Frequently Asked Questions About RepDISND • Just Geeking By

Below are some frequently asked questions about repDISND. If you have any additional questions please let me know in a comment below, or if you would prefer to ask something privately you can use the form on the main page.

I want to take part, but I don’t feel comfortable using my real name

That is not a problem! You can use whatever name or alias you wish to use.

I’m not sure that I count as disabled or neurodivergent…

Please come talk to me! You can find me on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram (drop me a comment first as I had to close my DMs due to spammers 🙁 )

I want to take part, but my health isn’t stable, and I don’t want to let anyone down 🙁

Your health will always come first, and you will not be letting anyone down. There is no “official” sign-up for repDISND. My own health likes throwing hurdles in my way often so you will only get understanding from me, not judgment 🙂 You can participate as and when you can.

I’m not disabled or neurodivergent and would like to take part in repDISND. Can I?

I thought long and hard about this, and the answer is no. It is our space, our time and our voices that need to be heard. What we need more than anything is your support and for you to amplify disabled and neurodivergent voices during July while we talk about disabled and neurodivergent representation. I’ve written more about how non-disabled people take part in repDISND by supporting the disabled and neurodivergent community here.

How can I do to support repDISND?

Firstly, thank you for your support! You can find out more about how you can support repDISND here.

I want to know more about disabled and neurodivergent representation, where do I start?

I recommend checking out the following articles:
LSU Media: “Representation of Disability in Entertainment”
Center for Disability Rights: ” “Nothing About Us Without Us” – Disability Representation in Media”
Palatinate: “Ableism in the arts: from Sia to Rain Man”
Rooted in Rights: “An Open Letter to Hollywood: Inauthentic Representation of Disability Isn’t Representation At All”
The Mighty: “Why Disability Representation in Hollywood Is Not Just About Talent”
Dark Matter Zine: “Fearsome freaks: how the dominant discourse disenfranchises people with albinism”

The important thing is to ensure that the articles you are reading are written by disabled and neurodivergent people in their own voice.

Who created the logo for repDISND?

I did.

Why did you change the name of GeekDis to repDISND?

Over the years, GeekDis has grown larger than I ever expected it to become, bigger than just an event that was a part of my blog. As a result of this and future plans, I felt that it was time to move to a more neutral name that was separate from Just Geeking By.

Why was GeekDis/repDISND originally in September, and why did you move it to July after two years?

I came up with the idea for GeekDis towards the end of June, which would have made it difficult to prepare for July. I’m aware that not everyone feels comfortable with the idea of a Disability Pride month, and it also felt extremely pretentious to presume that I had the right to hold my event at the same time. I knew I needed time to prepare for the event and chose September as it has no major events connected to it (October has Halloween and November is too close to Christmas).

During Disability Pride Month in 2022 I noticed that there was a large amount of ignorance regarding accurate disability representation. Too many people were making lists of books that had disabled characters without doing any research about whether the books contained harmful representations. They also were only sharing bestsellers, books that they had obviously heard about, and the majority of them were written by non-disabled authors.

After two years, I felt that the event was now established enough that it wouldn’t feel as though I was stepping on any toes. I had also come to realise that September was not the best time of year for an event, whereas July is the start of summer and people have more free time.

I don’t celebrate/like Disability Pride month…

To be clear repDISND coincides with Disability Pride month, however, it is not designed to be a part of it. Some people do combine the two, and that is perfectly fine, but I’m aware that the event, especially the name of it, brings up some very complicated thoughts and feelings. I respect that and do not want anyone to feel they have to be a part of one event to be involved with the other.
I mentioned my reasons for moving this event to July in question above, and it coinciding with Disability Pride month is not an accident. I realised I was trying to educate people at a time when they weren’t paying attention. So even if you don’t celebrate or like the event, keep in mind that it is a time when people outside our community are thinking about us. It’s the time that we can grab their attention and say ‘hey actually, this is the representation we need and want!’.

Is there any payment for participants?

No, I’m afraid that this is just a small event run by myself to help raise awareness about disabilities and the need for accurate disabled and neurodivergent representation. None of the participants make any money from directly taking part.

They may make some passive income via affiliate marketing on their own blogs/social media accounts. You will need to check their individual sites/accounts for details about that, for my own affiliate link policy you can find it here. All posts featuring affiliate links are clearly marked as such.

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