Stella Young
Stella Young
Stella Jane Youngwas an Australian comedian, journalist and disability rights activist...
NationalityAustralian
ProfessionComedian
Date of Birth24 February 1982
CountryAustralia
admit among buy cost earn eat jobs love lucky meet mention money nice pay reason rent work
Even those among us who are lucky enough to love our jobs would have to admit that at least part of the reason we work is to earn money. In between all this work, we like to eat out at restaurants, go on trips, buy nice things, not to mention pay rent and meet the cost of living.
certain hours number people work
The problem for many people with disabilities is not that we are not able to work a certain number of hours a week. It's that no-one will let us.
parents pretended quite worked
My parents didn't know what to do with me, so they just pretended I was normal, and that worked out quite well for me.
certainly work
Let me make this clear: my impairment is such that without a wheelchair, I can't do very much for myself. I can't get out of bed. I can't get myself to the toilet. I certainly can't get myself to work.
brave count lost number public strangers wanting work
I've lost count of the number of times that I've been approached by strangers wanting to tell me that they think I'm brave or inspirational, and this was long before my work had any kind of public profile.
accessible alone cool disability employer employing feat job wheelchair workplace
The battle to find a workplace that's wheelchair accessible is a feat in itself, let alone an employer who's going to be cool about employing someone with a disability in a job you actually want to do.
disability living works
The thing about living with any disability is that you adapt; you do what works for you.
given work
I'm a full-time wheelchair user. And yet, given the right circumstances, I am able to work.
create disabled environment hardly home obviously works
In my own home, where I've been able to create an environment that works for me, I'm hardly disabled at all. I still have an impairment, and there are obviously some very restrictive things about that, but the impact of disability is less.
accessible against asking bad discussion either employer gave immediate interview learned mark potential quickly straight wheelchair work
I quickly learned that asking if an interview space was wheelchair accessible was a bad idea; it gave a potential employer an immediate bad impression. It was either a black mark against my name, or a straight up discussion of why I wouldn't be able to work there because they had no wheelchair access.
almost bus caught certainly deal disability gender great informs life religion whether work
Disability informs almost every part of my life. It's as important, if not more so, than my gender and sexuality. It's certainly a great deal more important to me than my religion or whether or not I caught a tram, ferry or bus to work.
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When patronised, I'm unfortunately more flight than fight. Perhaps it's because I actually feel quite wounded.
agency attitudes consequences deny disabled full women
There are real-world, devastating consequences for disabled women marginalised by the kinds of attitudes that deny them full agency over what happens to their bodies.
anyone believe benefit concerned fraud money people services spent vital
Believe me, people with disabilities are just as concerned about benefit fraud as anyone else. Money spent on those who are not in need is money that isn't being spent on vital services to support us in the community.