Alex Dacy, born with spinal muscular atrophy, uses her social media platform (wheelchair_rapunzel) to advocate for topics she is passionate about such as disability representation, disabled body compassion, and equality.
“That’s when I started sharing my story on Instagram; to have an outlet, to feel included in society and to contribute, despite no one hiring me.”
Alex graduated from college with a degree in Disability Studies. She moved to Chicago hoping to get a job, but after several job interviews with no offer of employment, Alex started to get discouraged. She states, “After several interviews and getting turned down, I was discouraged and wanted to give up. That’s when I started sharing my story on Instagram; to have an outlet, to feel included in society and to contribute, despite no one hiring me.”
Disabled Body Acceptance
One of the main topics Alex focuses on her platform is “disabled body acceptance.” She writes, “One of the main things I focus on, as a disability activist, is disabled body positivity and acceptance. Growing up, I never knew I was allowed to celebrate my body because disabled bodies were never represented in a celebratory way in the media. To the contrary, the media conveyed that disabled people only exist to inspire people and that our bodies are defective and not worthy of sexual pleasure. Let me make one thing abundantly clear: disabled people have sex!”
“I post my disabled body, one sexy post, at a time in hopes to show the world that disabled bodies are sexy, worthy and they matter.”
Alex states representing all body forms throughout the media is important to help society understand that there’s no one type of body that is worthy of love and acceptance. She was relieved when other people with disabilities joined her in the body positive movement by sharing photos of their own disabled bodies.
“The only logical thing for me to do with this newfound sense of body acceptance was to take part in order for others to know they are allowed to celebrate their bodies, too. No matter what it looked it. It will show disabled people that they can stop hiding. Because, we’ve hidden ourselves far too long in fear of societies harsh and discriminatory reactions,” says Alex.
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