OUR RESEARCH QUESTIONS

Could proverbs be a powerful way to transmit crip wisdom?

How do we embody wisdom - does it need words and / or shape and ritual?

white handwritten words on a black background, read: gathering crip wisdom

'The way it's always been' is NOT the way it has to be! For anything - the way you structure your day, your professional identity, being able to earn a living; using assistive aids, how you interact with your friends, family and colleagues (and whether you stay in touch), even the calendar(s) you use. We - society, culture - made all that up. They're social norms, not laws of the universe. You can change any of them to better suit your needs and desires.

Oh - and as soon as you can, find a community that gets it, is supportive and kickass and joyous to be around!

Brighid

It will all make sense in time. It's not you, you're just a 'different kind of rabbit' - this is one of my favourite lines from Toad of Toad Hall where a weasel is pretending to be a rabbit in court and proclaims that he's just a different kind of rabbit.

Julia

A busy black and white illustration, drawn during our crip proverbs workshop. Black ink on white background. It reads top right to top left in a clockwise fashion.
Listen - illustration description

I would like to tell myself, yes, you are. Yes, it is. And it's all okay. Or can be. I would like to tell myself, yes, you are hearing everything. It's not in your head. You can hear all the voices. And that's because of who you are and how you are. Your attention is drawn in many attentions and many directions. And you have a capacity to hear and sense and feel so much. And yes, this is overwhelming. And yes, this is abundant. And yes, this is confusing. And other people perhaps are unable to support you with this at this time. But you will find words and ways and folks to be with, to support you in navigating this and knowing it better and celebrating and resting and replenishing. Yes, you are gorky and awkward and wonky and your body is being pulled all over the place exactly because of that. And so is your mind. But this body mind becomes something brilliant, is something brilliant and beautiful. And just like all of the weird and wonderful queerness of nature, you are becoming and shifting and will change and transform. And that is to be celebrated.          

Luke

Listen to Luke.mp4
Luke Pell

Pushing through doesn‘t make you a better or more worthy person. Just because you can push through doesn‘t mean it‘s your obligation to do so. Even though society expects you to. The fear of “falling out of society“ is real and frightening - but crips are waiting at the margins of “normality“, ready to embrace and catch you with all their love, wisdom and heart. Trust.

Lyn

"I like being able to talk about my experiences with my disabled peers in general because I don't have to proceed things with 7,000 caveats and 7,000 explanations. If there is an issue that I'm having with inaccessibility, I can just talk to them about it and I don't have to feel the need to explain myself.”

Mason

A busy black and white illustration drawn during our crip proverbs workshop. Black ink on a white background. It reads top right to top left in a clockwise fashion.
Listen - illustration description

I think about “good things come to those who wait “and I don't think that that's true. I think that in all instances in my past, disability related and otherwise, if I waited for someone to come help me…or save me or….for someone to fix whatever situation or advocate for me, I wouldn't have gotten half of the joy and success and experiences that I've had in my life. Sometimes you have to be the one that takes action and stands for something. It's like the Hamilton thing, if you stand for nothing, what will you fall for?”

Mason

Listen to Mason.mp4
Mason Esposito
Listen - illustration description

no pain, no gain

where there’s a will there’s a way

you can do anything if you put your mind to it

silence is golden

we’re all in the same boat

strike while the iron is hot

a stitch in time is worth nine

don’t bite the hand that feeds you

there is no time like the present

here today and gone tomorrow

time and tide wait for no man

when in Rome…

what to do? (saying from Sri Lanka)

what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger

the early bird gets the worm

good things come to those who wait

you’ve made your bed, now lie in it

you reap what you sow

don’t cry over spilt milk

practice makes perfect

an apple a day keeps the doctor away

Don’t burn the candle at either end

— Rhiannon Colvin

Good things come to those who ask for help, have appropriate social infrastructures and live in a non-ableist society 

—Jess Thom

If it’s accessible it’s better for everyone

— Brighid

When in Rome, remember we're not all Romans - Lynette

When in Rome, ask for what you need!

