, as pets.
incredibly means
In many ways, I'm incredibly lucky to have been born with my impairment and that it's visible. It means my path has been predictable.
beauty buy carefully choose clothes dye house leave outside rarely standards wear women
I, like many women, buy into patriarchal standards of beauty every day. I very rarely leave the house without make-up. I dye my hair. I wear clothes that I choose carefully for how they make me look to the outside world.
birthday chip choked home sent seven
I once choked on a chip at a friend's birthday when I was seven and had to be sent home, as I'd broken my collarbone coughing.