Disability Sun / Disabled Sun ☉
[Image ID: A transparent image of the Disabled Sun, which is the same as the astrological symbol of the sun. It is a large black circle with a smaller black circle in the center. End ID]
So... I wanted a symbol to represent disabilities, one that wasn't the wheelchair symbol. As a wheelchair user myself, I do like the wheelchair symbol, but it also feels like an incomplete image of the disabled community as a whole. Disabled people can come in every shape and size, and for many, many of us, the wheelchair symbol isn't representative.
Disabled people may have wheelchairs, or canes, or crutches, or hearing aids, or service dogs, or different body shapes, or even nothing at all visibly indicating a disability. There have been alternative symbols suggested in the past, but most hinge on showing a silhouette, and there would never be a way to demonstrate all of us with one little bathroom-sign-style human. So, I made this! The Disabled Sun!
This isn't meant to replace the wheelchair symbol, as that certainly has its history and place in our community, it's simply meant to be an optional other symbol for those who choose to use it.
This symbol was chosen for the following reasons and meanings:
Outer circle represents the body; physical disabilities, our relationships to our bodies, disabled bodies in general.
The inner circle represents the mind; mental disabilities, our relationships to our minds, disabled minds in general.
The circles represent wholeness, representing that we are whole, complete people. We are whole, not despite our disabilities, but we are whole including our disabilities. We are not incomplete or broken, nor are we “missing” anything.
Circles also represent unity. In this case, the circles represent the solidarity and unity of disabled people across the wide range of disabilities. It also represents universal design.
The sun represents shining a light on disabled people, and the light we provide ourselves.
It's simple, discreet, easy to reproduce, and has a unicode symbol already. ☉
The symbol is welcome to be used by anyone of any kind of disability, be it physical, mental, neurodevelopmental, sensory, invisible, anything! If you have any sort of impairment and consider yourself disabled, you are welcome to use this symbol.
[Image ID: A transparent image of the Disabled Sun, a large circle with a smaller circle in the center, in the colors of the Disabled Pride Flag by Ann Magill. The disabled pride flag is a mostly grey flag with five diagonal stripes that start at the top left corner and run down to the bottom right corner. In order from left to right, the stripes are red, yellow, white. blue, and green.]
No credit is needed to use this symbol! It would be appreciated if you spread this post around to others to give it some traction, though!