041: Ariel of @Carpe_That__Diem on Gender, Identity, and Disability
In this second installment of Lauren’s interview with Ariel, we dig further into his conditions and lifestyle: what his advocacy work means to him, his journey through the workforce and struggle to find employment with disabilities, his experience as a service dog handler, and life with thyroid disease, bipolar II, borderline personality disorder, endometriosis as a gender-diverse individual, and chronic pain. He emphasizes that these experiences are not unique to him – but that he is privileged to share his unique experience. (Again – if you hear dogs barking in this one, it’s just Caliban’s buddy Blue giving us a shout-out!)
Join us as Ariel shares…
- what a typical day is like for him
- that he struggles with agoraphobia
- his need to connect with nature
- what it’s like to lean on others as a Spoonie
- that weather changes can trigger his symptoms, and force him to focus his work inward rather than outward
- the expansion of his advocacy work
- his background as a college instructor, why he loves academics, and how his work as an educator influences his advocacy work
- what his advocacy work means to him
- how poorly our working world is designed for us – and the lack of accommodations and opportunities available, especially for disabled individuals
- factions within the disability community – and how the disability community is, however, also one of the most polite out there
- an examination of his childhood development, and how it has influenced who he is today
- his experience of discrimination when out in public with his service dog, Caliban
- that he used to use mobility aids full-time – and now his disability markers are far less visible
- that he lives with additional diagnoses, but chooses not to discuss them because there are already great advocates for those conditions
- his advice for other Spoonies or individuals confronting gender identity issues
- the importance of finding community
- the importance of his changed relationship to food – from dysphoria to nourishment
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