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Article written by Lauredhel

Lauredhel is an Australian woman and mother with a disability. She blogs about disability and accessibility, social and reproductive justice, gender, freedom from violence, the uses and misuses of language, medical science, otters, gardening, and cooking.

17 responses to “Pink and blue. I’ve been web-shopping.”

  1. h-jg

    So breasts are pink and prostates are blue? It’s all clear to me now :P

  2. QoT

    And … women only ever want pink scooters and to support breast cancer research, and men only ever want blue scooters and to support prostate cancer research. How’s that dividing&conquering of the genders working out for ya, patriarchy?

  3. grendel

    Red is good. Espresso is better!

    grendel’s last blog post..Coffee we can believe in!

  4. amandaw

    Breast cancer is the first refuge of people who want to pose and look nice for “giving to charity” but don’t actually care enough to research into which causes might appreciate the help or which charities are best to donate to.

    Nah — just default to Komen, slap some pink paint on (whatever), donate some miniscule amount and reap the benefits for being a “socially conscious” corp.

  5. DeusExMacintosh

    This is my scooter. Unlike my old one (similar to your picture) which wasn’t waterproof, couldn’t be stored outdoors, was an incredibly rough ride couldn’t get over kerbs more than 2 inches high my Supersport goes cross country, for 30 miles at a charge and has full suspension. The old scooter was breaking down and being returned to the dealer for repair every six weeks and the tiller snapped off completely FOUR times, whereas I I have just replaced the batteries on my supersport after two and half years. No other repairs or maintenance have been required.

    If you email TGA they can send you contact details for Australian dealers in your area.

    DeusExMacintosh’s last blog post..Will the last minister to leave, please turn out the lights!

  6. Mindy

    I’ve seen a few scooters around here, but none that could be put in the boot of a car. Their purpose seems to be to replace a car. Which is all fine and good if you happen to live close enough to shops and don’t mind risking your life on the roads (some of the footpaths here are either narrow or slanted or non-existent). If you happen to live a little out of town, or up a steep hill, or have children you need to take shopping with you, bad luck buddy. I’m not sure one of these would even fit on the bus that comes around once a week to take (elderly) people shopping. On the plus side they are a fetching shade of maroon.

  7. Mindy

    Wow, mobility doesn’t come cheap.

  8. Variegated

    Long time lurker, first time poster (so hope I’ve got this right)
    Lauredhel,
    you might like to check out the WA Independent Living Centre
    http://www.ilcaustralia.org/home/default.asp They will have a variety of scooters available for play, and information on where to get them. Don’t know if they do home visits!

  9. DeusExMacintosh

    Not only is mobility not cheap, most scooters are total crap and designed with little old ladies in mind who might want to pop to the local shops once a week. Not younger disabled people who have active daily lives or (gasp!) JOBS. I’ve yet to see any advertising that promotes mobility scooters as a way to have an active life with your family for example.

  10. WildlyParenthetical

    I get that some diversity in the kinds of scooters available and the way that they’re advertised would be a good thing, DEM, but you really don’t need to imply that catering to “little old ladies” and their desire to “pop to the shops once a week” (or those whose useage might be equivalent to that, as Lauredhel is pointing out) is a bad thing, or a distraction from those who “really” need access. Accessibility is not a lesser concern for that kind of useage than for catering to those who have “active daily lives or (gasp!) JOBS.” I especially hate the idea that people need to be ‘contributing’ members of the community to be worthy of access to the community. Everyone has the right to their community. When you start belittling someone’s need for access, you’re letting ableism creep in.

    And really, the phrase “little old ladies” is pretty dismissive of older women. Do we really need to fall in with existing ageism and sexism? Yeah, y’know what? I call FAIL.

  11. Mindy

n.b. our posts are closed to new comments after 60 days. If you wish to discuss a closed post, please use the latest open thread.

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