Tag: Social Justice

looking up at stained glass window with geometric patterns and sections, much like the angles in an astrology chart

Op-Ed: A Reflection on Disability in Astrology

Michael MacLafferty

As a psychotherapist, I want to see disability destigmatized, to be recognized as a unique and valuable perspective in society, and for awareness to grow around the language that is used to describe it. As an astrologer, I want to see disability humanized and conceptualized as a multivalent archetype, not merely existing on a list of potential sour transits.

a still from the film "me before you" - an unkempt white male with long hair and a beard is looking to the side and sitting in a wheelchair

Me Before Who?: A Breakdown of the Latest Popular Disability Yarn, “Me Before You”

Michael MacLafferty

This post was inspired by a radio interview I gave on June 16, 2016 with Matt Savinar; you can listen to it here (audio no longer available). When I first saw the book “Me Before You” at the bookstore, with Emilia Clarke (Lou) and Sam Claflin (Will) on the cover, my first thought was, Oh, a… Continue reading Me Before Who?: A Breakdown of the Latest Popular Disability Yarn, “Me Before You”

measuring tape lays on a table with the words 'society killed beauty' written on it in thick black marker

Similar in Our Difference: A Call for Inter-Community Solidarity

Michael MacLafferty

I think queer folks are disabled by mainstream society. I think disabled folks are socially queer... We are the freak show of the mainstream (don’t even get me started on American Horror Story). We receive the projection of their shadow, the fear of the disruption of their “normal” lives; the fear of difference, isolation, dependency, subversion, loss of control. We actually hold a lot of power when you think about it.