Disability culture is real, vibrant, and created by disabled people. It encompasses shared history, art, humor, language, values, and ways of being in the world that emerge from the experience of living as disabled people in an ableist society.
This page centers disabled people's voices on what disability culture means to us.
Disability culture isn't about diagnoses or symptoms. It's about:
- Shared history: The disability rights movement, institutionalization survivors, independent living pioneers
- Common experiences: Navigating ableism, fighting for access, finding community
- Values: Interdependence, access, pride, resistance
- Art and creativity: Disability arts, performance, literature, visual art
- Humor: The jokes only we get, crip humor, dark comedy about our lives
- Language: Words we've reclaimed, ways we talk about our experiences
- Community: Finding each other, supporting each other, organizing together
There's no single disability culture. There are many:
- Deaf culture: Distinct linguistic and cultural community with deep history
- Autistic culture: Neurodivergent ways of being, communication, community
- Blind culture: Shared experiences, orientation and mobility culture, technology
- Crip culture: Reclaimed identity, disability pride, radical politics
- Mad pride: Psychiatric survivor movement, reclaiming madness
- Chronic illness communities: Spoonies, specific condition cultures
These overlap, intersect, and sometimes conflict. That's culture—it's alive and contested.
Disability pride is the recognition that disability is a natural part of human diversity—not something to be ashamed of, hidden, or cured.
Pride doesn't mean loving every aspect of disability or denying hardship. It means:
- Refusing to see yourself as broken or lesser
- Recognizing disability as part of your identity, not just a problem
- Finding value in disabled perspectives and experiences
- Connecting with disability community and history
- Resisting the pressure to be "normal"
The Disability Pride Flag was created by Ann Magill in 2019 (and revised in 2021):
- Black background (mourning those lost to ableism and eugenics)
- Diagonal band of five colors (representing different types of disability):
- Red: Physical disabilities
- Gold: Neurodivergence
- White: Invisible and undiagnosed disabilities
- Blue: Psychiatric disabilities
- Green: Sensory disabilities
Disability pride is different from the "inspiration porn" narrative that frames disabled people as inspirational for simply existing. Pride is:
- Self-defined: We decide what we're proud of
- Political: Connected to rights and justice
- Community-based: Found with other disabled people
- Realistic: Acknowledges both joy and struggle
¶ Ancient and Medieval
Disabled people have always existed. Historical treatment varied:
- Some cultures valued disabled people as having special spiritual roles
- Some provided community care
- Many excluded, abandoned, or killed disabled people
- Disabled people survived and contributed throughout history
From the 1800s through mid-1900s:
- Massive expansion of institutions (asylums, "schools," "training centers")
- Eugenics movement targeted disabled people
- Nazi Germany murdered over 200,000 disabled people (Aktion T4)
- Forced sterilization widespread (including in the US)
- Horrific abuse in institutions
Starting in the 1960s-70s, disabled people organized:
Independent Living Movement: Ed Roberts and others demanded to live in the community, not institutions. First Center for Independent Living founded 1972 in Berkeley.
504 Sit-In (1977): Disabled activists occupied federal buildings for 26 days, winning regulations implementing Section 504.
ADAPT: Started fighting for accessible buses in 1978, later fought for community living. Direct action tactics including blocking buses and occupying buildings.
Americans with Disabilities Act (1990): Won through years of organizing, including the Capitol Crawl where activists abandoned wheelchairs to crawl up the Capitol steps.
Not Dead Yet: Founded 1996 to oppose assisted suicide and fight for disability rights and resources.
Neurodiversity Movement: Autistic-led movement reframing autism as difference, not disorder.
The fight continues:
- Deinstitutionalization remains incomplete
- Employment discrimination persists
- Healthcare rationing threatens disabled lives
- Police violence affects disabled people
- Climate justice is a disability issue
- Disability cuts affect communities globally
Disability arts is art made by disabled people that engages with disability experience, culture, and politics. It's not art therapy or rehabilitation—it's cultural production.
Performance:
- Sins Invalid: Disability justice performance project centering disabled people of color and queer/trans disabled people
- Kinetic Light: Professional dance company featuring disabled dancers
- Deaf theatre and performance
- Disability stand-up comedy
Visual Art:
- Disabled artists creating work about disability experience
- Accessible art practices
- Exhibitions centering disability
Literature:
- Disability poetry and fiction
- Disability memoir
- Academic disability studies writing
- Disabled journalists and essayists
Music:
- Deaf musicians and performers
- Disabled musicians across genres
- Accessible concert practices
Film and Media:
- Disability documentaries (Crip Camp, etc.)
- Disabled filmmakers
- Disability representation in mainstream media (ongoing struggle)
- Disability arts festivals and events
- Disability-focused galleries and venues
- Online platforms sharing disabled artists' work
- Disability arts organizations
- Social media (disabled artists sharing their work)
¶ Language and Identity
Person-first language ("person with a disability") was promoted starting in the 1980s to emphasize personhood over disability.