No pain, no pain

— Katie

No rest, more stress

— Ruth

Silence is not golden - for some of us it is an exposing barrier

— Jess Thom

We’re all on the same seas, but some of us are lounging in luxury yachts, and some of us are clinging to broken rafts and some of us are trying to keep swimming without even a life jacket

—Brighid

What doesn’t kill you, might have knocked you flat, give yourself as much time as you need to recover

Strike while the iron has sufficient support and energy

— Jess Thom

Practice makes progress

— Emery Howarth

Perfect isn’t a thing

— Bess

One day at a time  (depending on the state: One hour at the time, one minute at the time, etc...)

—Brighid

The late bird is too tired to get the worm. When they’re ready, they have a nice cup of tea instead

white handwriting on black background reads, the shapes of crip wisdom

  1. Authenticity vs. Performance/Masking

  2. Rest

  3. Community, Kinship, and Interdependence

  4. Challenging Inspiration Narratives and Forced Resilience

  5. Redefining Achievement and Value

  6. Body Wisdom and Acceptance

  7. Anti-capitalist, anti-ableist stuff

  8. Grief, Loss and Frustration

  9. Language, Self-Determination

  • Authenticity vs Performance/Masking

    • performing belonging doesn't solve feeling lonely

    • masking as non-disabled will wear you out

    • intimacy not impressing

    • people don't love you for the work you do they love you for who you are

    • disclosure, to yourself first and then to others

    • if we're honest about our needs, we'll find the right land

    • articulating what we need

    • not having to explain yourself to people (other crips) who get it

    • people pleasing is poison to my mind, my body, my soul

  • Rest

    • not pushing through

    • there is no prize for pushing through - approval is a fickle thing

    • if you feel pain take a break, you're not lazy

    • taking care is the opposite of laziness

    • resting as a way of being, a methodology for sustainable living

    • the power of slowing down

    • things take the time they take

    • anti capitalist wisdom deep in our bodies, resting as resistance to the system

    • the difference between deep fatigue and being tired

    • body time not clock time

  • Community, Kinship and Interdependence

    • fear of falling out of society but an invisible crip community are there on the edges to catch you

    • relief and release from chatting with crip pals - oh, it's not just me

    • we are all interbeings, it's OK to need others, interdependence is human and beautiful

    • someone with disability holds so much practical and spiritual life knowledge that often isn't activated

    • barriers will happen daily, but you will find people who will support you

    • we're stronger than we think we are

    • hierarchies and tensions within community, am I disabled enough, visibility, division

    • being able to rant about things only fellow deaf folk understand - how anxiety inducing specific situations are, how 'mainstream' feels confusing, what it's like to have a voice that isn't really yours via an interpreter for example

    • allow room for all of those who don't belong and can't keep up

    • gleaning nuggets of crip wisdom

    • keep reaching out, keep being a safe place for each other

  • Challenging Inspiration Narratives and Forced Resilience

    • you don't have to be brave, you can be frustrated and resentful

    • you are not a learning opportunity for other people

    • crip joy is great but don't suppress the negative emotions

    • allow yourself to be soft too

    • it's OK to be frustrated and resentful and acknowledge it's hard

    • you do not have to be strong all the time because there is places that allow you to be soft

    • it's ok to not be ok, there is no moral failing in being disabled

  • Redefining Achievement and Value

    • give less of a fuck

    • being proud of small things that others might think are nothing eg going grocery shopping, and the bravery that can take

    • what's the smallest movement you can do?

