PWDA member Caitlin explores what the 2025 theme ‘Proud and Free to be Me’ means to her
Thursday 27 February
By PWDA Member, Caitlin Blanch
The politicisation of human rights has made arguing for your existence in this society a norm. When we share meals and coloured conversations about the media, debate if we should or should not regulate systems and people, and lean into ‘not everything has to be political’ when the very objection to others identity is a political act, we challenge what it means to be ‘free’.
As we have seen, the weaponisation of ‘freedom’ in a bid to ‘restore traditional values’ has made the oppression of the privileged an agenda item; now, to demand inclusion in a society not designed for us is an attack on the rights of others. Open-mindedness is a forgone ideal, pride in diversity is a radical act, and wanting to think more deeply about the structures that structure us, takes the ‘fun’ out of life.
Open-mindedness is a forgone ideal, pride in diversity is a radical act, and wanting to think more deeply about the structures that structure us, takes the ‘fun’ out of life.
PWDA member, Caitlin
But what I seek to celebrate is not unity founded in close-mindedness, I want to embrace the beauty of humanness. Not sameness, but the natural difference between us that transcends borders and weaves itself amongst the most intricate parts of our lives. Amongst the glitter and glittering smiles, I found happiness in not having to justify why I need what I need to be me.
The intersection between disability and queer living experience is often understated, despite how important it is that they co-exist. People with disability’s sexuality and gender expression has been the subject of recent and ongoing discourse. The stigmatisation of sexuality as an experience reserved for the ‘mature’ has leant into assumptions that people with disability lack some ‘fundamental capacity’ to be human. Marching alongside PWDA at last year’s Mardi Gras, holding a sign that read ‘Sexual Rights for All Bodies’, empowered me with confidence, agency; it made me think more critically about the structures that say we ‘can’t’.
People with disability have been regulated by people without for too long. The politicisation of our rights, our capacity, and our existence, is something that has eroded my belief in equality, dignity, and choice. However, being surrounded by queer people with disability, who understand without needing to say anything, is a magical and transformative experience. It makes me feel proud and free to be me. To embody this theme, I feel most enlivened when marching with you, with subtle acknowledgements at meetings and events, a nod that indicates ‘I see you’.
being surrounded by queer people with disability, who understand without needing to say anything, is a magical and transformative experience. It makes me feel proud and free to be me.
PWDA member, Caitlin
This is the beauty of our community; of unapologetically existing and embracing each other. To show pride in me, is to reflect the pride that we continually share for each other. Especially when we cannot see it, but it is there in unwavering and unrelenting compassion to create a world where we are not a subject of discourse but others, but where our presence is unquestioned because it is natural.
It is a privilege to relish in open-mindedness and consideration, but I want that to be the norm. To sit at dinner tables and share thoughtful, intentional discussion fuelled by a longing to accommodate and learn more, is the world that I want to help create. By embracing the discomfort of not knowing or understanding, I believe that the fear we have for our own rights to be stricken by the acceptance of others, will shift. It will shift to a recognition that inclusion, equity, and diversity, make society more ‘functional’ to put it professionally. And more beautiful, to put it personally.
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If you have a disability and you are not already a PWDA member, we invite you to join PWDA and help us promote the rights, equality, and dignity of all people with disabilities. Membership is free and lets you join all our events.
You can find information about becoming a member and the application form in different formats at Membership – People with Disability Australia.
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