repDISND (formerly GeekDis) is a month-long collaborative event for the disabled and neurodivergent community that happens every July to coincide with Disability Pride month. Find out how to take part in repDISND below!
To take part in repDISND there are only three guidelines you need to meet:
- You need to identify as disabled or neurodivergent: All types of disability and neurodiversity are welcome, as is self-diagnosis and no one is “not disabled/neurodivergent enough”. We don’t do elitism here. You do not need to disclose any details if you do not feel comfortable doing so. The only exceptions are those who are posting on behalf (with their consent) of people with intellectual or developmental disabilities.
- You must post new content: repDISND is a discussion event, so I ask that people contribute actively to the discussion by bringing something new to the table. That could be a discussion point that links back to previous content, but please don’t just reblog or reshare something that you’ve posted before. All content should belong to the person posting it.
- Post during July: Even if it’s the 31st of July, if it still says July, it counts!
How to take part in repDISND!
repDISND is a completely virtual event which means any disabled and/or neurodivergent person, anywhere, can take part. How much or how little you participate in the event is completely up to you!
— Please link back to the repDISND Hub and/or use the #repdisnd tag if you join in! —
Here are some ways you could take part in repDISND!
- Post a blog post (or as many as you like!) on your blog during July.
- Guest post here at Just Geeking By if you do not have a blog of your own (more details on guest posting for repDISND here).
- Collaborate with myself or other content creators on a discussion topic.
- Start a discussion on disabled and/or neurodivergent representation using the hashtag #repdisnd
- Vlog or stream for repDISND.
- “Discuss” through art – discussion doesn’t need to be with words! (please create original disabled characters rather than “cripping up” pre-existing ones).
- Any other online method you can think of!
What to discuss during repDISND
“Dismantling ignorance through discussion”.
That is the aim of repDISND; to talk about our experiences as disabled and/or neurodivergent people and share why representation is important. To use discussion as a tool to explain why we need to be involved when our community is represented, to show the difference between accurate representation and negative representation.
It may seem naive to think that people will listen, but I’ve seen change start to happen, and I’ve had people learn and listen. We might not reach everyone, however, if we can reach some then that is a start.
But where do we start? Disabled and neurodivergent representation is a large, varied topic, and repDISND aims to show as many people’s experiences and views of representation as possible. With that in mind, I prefer to let people choose their own topics.
The topic of disabled and neurodivergent representation is a huge one to unpack, and I’ve put together some disabled and neurodivergent representation discussion topic ideas that you can use or build upon.
Topics for discussion could include:
- Representation on the big and small screen.
- Representation in video games, including accessibility options.
- The lack of intersectional representation.
- Has disabled and/or neurodivergent representation changed in recent years?
- Is the level of representation in books different depending on genre or age group?
- Disabled/Neurodivergent characters as villains.
- Common myths/stereotypes.
- Talk about your favourite disabled/neurodivergent bloggers and social media content creators.
- Representation in the media, fashion/beauty world, sports and other areas.
- Reviews of books, films, TV shows, and video games that feature disabled and/or neurodivergent characters, disabled/neurodivergent actors or are written by disabled/neurodivergent writers.
- Alternatively, write critical reviews of books, films, TV shows, and video games written by non-disabled writers and discuss the problems with them.
- Discuss representing disabled and/or neurodivergent people by interviewing disabled and/or neurodivergent people – this could be the people creating the representation such as authors, designers, content creators, or people doing the representation such as influencers, bloggers, actors, models etc.
- Any other ideas you may have!
These are just some ideas. You do not have to choose something on this list, and if you have another idea, then please run with it! As long as it’s on the topic of disabled and neurodivergent representation, then you’re good 🙂
Preparing for repDISND
There is no official sign-up for repDISND. If you want to take part, then go for it! If you would like to be a part of the community, then there is the Facebook Group and a Twitter/X chat (use this form to request to be added). Please answer the questions for the Facebook Group, and on Twitter/X have something that identifies you as disabled and/or neurodivergent. This is to ensure the groups remain safe for our community.
If you do not use social media, that is not a problem. You’re welcome to get in touch with me at any time to talk using this contact form about your plans for repDISND. Google Docs will be utilised again if there are any information, discussions or collaboration ideas to share.