    • don't take it for granted - your health, your body, your ability, your freedom - take joy in those things

    • non disabled folk complaining about confinement in lockdown - what's the end of the world for one person is another person's daily existence

    • reduce demands, increase resources

    • you are worth looking after

    • the important thing is not the thing that feels important. Urgent truth is quiet

    • measuring myself by how far I can walk around London in my neighbourhood is not necessarily where it's at


  • Body Wisdom and Acceptance

    • if you feel pain take a break, you're not lazy

    • learning to trust rather than fight our bodies

    • if something doesn't feel right for you, it's not for you, whatever someone else says is the truth

    • your feelings are valid

    • other people's lack of awareness does not dictate the reality of your disability

    • being OK with what is

    • don't punish yourself for fatigue

    • things take the time they take, slow down you have time

    • sickness is not weakness, be a wimp! I try to remind myself of that whenever I automatically think "don't be a wimp"

    • deafness is not your weakness its your strength, don't let hearing people get in the way of your dreams

    • other people's lack of awareness does not dictate the reality of your disability

    • difference is not lesser

    • be more accepting of weird as a lifestyle

    • it's okay, it's okay, it's okay

  • Anti- Capitalist Anti- Ableist Stuff

    • it's not me, it's capitalism

    • we want communal not individual regulation

    • this is both personal and political

    • reduce demands, increase resources

    • slower general infrastructure will allow room for all those who can't keep up

    • anti capitalist wisdom deep in our bodies, resting as resistance to the system

    • finding neuroqueer strategies for navigating the world

    • good access is for everyone

    • forced intimacy - something to resist

    • spoon theory

    • there’s a whole quiet army of slow creators doing great work on crip time

  • Grief, Loss and Frustration

    • navigating shame and guilt about being an outcast

    • we're stronger than we think we are

    • it's OK to grieve the person you wanted to be and know that you're larger than the person you imagined you would be

    • life doesn't have to be smaller, just different and still amazing

    • the hard work of imagining and building a new self

    • feeling the grief, rage - all the bad emotions you are expected to ignore or get over quickly. Crip joy is the goal but shouldn't be used to suppress the hard emotions

    • is my frustration a lust for life?

  • Language, Self-Determination

    • I wonder where language is tugging us apart rather than weaving us together? What are the strategies to talk about how we are together in our difference, in our discord, in delight?

    • importance of choosing our own language rather than that which is forced upon us

    • the world needs to adapt to all bodies, don't adapt your body to the world

    • articulating what we need

    • making space for the words we choose for ourselves

    • shifting into a welcoming expansion of who you are

    • you are worth more than this and it's possible for you to get it

    • creative outputs that reflect us, show us, validate us, advocate for us, shout about our lives and needs

    • the systems we all live within are not natural they have been designed and we can design different systems

    • what would it mean to desire imperfection, to take pride in it? yeah, I want to be bad at things, I want to learn to want to be bad at things

white handwriting on black background : crip wisdom with an arrow drawn towards the words new proverbs

Authenticity vs. Performance/Masking

you don’t have to be brave to live with courage

Small squares taken of intersecting strips and shapes: reds, blues, greens. When the strips of colour cross they are changed by one another, a bit like ideas in a conversation. The background of the image is textured, like fancy paper

Redefining Achievement and Value

Rest

the sun shines on everyone equally

prejudice and greed cast the shadows

if you can’t beat the system

hack it

Grief, loss and frustration

Small squares taken of intersecting strips and shapes: reds, blues, greens. When the strips of colour cross they are changed by one another, a bit like ideas in a conversation. The background of the image is textured, like fancy paper

Challenging Inspiration Narratives and Forced Resilience

Body Wisdom and Acceptance

slow down

the gold is in the spaces in-between

Small squares taken of intersecting strips and shapes: reds, blues, greens. When the strips of colour cross they are changed by one another, a bit like ideas in a conversation. The background of the image is textured, like fancy paper

one person's small step is another’s giant leap

celebrate both

Small squares taken of intersecting strips and shapes: reds, blues, greens. When the strips of colour cross they are changed by one another, a bit like ideas in a conversation. The background of the image is textured, like fancy paper

celebrate every speck of dust

Small squares taken of intersecting strips and shapes: reds, blues, greens. When the strips of colour cross they are changed by one another, a bit like ideas in a conversation. The background of the image is textured, like fancy paper

