#SongoftheDay I'm Walkin' (Fats Domino)

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I've been in horrible pain all day (pardon any typos--thinking and typing are super difficult right now) and I just remembered a rant that's been inside me since last year. So buckle up, I guess.

My partner and I listen to a classical radio station he refers to as "the old people channel" because it's very much geared toward older people. They regularly play radio spots from the head of a seniors' organization.

Last year the head of this organization did a radio spot condemning the media for its "negative portrayal" of older people by showing them using "walkers and canes."

I hear a record scratch in my head, which probably shows my age.

But I'm actually not a senior. I'm in my forties. 

I use both a walker AND a cane (not at the same time). And I would really love to know how using a walker and/or a cane equates to "negative portrayal" of persons in any age category. The only thing I can come up with is that disability = bad. It's bad to be seen as a person with a disability--a person like me.

Every time I heard this radio spot (and it was played OFTEN), I would say to my partner, "Didn't anybody tell this guy how ableist this sounds?" 

Not just sounds. Is. My brain is not working very well today, thanks to my chronic illness.

The saddest part, to me, is that I see tons of seniors in my neighbourhood who would clearly benefit from mobility aids, but they're not using any. I bought my walker when I found that I was regularly hunching over (at a 90 degree angle--no joke!) and I was so dizzy and weak I couldn't support myself with just a cane anymore. I ordered it online. It was surprisingly affordable. When it came and I zipped around my apartment with it, tears legit welled in my eyes. I felt I'd regained some of the freedom I'd lost. It was a wonderful sensation.

It makes me really sad to think that anyone who needs a mobility aid would hesitate to get one because some dipshit on the radio has convinced them that using a walker or a cane is somehow bad. My heart truly breaks.  

I love my walker. I am not ashamed to use it. I wish the world were more accessible so that I could use it everywhere, because my walker gives me more freedom and confidence. 

If you feel you could benefit from a mobility aid, you go get yourself a mobility aid. Be one of the cool kids, like your favourite erotica writer Giselle Renarde. There is nothing negative representation-y about using a walker or a cane. As I mentioned, I use both. 

The funny thing is that the radio station in question stopped playing those spots around the same time that they acquired a new sponsor: a retailer whose primary business is the sale of fine walkers.   

 

If you're wondering how you can support me in bringing you songs and anecdotes, the easiest thing you can do is buy my books (most are for adults only!) or check them out from your local library. 

Supporting my AudioErotica endeavour on Patreon would also help me hugely.

I'm also an Amazon Influencer, so hopefully I can make a little pocket change when you buy stuff by clicking through my affiliate links.

I also recommend subscribing to my newsletter. I generally e-mail subscribers with a weekly update, and I would LOVE to have you on the list. 

Click here to sign up: http://eepurl.com/R4b11


See you soon!
Giselle


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