Inclusion & Invisible Identities

My disability falls into the category of “invisible”, meaning that someone can’t immediately perceive it from looking at me. And while I try to be as blatantly androgynous as possible, there’s an accepted fluidity in fashion and personal presentation extended to enbies who are assigned female at birth (AFAB) than those who are AMAB — that also means I’m sometimes perceived as being within the gender binary instead of outside of it. The fact that my gender identity and disability status are not immediately perceivable is itself a privilege; if at any point I don’t feel safe disclosing either, I can trust that they won’t immediately be assumed by my appearance. This is a very different lived experience than folks who have visible aspects of a disability (e.g. folks who use a mobility aide such as a wheelchair). I’m also white, so I don’t have to contend with the interplay of biases that BIPOC disabled and non-binary folks face. <a href="https://medium.com/skippering/inclusion-invisible-identities-535a4c8c3f77">Website</a>