CW // antiBlackness, racism, digital blackface, ableism
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I'm going to talk about this reaction gif

This man has a congenital condition called ectodermal dysplasia

It is very rare - occurs about 1/1000th as frequently as cleft lip/palate

Common traits in ED include:

*Lack of sweat glands
*Thin hair/bald spots/no or very little body hair
*Atypical teeth - may be peg-shaped or missing (as seen in the gif)

Interventions include craniofacial surgery, orthodontics & prosthetics

Many families can't afford these

@Imani_Barbarin recently posted a thread about how many widely used reaction gifs of Black folks are of disabled Black folks

This gif is one example

When I see it, I remember how my sister got called "vampire" & mocked by our schoolmates

I remember my sister telling me about Jahmal Binion, another Black man with ectodermal dysplasia, who was mocked on social media by celebrities https://www.christianpost.com/news/shaq-apologizes-for-mocking-jahmel-binions-face-in-selfie-on-instagram-man-starts-support-group-called-hug-dont-judge.html

Our family is white. We live in Ontario. My sister was able to get most of her surgery covered by the government

Why is this on my mind?

Because the testing just came back and my nibling inherited ectodermal dysplasia from my sister

"It feels like I only just finished with Sick Kids," texted my sister, referring to the years of surgeries and orthodontia she endured

(we won't know until nibling's teeth come in, exactly what her needs are)

The point of this thread is to co-sign and boost the voices of activists like Imani

Use of Black disabled folks' expressions by white folks to inspire humor reproduces white supremacist ableism via objectification and othering (race & disability)

It also reinforces antiBlackness by positioning looki M grounded in white western beauty standards (light skin, a full set of undamaged teeth) as aspirational

This harms ALL disabled folks, but it harms Black and IPOC disabled folks disproportionately more!

lookism*