Community, Kinship, and Interdependence

show your true self so your truest friends can find you

it’s OK to grieve the person you wanted to be - and know you’re even more than the person you imagined you would be

whistles and bells might get us noticed

but not truly seen

some of us need to follow quiet threads

strength is not everything, allow softness in the struggle

Small squares taken of intersecting strips and shapes: reds, blues, greens. When the strips of colour cross they are changed by one another, a bit like ideas in a conversation. The background of the image is textured, like fancy paper

some of the most beautiful plants live in the cracks

Small squares taken of intersecting strips and shapes: reds, blues, greens. When the strips of colour cross they are changed by one another, a bit like ideas in a conversation. The background of the image is textured, like fancy paper
Small squares taken of intersecting strips and shapes: reds, blues, greens. When the strips of colour cross they are changed by one another, a bit like ideas in a conversation. The background of the image is textured, like fancy paper

machines push through til they break

bodies have a choice

Anti-capitalist, anti-ableist stuff

grant everyone the power and the dignity of using their own words

Language, self determination

white handwriting on black background reads, oh, one last thing… (a couple of things)

Once when I was working at a middle school I had  a conversation with a girl who wasn't more than 11 years old and we were talking about disability and talking about my Tourette's and she asked me if I gave you a million dollars would you get rid of your Tourette's and I made a little bit of a joke about it and said honey I would give you a million dollars if you could get rid of my Tourette's and she responded by saying that's not what you're supposed to say. What you're supposed to say is that it made you who you are and you wouldn't change it for anything.

People say things like ADHD is your superpower… And I think about those kinds of things in the sense of, like I think that it makes people feel better to think that…people aren't struggling and also if I wouldn't change my Tourette's for anything and if my ADHD is my superpower then it absolves the greater community from providing people with disability systemic support and also invites ableism and invites that kind of mistreatment, because if my autism is my superpower why am I still struggling with socialising.          

Mason

Listen to Mason.mp4
Mason Esposito

Phrases using blindness or seeing are usually about incompetence or an inability to comprehend like - love is blind - blind as a bat. Actually bats are amazing at navigating.

I have a very fond memory of singing ‘I can see clearly now the rain has gone’ with a group of Visually Impaired (VI) friends at a karaoke many years ago. Somehow, it felt like a very humorous reclaiming of the lyrics in a public space and highlighted, for us, the absurdly of the lyrics. I don’t think we were at all concerned with how the non-disabled people in the room reacted to it. I guess it highlighted the power of Crip Camaraderie.

Access is a means not just to participation but…also pleasure-based practices…we’re owed a perk where we can score one

— Alice Holland
A very busy hand drawn illustration of all three prompts and all three previously described illustrations.
Listen - illustration description

Lead Artist Researcher : Raquel Meseguer Zafe

Movement Artist : Ania Varez

Collaborating Artist and web zine design : Anna Starkey

Illustrations : Jazz Thompson

Collective Credit - thank you to everyone who participated in the online workshop or responded to our survey or instagram post. We couldn’t include every single thing you all said or this zine would be miles long, but we’ve tried to pull out the threads, and all of your wisdom has informed and influenced this work.

Alex Kenney, Alice Holland, Bee, Bess Williamson, Dominic, Emery Howarth, Jana, Jess Thom, JINGYI, Katie, Katami, Lisa Derrick, Luke Pell, Lyn, Lynette, Mandy, Mason Esposito, Michelle Laise, Mirabelle, Nina, Pilar Sanchez, Regina Beach, Rhiannon Colvin, Ruth Hennell, Sarah Pickthall, Tommy Shakes, Wren

〰️

Alex Kenney, Alice Holland, Bee, Bess Williamson, Dominic, Emery Howarth, Jana, Jess Thom, JINGYI, Katie, Katami, Lisa Derrick, Luke Pell, Lyn, Lynette, Mandy, Mason Esposito, Michelle Laise, Mirabelle, Nina, Pilar Sanchez, Regina Beach, Rhiannon Colvin, Ruth Hennell, Sarah Pickthall, Tommy Shakes, Wren 〰️