When inclusion excludes.

[WarriorN]

A shocking example of how diversity and inclusive policies completely forget people with disabilities.

Disabled and LGBT: 'Dad had to carry me up the stairs to the LGBT party' www.bbc.co.uk/news/disability-62011918

I really can't believe that universities are so very inclusive re lgbt and yet still can't get it right with disability.

Flags are cheaper than stair lifts and ramps 😥

I don’t think I understand Conor’s story. Was there no one who could sit down and help him with the PDF form? How would that take months to resolve?

Lucy’s story is shocking. It’s annoying how much performative “inclusion” seems to push out actual inclusion.

Well quite.

Disability rights and visibility are shockingly under represented or understood.

I recently participated in quite a major educational thing which will have impact on a particular area of education down the line, where the organisers wanted to lump what we were doing around disability, in with the "diversity and inclusion" section. Luckily the main lead for disability rights insisted it was separately placed. Which will have impact.

The whole pronoun thing is horribly un inclusive for some young people.

I always laugh when diversity and inclusion is all about LGBTQ. When I am at work, I am not interested in anyone's sex life. Why do we need a diversity of sexual orientations at work? When I am at work, I have no idea how anyone identifies, unless they announce it. So why do we need special policies to include TQ, how are they excluded in the first place? How can I exclude someone on the basis of their identity when I do not know said identity?

People with disabilities of any sort, physically, medically, they are very much excluded in many instances. But I guess helping them doesn't quite give the same virtue signal.

The whole pronoun thing is horribly un inclusive for some young people.

Thank you for saying this.

There seems to be a concerted effort to shut down the fact that there’s a whole class of people who, due to cognitive/developmental/intellectual disability, can’t ’just’ say the pronouns and be courteous. They can say what they see.

There’s a really good concept from early disability rights action: parity of esteem. V useful when thinking about whether it’s need, visibility or the loudest voices who get the most attention when equality is being discussed

Can't say I'm surprised.

You have to actually do things and change things to be inclusive we cant expect there to be money to pay for repairs when you have to pay SW to learn how to shit on every protected characteristic Instead.

I work in the accessibility field and none of this remotely surprises me unfortunately. We often have to point out that there has to be a balance when designing things to ensure fixing one thing doesn't exclude another group.

14 million in the UK alone have a disability, versus 1.2 million who identify as LGBTQ.

All the fuss about men wanting into my toilets when people wirh disabilities can’t even get into one anywhere.

chdck your privilege indeed

My work has rainbow lanyards which I am continually put under pressure to wear - I always ask which lanyard I can wear to show support for the students who can't access our buildings as they are in wheelchairs; or the students who have hearing difficulties but lecturers won't use the microphone; or the student with ASD who needs a quiet room for exams? Strangely enough there are no lanyards for things which would require effort and /or money to change. But performative rainbow ones and compulsory pronouns are prioritised

@MrGHardy you are 100% correct.

In a similar vein, but different, in my line of work (art and design stuff) we have an annual survey to complete and in recent years there have been questions about the importance of working with LGBTQ so 'their voices can be heard' 🙄
I reply every year that I couldn't care less about an Art Directors gender identity or sexuality (or age/race/their dietary preferences etc for that matter) I am just interested in what they are like to work with and how competent they are.

This exclusionary inclusion is not about the LGB either. It isn't LGBT+ inclusion, it's TQ+ only. LGB are excluded and worse by these politics if they wish to be homosexual and say no to straight sex. You'll find TQ+ people also excluded and worse if they have anything to share about their views or experience that does not fit the political narrative.

If you start investigating you quickly find the political lobby has gently encouraged a belief that inclusion means only TQ+ and the EqAct is only about gender identity. You'll find a gentle encouragement to do impact assessments that only look at other protected characteristics in how they affect TQ+ people who are disabled/pregnant etc. You'll find views that faith/culture/disability/homosexuality/sex needs that are incompatible with TQ+ politics desires are wrong and should not be tolerated, and people should abandon their faith, get over their disabilities, overcome their genital prejudices and surrender their sex based rights. You'll find a lot of equalities training given by trainers with absolutely no qualifications or knowledge of any of the protected characteristics other than their own personal experience of being TQ+. Don't take my word for it; go and check. There is no value of inclusion or belief in it; it has merely been a powerful word that has successfully manipulated the well intentioned and a bit lazy/naive.

