As part of Disability Horizons’ 10th birthday celebrations, we want to highlight the amazing work our writers and contributors have done over the years by counting down our 10 most popular Disability Horizons articles of all time.
You can also check out the ‘best of the rest, with articles on dating, sex, technology, travel, fitness and celebrities. Plus, you can browse our ‘news that caught your eye’ section, which includes some of our most popular news stories.
Top 10 most popular articles on Disability Horizons
10. Disabled icons: painter Frida Kahlo and pushing boundaries
Written by Nichola Daunton back in 2015, this article looks at the legendary Mexican painter Frida Kahlo, who was believed to be born with Spinal Bifida and later sustained multiple injuries after a trolley car accident.
What is particularly interesting about this piece – and possibly why it’s been so popular, is because it highlights the history of disability, sexual orientation and art in the early 20th century.
Read: Disabled icons: painter Frida Kahlo and pushing boundaries
9. Disability and sex: let’s be frank about sex toys
This article by Tubby Owens breaks down the taboos around sex and disability, and rounds up the best sex toys that disabled people can use to enjoy sexual pleasures independently or with their partner.
Some of the accessible sex toys suggested include butterfly vibrators, vibrating pants, Hitachi Magic Wand and Literotica audio erotica.
Read: Disability and sex: let’s be frank about sex toys
8. 8 influential black women with disabilities to follow
Following the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement in June 2020, we decided to amplify black voices of people with disabilities and encourage people to follow them on social media.
In this article, our writer and editor Shannon Kelly lists eight influential black women with disabilities that you should follow. In addition, we published 8 influential black men with disabilities to follow.
Read: 8 influential black women with disabilities to follow
7. The Last Leg: what do you think?
When The Last Leg first aired on Channel 4 as part of its coverage of the London 2012 Paralympic Games, everyone thought it would just be a one-off show. However, it then returned in January 2013 as a mainstream satirical programme, discussing the news of the week.
Following the release of the new series, regular Disability Horizons contributor Sarah Ismail shared her thoughts on the show. Since then, The Last Leg has broadcast 21 series in eight years and is loved by millions of people, disabled and non-disabled alike.
Read: The Last Leg: what do you think?
You can also check out our latest article, The Last Leg: how the show still promotes positive disability representation, and our interview with The Last Leg presenter Alex Brooker.
6. Interview: Emmerdale’s disabled actor James Moore on making disability ‘normal’
James Moore is a disabled actor with cerebral palsy, best known for playing Ryan Stocks in Emmerdale.
Soon after joining the soap in 2018, Disability Horizons contributor Carrie Aimes got the opportunity to interview him about his acting career and living with cerebral palsy. In 2019, James Moore went on to win Best Newcomer at the NTA Awards.
Read: Interview: Emmerdale’s disabled actor James Moore on making disability ‘normal’
5. Top 10 disabled celebrities from across the world
In this article, our writer Raya Al-Jadir rounded up 10 disabled celebrities from across the world, some of which you may now have known have a disability or health condition, including Lady Gaga, Daniel Radcliffe and Justin Timberlake.
We also published follow-up articles on 10 disabled female celebrities and 10 male disabled celebrities.
Read: Top 10 disabled celebrities from across the world
4. Disability dating sites: we round up the best
Dating sites are a popular way to find love and friendships, whether you’re disabled or not. So we asked our contributor Carrie Aimes to round up the best dating sites available.
Some are specifically for disabled people and others are generic and open to everyone. Having been first published in 2015 and updated in 2018, the article has proved to be useful year after year.
Read: Disability dating sites: we round up the best
3. Top 10 Paralympians who inspire us ahead of Rio 2016
The Paralympic Games is the third most popular sporting event in the world and the strength and skills of the disabled athletes has captured the hearts and minds of everyone who watches.
Ahead of the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games, Disability Horizons contributor Catherine Shepherd rounded up 10 of the most inspirational Paralympians from the past 40 years.
Athletes mentioned in this list include Franz Nietlispach, David Lee Pearson, Esther Vergeer, Natalia Partyka and Ellie Simmonds.