Identity-first language ("disabled person") is preferred by many disabled people who see disability as integral to identity, not something separate.
What different communities prefer:
- Deaf community: Strongly prefers "Deaf" (capital D for cultural identity)
- Autistic community: Mostly prefers "autistic person"
- Blind community: Many prefer "blind person"
- Other communities: Varies; ask individuals
The best approach: Use what individuals and communities prefer. When in doubt, ask. Recognize that language is contested and evolving.
Some disabled people have reclaimed language once used as slurs:
- Crip/Cripple: Reclaimed by some as political identity ("crip" as in "crip theory," "crip culture")
- Mad: Reclaimed by psychiatric survivors ("mad pride")
- Gimp: Sometimes reclaimed
Important: Reclamation is personal and political. Non-disabled people shouldn't use these terms. Not all disabled people embrace reclamation.
- "Differently abled," "special needs," "handicapable" (euphemisms that avoid saying "disabled")
- "Suffering from," "afflicted with," "confined to a wheelchair" (negative framing)
- "Inspiring" just for existing
- Outdated medical terms (varies by community)
¶ Values and Worldview
Disability culture often values interdependence over independence:
- Everyone needs support; that's human
- Giving and receiving help aren't shameful
- Community care matters
- "Independence" in disability rights means self-determination, not doing everything alone
Mia Mingus and others have framed access as an expression of care and love:
- Making spaces accessible shows you want disabled people there
- Access is collective responsibility
- Building accessible worlds is an act of imagination and commitment
Disabled people often operate on "crip time":
- Bodies and minds don't always follow schedules
- Flexibility in timing is access
- Rest is necessary, not laziness
- Different relationships to productivity
Central principle: Disabled people must be involved in decisions affecting us.
- Policy made without disabled input fails
- Research on disability should include disabled researchers
- Services for disabled people should be led by disabled people
- Our expertise on our own lives is irreplaceable
- Social media (especially Twitter, TikTok, Instagram hashtags)
- Reddit communities (r/disability, condition-specific subreddits)
- Discord servers
- Facebook groups
- Blogs and online publications
- Centers for Independent Living
- Disability rights organizations
- Disability cultural events
- Condition-specific organizations and events
- Disability studies programs
- Disability pride events
- Reach out to organizations
- Attend events (virtual or in-person)
- Engage with disability content online
- Share your own experiences
- Be patient—finding your people takes time
¶ Disability Culture and Other Identities
Disabled people have multiple identities. Disability culture intersects with:
Race and ethnicity: Disabled people of color navigate both ableism and racism. Organizations like the National Black Disability Coalition and Disability Justice Culture Club center these intersections.
LGBTQ+ identity: Queer and trans disabled people are central to disability justice. Sins Invalid, for example, centers queer and trans disabled people of color.
Class: Poverty and disability are deeply connected. Working-class disability experiences differ from middle-class ones.
Immigration status: Disabled immigrants face unique barriers and contribute unique perspectives.
Some disabled people:
- Don't think of disability as part of their identity
- Haven't connected with disability community
- Come from cultures with different frameworks
- Have recently become disabled
- Prioritize other identities
That's okay. Disability culture is here for those who want it.
¶ "I'm newly disabled and don't know how to connect with others"
Start online—search for communities related to your specific disability or disability generally. Follow disabled people on social media. Read disability blogs and writing. Contact your local Center for Independent Living. Be patient with yourself.
That's common. Disability culture is broad—you might connect more with some parts than others. You don't have to claim the identity if it doesn't fit. Explore and see what resonates.
Read books like "No Pity" by Joseph Shapiro, "Nothing About Us Without Us" by James Charlton. Watch "Crip Camp" on Netflix. Follow disability historians. Take disability studies courses if available.
¶ "I'm a parent of a disabled child and want them to have disability community"
Connect with disability organizations and events. Expose your child to disabled adults and role models. Follow disabled people's writing and media. Center your child's own developing identity.
¶ History and Culture
- Centers for Independent Living: Community-based disability organizations
- National Council on Independent Living: ncil.org
- ADAPT: adapt.org
- Autistic Self Advocacy Network: autisticadvocacy.org
- National Association of the Deaf: nad.org
- Disability Visibility Project: Stories and community
- The Mighty: Community platform (mixed reception in disability community)
- Reddit disability communities
- Twitter/X disability community (#DisabilityTwitter, #CripTwitter)
Are you part of disability culture? Have stories, history, or resources to share? Know about disability culture in your country or community?
Share your knowledge: Contribution Form
We especially welcome:
- Personal stories about finding disability community
- Information about disability culture in different countries
- Disability arts and artists to highlight
- Historical events and figures
This page centers disabled people's voices. Disability culture is ours—created by us, for us, and constantly evolving.
Last updated: November 2025