Here's Tracy, in her own words...
"I was diagnosed in 1996, bipolar longer. I was hospitalized once in 1997 and
that was enough for me. I don't want to be in a situation again where I have to
have to ask for my make-up (mirrors are dangerous when broken), or my curling
iron (hot), tweezers (sharp), razor (obvious), eyelash curler (beats me)...
"I spent a lot of time sorting out my feelings on stigma and decided that the
best way for me to deal with it was to be very open. So I write. As a result I
have become very unashamed of all of my sparkling thoughts. Some things deal
directly with stigma but most do not. In the end they probably all deal with
stigma because they humanize me.
Writing is a very good way to deal with stigma but so is art. Art of all kinds.
Although, I believe some people feel that people who are disabled are "artists"
not artists. Do you know the difference? I'll show you... First say out loud the
word artist. Okay did you say that? Now say the word artist but make little
quotation marks with two fingers in the air with your hands... So did you feel
that? Different? How artist was a person with a gift but "artist" said with the
air guotes is... well, you know... someone who draws in a
quote-special-way-but-wouldn't-be-an-artist-if-she-wasn't-special- unquote.
Not awfully flattering is it? The quotes mean less than an artist. And always
will."
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