Making space for disability and illness, and reclaiming medical areas, on Episode 23 of the Bawdy Love Podcast.
Karolyn Gehrig is done feeling overlooked in medical institutions. As a person with an invisible disability, she’s in and out of doctor’s offices, and while they’re places made to house patients they rarely are designed with comfort in mind. Karolyn created #Hospitalglam to make a statement: we need to create patient-first care, including spaces that help patients feel like their full identities – not just a body with an illness or disability.
In this episode, we talk about discomfort experienced in medical institutions and our ability to reclaim them through photography. We recognize that illness is part of life, but not a complete identity, and we examine some of the life changes that come with experiencing illness or disability.
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Topics covered in this conversation include:
chronic illness, disability, hospitals, doctors, fashion, appropriation, relationships
Quotables from this episode:
- “If you can photograph yourself in a space & exist in it, that space is yours.” -Karolyn Gehrig
- “When you can take a selfie, you can remain yourself in those environments. You don’t have to perform illness.” -Karolyn Gehrig
- “Fashion uses a body they’ve decided is right & perfect, and dresses it up as non-normate to be edgy & cool.” -Karolyn Gehrig
- “When you’re sick and some people leave, you don’t even miss them.” -Lauren Marie Fleming
More About Karolyn Gehrig
Karolyn Gehrig is a queer disabled artist and writer currently living in Los Angeles.
To connect with Andrea:
- Website – Hospitalglam.com
- Twitter – @karolynprg
- Instagram – @karolynprg
Connect more with Lauren and the Bawdy Love revolution:
Bawdy Love is a revolution, one full of people audacious enough to stand up and say “I am worthy of love as I am right here, right now, no exceptions. My body deserves to be seen, my voice deserves to be heard. I will not shrink. I will expand and thrive.”
Are you in?
- Join the revolution and get your free Bawdy Love basics video series.
- Connect with other like-minded Bawdy Lovelies on the Bawdy Love Facebook group.
- Carry inspiration and positive vibes in your pocket by following the BawdyLove instagram.
- Get personalized tips and tools to boost your self-confidence, incorporate self-care into your daily routine, and profoundly love your body with individual coaching with Lauren.
Sign-up for the Bawdy Love Podcast newsletter and get bonus content, exclusive deals, and my secret episode Silencing Your Inner Critic During Sex. Past episodes, longer show notes and more can be found at LaurenMarieFleming.com/Podcast.