Beth writes

Tag: diversity and inclusion

  • Beth tells all – five things that shaped my life

    girl in pastel dress with hairbow sits on floor

    Okay, this won’t be telling all but I hope some will find out more about me I think. Here come five things that shaped my life.

    1. As a child I read a lot of books and was always imagining. Books were like a lifeline for me, where I could escape on magical adventures. I was always having ideas for poems, stories, songs and plays in my head. So that is where I got my love of writing from.
    2. When I was 15, I was in intensive care on life support for 2 months. It took some work to get the images and sounds of the machines out of my head. I turned the trauma into an art piece at university – for which I got a B.
    3. I only passed my GCSE’s with 3 c’s – and got E’s for maths and science having to resit. The rest of my grades were between C and E. And I scraped through my university degree with a 2-2. So while the others were celebrating their exam results, it was harder for me. How did this shape me? It reinforced my ideas of what I was good at, and what not so.
    4. Having to face a lot of social rejection and bullying has made me more adamant to fight this. I have been quite vocal for disability and lgbtq inclusion, and challenging hate during my life.
    5. When I was 13 I found a local am dram group and joined for the pantomime. Acting has always been something I absolutely love. What a surprise I got with a birthday in pantomime week though. I got pulled back on for the birthday song.

  • What does it say on the box?

    What does it say on the box?

    decorative image of hand trying to grasp a bright light
    Photo by Luca Nardone on Pexels.com

    Brands often have catchphrases that people associate with them.

    For example –

    Pringles – once you pop you can’t just stop

    Club – If you like a lot of chocolate in your biscuit

    But we have our own brands too.

    My brand – Engaging, entertaining, accessible and diversity positive content.

    What would my memorable statement be? I would like it to be “Think outside the box and embrace diversity.”

    What would yours be?

  • We hold these truths to be certain

    Daily writing prompt
    List 10 things you know to be absolutely certain.
    View all responses
    Photograph of the author, Beth Birley
    This is me

    There’s a lot of things people are certain about, am I right?

    Sometimes we think history happened one way, then we find other evidence.

    So here are my 10 certainties in life

    1. My first certainty is I don’t know everything, and hardly anybody could do. It makes us curious to find the answers we don’t yet know.
    2. Dinosaurs once walked the earth
    3. The sun rises and sets each day
    4. When you travel outside your own town you will meet others who are different to you
    5. Disabled lives matter- and work is needed to help disabled people
    6. Superman has always been woke and diverse. You just have to look at the older posters to see the evidence.
    7. Everyone deserves equal rights to clean water, safe housing, good healthcare etc.
    8. Change and revolution takes work, and often people won’t like it.
    9. That I had a near death experience at 15 and was in intensive care for 2 months.
    10. Donald Trump’s name is in the Epstein files – no wonder he is trying to hide it.

  • Disability Pride month

    Why do we have disability pride?
    The answer goes down to finding our identity and feeling good about ourselves. It also serves to promote the need for diversity and encourage others to embrace it.

    Image displaying different people working together
    Photo by Diva Plavalaguna on Pexels.com

    Time for a personal reflection on it.
    Finding yourself is a lot harder when you are someone who doesn’t fit with normal social expectations. I have seen firsthand how it is to feel helpless and struggled to do things that others find easy.
    It took away my sense of self, belief in my skills and ability to be resilient. Being disabled can also leave people feeling burdened, and alone.

    Woman sits at table by herself, staring out the window.
    Photo by Andrew Neel on Pexels.com


    As humans progress, I believe we will one day change society so we can be included better.
    This will lead to more willingness to hire disabled workers, and more role models that show disability in positive light.

    The word future written on blue surface
    Photo by Tara Winstead on Pexels.com

    Right now, disabled are often viewed in media with certain stereotypes. These include superheroes and villains, vulnerable people who can’t manage, or miraculous healers. None of these are positive images that show a good picture of disabled lives.

    So, think about the disabled people around you, and who they want to be.