August 31, 2012
illness privilege*

it’s a privilege to have an audience for your breakdown

it’s a privilege to have enablers for your breakdown

it’s a privilege to be able to game the system in order to get or avoid treatment when you want to

it’s a privilege to operate in a tradition of pretty, famous, suicidal white female writers

it’s a privilege that some dudes love to play savior for sick women

it’s a privilege to be able to get an artist’s grant when you’re sick and can’t work

it’s a privilege to have an id and be good at forms to get food stamps and other government aid

it’s a privilege to be white and have people look surprised when you use your SNAP card

it’s a privilege to have friends with extra money and time to help you

it’s a privilege to have access to recovery groups and pain management groups

ETA: Someone pointed out that this post shouldn’t be really called illness privilege but something like privilege within illness. It’s about how different types of privilege (class, whiteness, etc) function within the medical-industrial complex. Obviously not every person who is ill would have these privileges, though many do. Most of them apply to my experiences—despite the devastation physical and mental illnesses have brought to my life, there’s been a cushion, or extra help to bounce back. I was about a week from being homeless when I got the first grant in 2010.

2:30pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/Zu71EySVmXhR
(Notes: 92)
  
Filed under: past life survival undoing everything 
  1. bumsquash reblogged this from mikkipedia and added:
    I agree that it’s an extension of privilege.
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