Powerful ideas from top nonfiction
Try Blinkist to get the key ideas from 7,500+ bestselling nonfiction titles and podcasts. Listen or read in just 15 minutes.
Start your free trial
Blink 3 of 8 - The 5 AM Club
by Robin Sharma
Listen to the Intro
Disability Visibility summary
Alice Wong
First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century
34 mins
Brief summary
Disability Visibility by Alice Wong is a collection of writings by disabled activists and advocates, sharing their experiences and perspectives. It offers powerful insights into the disability rights movement and challenges ableist norms in society.
Table of Contents
Disability Visibility
Summary of 10 key ideas
Audio & text in the Blinkist app
Key idea 1 of 10
Disabled people’s stories are underrepresented in mainstream media.
When she was growing up, Alice Wong didn’t see anyone who looked like her on TV or in magazines. Occasionally a character with a disability would be featured in a movie, but that character was invariably male. And white. And, often, his disability was portrayed as having ruined his life.
Even today, more than 30 years since the Americans with Disabilities Act – or the ADA – made it illegal to discriminate against people with disabilities, there’s still little representation of disabled people in the media, politics, and publishing.
In fact, a 2019 Lee and Low survey of the publishing industry revealed that only 11 percent of respondents described themselves as having a disability. That means that the vast majority of people making decisions about which stories are worth telling are nondisabled.
The key message here is: Disabled people’s stories are underrepresented in mainstream media.
Alice Wong decided to do something about this lack of representation of disabled people and their lives. If she couldn’t find the stories she craved, she’d produce some herself. She founded the Disability Visibility Project – or DVP – and set out to create an ambitious oral history archive, partnering with Storycorps to collect 140 stories of disabled people leading up to the 25th anniversary of the ADA.
And she didn’t stop there. The DVP has gone on to use every possible medium to increase disabled people’s visibility. For example, it coined the hashtag #CriptheVote, and invited disabled people to live-tweet the 2016 Democratic primary debate. This created a crucial focus on disability rights that had been largely absent in the political discourse up to that point. By 2020, #CriptheVote had become so influential that it was even hosting Twitter town halls with presidential candidates like Elizabeth Warren and Pete Buttigieg.
Foregrounding the stories of disabled people is essential to the battle for equity and political representation. But even more than that, it’s important because it allows for a nuanced representation of the huge spectrum of people who have disabilities. And it allows disabled people to share experiences with each other, interrogate stigma, and shape stories on their own terms.
The Disability Visibility Project continues to do this work through its oral history project, podcast, blog posts, anthology, and any other avenue that becomes available – in the hope that in the future, all children will be able to see representations of themselves in the world as they grow up.
Want to see all full key ideas from Disability Visibility?
Key ideas in Disability Visibility
More knowledge in less time
Read or listen
Get the key ideas from nonfiction bestsellers in minutes, not hours.
Find your next read
Get book lists curated by experts and personalized recommendations.
Shortcasts New
We’ve teamed up with podcast creators to bring you key insights from podcasts.
What is Disability Visibility about?
Disability Visibility (2020) is a compilation of original essays by people with disabilities. There are too few stories about what it’s like to be a disabled person navigating environments designed for the nondisabled. This collection brings visibility to some of these diverse experiences, and shows how limiting our ideas about disability really are.
Disability Visibility Review
Disability Visibility (2020) is a powerful collection of personal essays that amplifies the voices and experiences of disabled individuals. Here's why this book is definitely worth reading:
- With its diverse range of perspectives, it challenges preconceived notions and invites readers to gain a deeper understanding of disability.
- Through honest and heartfelt storytelling, the book illuminates the resilience, creativity, and activism within the disabled community.
- Its empowering narratives inspire readers to question societal norms, advocate for inclusivity, and create lasting change for individuals with disabilities.
Who should read Disability Visibility?
- Disabled people looking for stories that represent diverse experiences of living with disabilities
- Nondisabled people interested in confronting their prejudices about what it means to be disabled
- Activists wanting to strengthen their movements by making them more intersectional
Categories with Disability Visibility
Book summaries like Disability Visibility
Made You Look
Carmen Simon
How to Use Brain Science to Attract Attention and Persuade Others
13 min
4.0
Words on the Move
John McWhorter
Why English Won’t – and Can’t – Sit Still (Like, Literally)
21 min
4.5
People ❤️ Blinkist
Sven O.
It's highly addictive to get core insights on personally relevant topics without repetition or triviality. Added to that the apps ability to suggest kindred interests opens up a foundation of knowledge.
Thi Viet Quynh N.
Great app. Good selection of book summaries you can read or listen to while commuting. Instead of scrolling through your social media news feed, this is a much better way to spend your spare time in my opinion.
Jonathan A.
Life changing. The concept of being able to grasp a book's main point in such a short time truly opens multiple opportunities to grow every area of your life at a faster rate.
Renee D.
Great app. Addicting. Perfect for wait times, morning coffee, evening before bed. Extremely well written, thorough, easy to use.
People also liked these summaries
4.7 Stars
Average ratings on iOS and Google Play
33 Million
Downloads on all platforms
10+ years
Experience igniting personal growth
Disability Visibility FAQs
What is the main message of Disability Visibility?
The main message of Disability Visibility is to amplify the voices and experiences of disabled people, promoting inclusivity and understanding.
How long does it take to read Disability Visibility?
Disability Visibility can be read in a few hours. The Blinkist summary is available and can be read in just 15 minutes.
Is Disability Visibility a good book? Is it worth reading?
Disability Visibility is a powerful and eye-opening book. It provides important insights into the disability experience and promotes empathy and awareness.
Who is the author of Disability Visibility?
The author of Disability Visibility is Alice Wong.
What to read after Disability Visibility?
If you're wondering what to read next after Disability Visibility, here are some recommendations we suggest:
- Neurodiversity at Work by Theo Smith and Amanda Kirby
- Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man by Emmanuel Acho
- In a Different Key by John Donvan and Caren Zucker
- The Story of My Life by Helen Keller
- Crippled by Frances Ryan
- Job Therapy by Tessa West
- Personality Isn't Permanent by Benjamin Hardy
- The Self-Made Billionaire Effect by John Sviokla and Mitch Cohen
- Psychobabble by Stephen Briers
- Equity by Minal Bopaiah