To celebrate Independent Women’s Day [ 8 March ] we highlight the remarkable career of Stella Young, a disability activist who had a gifted knack for making people laugh.
Born on 24 February 1982 in Melbourne, Australia, Young’s disability, osteogenesis imperfecta, would become the reason why she is still remembered today almost a decade after her death.
Being a wheelchair user for most of her life inspired the 14-year-old Young to study the accessibility of the main street businesses of her hometown, Stawell, Victoria.
After school she went on to study a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Public Relations at Deakin University in Geelong and a Graduate Diploma in Education from the University of Melbourne.
Leaving higher education, Young successfully applied for an educator in public programs at Melbourne Museum, where she taught children about anything from bugs to dinosaurs, as well as hosting eight seasons of No Limits, a disability culture program on Melbourne TV station Channel 31.
The TV show landed Young a job at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation where she became editor of their online magazine, Ramp Up where she would write a ground-breaking story.
Frustrated by how non-disabled people portray those with disabilities as inspirational just because they are disabled Young published an article on “inspiration porn”. The editorial piece published in July 2012 saw Young holding a TEDxSydney talk, titled “I’m not your inspiration, thank you very much” in April 2014.
Young moved away from serious discussions to funny performances later that year when she took her show Tales from the Crip to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival where she was crowned best newcomer.
But the achievement would be one of her last, in December 2014 Young died unexpectedly of a suspected brain aneurysm at the age of 32.
Young left behind a legacy, known for coining the term ‘Inspiration porn’, which leaves us with a dilemma - do we end this article singing her praises or celebrating her sharp wit and professional journalist skills?
We think the latter, don’t you?
[ For more information on International Women’s Day visit the IWD website ]