Read: Top 10 Paralympians who inspire us ahead of Rio 2016
2. Top 10 exercises for disabled people
Dom Thorpe is a personal trainer who specialises in working with disabled people to help them get fit and healthy.
Back in 2016, he shared his top 10 exercises for disabled people with varying abilities, helping anyone with a disability to achieve their long-term goal to get fitter or simply keep active.
Exercising is so important for both your physical and mental health, and a high number of people search for suitable workouts to fit their needs.
This unique list of exercises can benefit anyone, whether you’re a wheelchair user, have poor co-ordination or muscle weakness.
Read: Top 10 exercises for disabled people
1. We speak to disabled BBC weather presenter Lucy Martin
Lucy Martin is a BBC weather presenter who was born without her right lower arm and hand.
In January 2018, our writer Emma Purcell got the chance to interview Lucy about her disability and career in television. The article has since become Disability Horizons’ most popular article of all time with a staggering 176,323 views to date!
We believe its popularity is down to the fact that she has a visible disability and featured on primetime television, making people curious to know more about her life and disability.
Read: We speak to disabled BBC weather presenter Lucy Martin
Best of the rest on Disability Horizons
As well as our top 10 most popular articles, we wanted to share some of our other best and well-read articles published over the years, looking at dating, sex, celebrities, technology, travel and fitness:
- Here’s what dating with high-functioning autism really looks like
- Top 10 apps for disabled people
- Accessible beaches and beach wheelchairs around the UK
- 10 fun accessible game and activity apps for disabled people
- Disabled sex positions: how to enjoy explosive sex comfortably
- Disabled BBC weather presenter Lucy Martin’s catwalk debut
- Top 5 accessible cities for wheelchair users
- Top tips for getting fit if you’re disabled
- Top 5 reasons why dating someone with a disability is great
- Mark Lane: Gardeners’ World’s first presenter in a wheelchair
News that caught your eye
Thanks to our dedicated news editor, Emma Purcell, we also ensure that you get to read the latest news and hot topics surrounding disability.
Here are a few of our most popular news stories over the past few years:
1. Strictly Amy: Crohn’s and Me – A documentary about dancer Amy Dowden living with Crohn’s disease
Strictly Come Dancing is one of the biggest shows on primetime TV, so it’s no surprise that when professional dancer Amy revealed that she has Crohn’s disease people wanted to know more. You can also read our interview with Amy Dowden and her 2020 dance partner JJ Chalmers.
2. Zack Gottsagen: an actor with Down’s syndrome tipped for Oscar glory
This story was written following Zack’s appearance on This Morning, which got everyone talking. The Oscars is one of the biggest and most prestigious film events, and a disabled actor being nominated was a fantastic step toward inclusion.
3. The Hidden Disabilities Sunflower lanyard scheme helping people with hidden disabilities
This lanyard scheme, which acts as a visual aid to notify staff that someone has a hidden disability, has been used in many well-known shops and venues including Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Gatwick Airport.
4. Covid-19 vaccines: how they work and who is eligible if you have a disability or chronic illness
Of course, the Covid-19 vaccine is the biggest topic in the world right now. We, therefore, wanted to make sure that people with disabilities, health conditions and their carers have all the relevant information they need about how the vaccine works and who is eligible and when.
With new developments happening all the time, we’ve been updating it since it was published back in December 2020 and will be doing so again soon…
5. Face mask exemptions: how to ensure you don’t get fined if you’re exempt
After wearing face masks in certain settings became compulsory in the UK, people who are unable to wear one due to breathing difficulties, sensory impairments, learning disabilities or other conditions, became understandably concerned.
To help people in this situation, our Disability Horizons Shop manager, Duncan Edwards, created face mask exemption cards, and they well very well received. Our article about the ever-changing rules has had more than 73,000 views and the shop has sold 45,000 face mask exemption cards.
What other articles on Disability Horizons have you enjoyed reading over the years? Share your thoughts on Facebook and Twitter @DHorizons and use the hashtag #10yrsofDisabilityHorizons.
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