It's quite astounding. Particularly that so many in positions of responsibilities have fallen for it without bothering to stop and think, including local and national government. This will eventually form the basis of the 'what never to do' guide for organisations in safeguarding, it's a national scandal.

You'll find a gentle encouragement to do impact assessments that only look at other protected characteristics in how they affect TQ+ people who are disabled/pregnant etc. You'll find views that faith/culture/disability/homosexuality/sex needs that are incompatible with TQ+ politics desires are wrong and should not be tolerated, and people should abandon their faith, get over their disabilities, overcome their genital prejudices and surrender their sex based rights. You'll find a lot of equalities training given by trainers with absolutely no qualifications or knowledge of any of the protected characteristics other than their own personal experience of being TQ+.

You are absolutely right. It's astounding.

Bloodyhell hopefully a movement I'm aware of and have has a small participation in, in the arts, visual arts particularly, may make steps to change this.

It has got to the point where I automatically think that any mention of Diversity and Inclusion will only be about the alphabet people.

I would argue that there are TWO classes who "can’t ’just’ say the pronouns and be courteous."

(1) As you describe.

(2) People who have a very strong sense of right and wrong, and who genuinely believe that telling lies is wrong, and that when the telling of those lies pushes a dangerous agenda that is even more wrong.

I agree with you completely, but I hate the implication that the majority of people are neuro-typical and should get on with prioritising being "nice" to people pursuing a dangerous agenda. As someone who is (I think) neuro-typical I don;t feel that I have any greater obligation to fight against my own rights by miss-sexing people than someone who due to cognitive/developmental/intellectual disability, can’t ’just’ say the pronouns and be courteous.

@GCRich - you are 100% right.

I am autistic and cannot. But if I could, I would not. It's fundamentally dishonest.

I will phrase my argument better in future, as I'm not after a 'special exception' for people with disabilities affecting speech and sensory processing - I want everyone to be able to say what they see.

Thank you. But you are also right in that you probably find it much harder, so whilst you might not be after a special exemption you should be entitled to even more consideration.

It's all lies.

People with disabilities and particularly communication disabilities are exceptionally vulnerable to sexual abuse at the hands of carers.

Safeguarding must be tight. There's no room for lying.

There is no room for woolly language and "sometimes it means this and sometimes not."

Any type of culture that panders to the whims of strong personalities and ignores lies for the sake of "keeping the peace" isn't going to be a safe one. Abusers have been proven to use their power of celeb status, domineering character and indeed, it is a fact, pretence of trans ness, to abuse.

This isn't saying that trans people are abusers at all. It's saying that there must be absolute transparency and honesty when safeguarding those who really are the most marginalised, vulnerable and with the least voice in society.

I work at a university and have been on at Estates for the best part of a year now to fix the accessible toilet in our main entrance. Months and months of waiting for a quote from a contractor; no suggestion to seek other suppliers or look into doing it in-house.

So much easier and cheaper to send out an email about pronouns.

I worked in a building once that housed a disability charity whose job was to help with Equality Act compliance for disabled people. Two of their team were on long term sick leave because the front steps of the building made it inaccessible to them.

It makes me deeply cynical; the illusion of 'inclusive values' is as shallow as fuck. It's purely cheap and easy virtue signalling and keeping up with the Jones's.

You've reminded me to start nagging again, and maybe CCing in someone senior.

There's a lot of people making a lot of money from EDI not actually doing v much other than declaring pronouns and dying their hair blue.

I find it slightly uncomfortable that the BBC says 'more students than ever are identifying as disabled'.

There are disabled people who don't see themselves as disabled but still need adjustments, people have always been disabled 🙄

Used 'disabled' too much there!

It's unfortunately pretty common. Some of the most 'inclusive' places I know hold meetings down a steep flight of stairs with no lift. Survivors Network in Brighton being one of them.