CN: disturbing statistics regarding intimate partner violence, extensive discussion of the impact of abuse, trauma, marginalization and the intersection of all three; brief discussion of trauma-based mental illnesses, and oppression as a result of race, LGBT status, socio-economic background, and/or physical/mental ability. The focus of Yopp has always been to discuss all things related to social justice and civil rights. But another important topic that emerged fairly early on was issues related to abuse and …Read More
Tag: ableism
The Practice of Allyship
This blog post was originally published as a subscriber-only article entitled “Yopp’s Guide to Being an Awesome Ally,” at the beginning of January 2020. I decided to share it more widely because it was such valuable information and I also updated it as my opinions and understanding of allyship had shifted over the years. CN: broad discussion of oppression I once saw a post from someone somewhat new to social activism saying he wished there …Read More
Celebrating Disability Pride Month
Disability is a framework that teaches you to prioritize the needs of your mind and body over the expectations of society. Check out these articles to dive deeper into the experience of disability and chronic illness.
Why I Stopped Taking Gabapentin
I am updating and republishing some of my early articles from this blog. Please enjoy this article, originally published under the title “Color” in March of 2017, about the early days of my chronic pain journey. CN: extensive discussion of the experience of anxiety, chronic pain, medication side effects, and medical neglect. Duloxetine was the first pain medication my doctor ever prescribed me, an anti-depressant that can sometimes help with pain. A year after I …Read More
9 Things That Blocked My Access to Medical Treatment
CN: detailed discussion of chronic pain, PTSD, doctor neglect, and ableism; mention of emesis. I am updating and republishing some of my early articles from this blog. Please enjoy this article that was originally published as “26” in March, 2017, and has been cross-posted on medium, about the early attempts to diagnose the cause of my chronic pain and other symptoms. When you meet a new doctor, you’re allowed just a few sentences to communicate everything about …Read More
So, You Want to Write an Article for Yopp
Please check our submission guidelines page to find out whether or not we are currently accepting submissions. As of August 27th, 2022, we are no longer accepting submissions. You can check our submissions’ page periodically or subscribe to our email list to be notified as soon as we re-open submissions. At Yopp, we seek to help any group of people whose lives suffer from social, financial, & legal factors outside their own control and to …Read More
Wait, Your Body Doesn’t Do This, Too?
I am updating and republishing some of my early articles from this blog. Please enjoy this article that was originally published as “The Blue Book” in May 2017 and was cross-published on the Medium publication No End In Sight in November of 2019, about the early stages of my experience with chronic illness and chronic pain. CN: chronic pain, ableism, images of mild body contortions I sat down at the bus stop. There were still a …Read More
Interview with Alice Wong: Engaging with Stories of Disabled People
CN: general discussion of disability, and ableism; brief discussion of racism, chronic illness, the pandemic, and eugenics. Today’s article is a first for Yopp: We have our very first interview! The wonderful Denny Upkins had the opportunity to connect with Alice Wong, an amazing disability activist who I’ve admired from afar for several years, and we are lucky enough to get to read the results of that connection. If you’ve been looking for some disability …Read More
What Is Plurality/Multiplicity?
CN: extensive discussion of plurality, dissociative disorders, mental health, and the impact of trauma, ableism; brief discussion of amnesia. For every type of marginalization you encounter, there will be an invisible barrier to understanding the humanity of those who face structural disenfranchisement that you do not. Even beyond gaining the knowledge that these structural inequities exist and have been forced upon an innocent group of people, we still carry with us a tendency to view …Read More
Hanging Out with Your Autistic Friend: A Guide to Social Inclusivity
CN: extensive description of the experience of autism including ableist treatment, triggers, and sensory overload. Mention of ableist term. Autism advocacy as a branch of activism is something I’ve learned a huge amount about just in the last few years, and one of the repeating problems the community faces has been how any “advice” on interacting with autistic people that’s published in large scale media sources, is exclusively written by neurotypical or allistic (the opposite …Read More