The Intersection of Disability and Queerness

“Books are sometimes windows, offering views of worlds that may be real or imagined, familiar or strange. These windows are also sliding glass doors, and readers have only to walk through in imagination to become part of whatever world has been created or recreated by the author. When lighting conditions are just right, however, a window can also be a mirror. Literature transforms human experience and reflects it back to us, and in that reflection we can see our own lives and experiences as part of the larger human experience. Reading, then, becomes a means of self-affirmation, and readers often seek their mirrors in books.” – Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop, 1990

When teens and young adults face the complexity of intersectional identities, it can be hard to find representation that provides their mirror in literature. There has been an increase in the past decade in the availability of books seeking to deliver this affirmation. As the community celebrates Toledo Pride this month, check out these titles in which queer and disabled youth seek to understand their worlds in authentic and diverse ways