Diabetes in the public eye has to be a great thing, right? A diverse representation of all types of people can only reduce division, hate and normalise disabilities, including Diabetes.
Coronation Street got the Type 1 ball rolling a few weeks ago and last week Pixar joined the Diabetes party with a character in their Turning Red movie, seemingly wearing Diabetes devices. Both great things for Diabetics, particularly the Coronation St character as it appears they'll be focusing on the condition more than the Pixar movie's passing nod towards it. I hope the Coronation St character will be allowed to develop in the coming years and the difficulties of living with T1D are brought to the public attention, at least the public who still watch that particular soap opera.
Beyond the recent TV and movie rep', I've been thinking about others who have proudly acknowledged that they have Diabetes. In the mid and late 1980s, as a young boy, my only "Celebrity Diabetic" was Gary Mabbutt. Gary played for Spurs and was capped by England and he is still well known in Diabetic circles today, particularly football fans. That was it, for me. I'm sure there were others but Diabetes was a much less visible condition beyond the Diabetes clinic at the hospital.
Technology has made Diabetes a visible, talked about thing. It's forced the hand of Diabetics to become that bit more public about their condition. A pump, CGM or even a small Libre disc are physical signs which are often hard to hide compared to the sneaky finger pricks and injections, done covertly or behind closed bathroom doors. Perhaps we have more to thank technology for than simply improving the management of our condition? It's out there! WE are out there!
Not everybody uses technology, of course (despite what you might see on social media). Perhaps some will still hide it because years of conditioning can take a long time to overcome. So, representation is important in other ways. Representation by the masses (our peers) is increasing and I believe that is the most important way to have Diabetes seen by the general public, a general public which still struggles to understand types and which holds ideas of Diabetes, that are ignorant and harmful, firmly in their minds.
How you represent is individual to you, your life and your comfort zone. I speak and write about it in various places and I choose to do so using what I consider to be an effective method. Your methods might be different, of course. What is important to you in regards to Diabetes is almost certain to be different to me and others, too. A brief look through Twitter will reveal a variety of subjects, pushed as hugely important and they may indeed be that to a minority which could include you, or other aspects of Diabetes might be higher on your agenda of importance. What is important for us all is to talk about Diabetes, type if you wish, specific things relating to it if you wish, openly.
Social media is an easy place to air views and share your experiences. It's an easy place to represent D. If that's your comfort zone then embrace it and go to town! It can have a surprising, positive, effect. I'm astounded at the positive comments which have been sent my way in the last couple of years since growing a social media presence. All I do is share my experiences and views while engaging with my peers.
We don't always agree, either! and that's an important part of life, too. To accept that others have their views and opinions on their own condition and health and subjects relating to it. It's important to not turn those times into arguments, to not bully or name-call or reduce yourself. The people who do that are not helping to represent. Using aggressive, "industrial" language does not help to represent - Do you want your children to read frequent use of the F word? Your choice, of course! I'm far from a prude and I have certainly used foul language and a harsh "tone" before. Within Diabetes, I try to keep it family friendly. That's not because I'm focused on engaging with families. It's because it's much harder to alienate or offend anybody of any age when the language is PG and the tone is soft.
I encourage everybody living with Diabetes to share their views. Talking about it is great representation for your peers and yourself. It's normal to have a health condition or a disability. Don't hide.
Thank you so much for reading this blog. I do appreciate your visit and your support. As you might know, I LOVE COFFEE! So I've teamed up with a thing called Buy Me A Coffee. If you enjoy my content and appreciate the time it takes to create such things then you can buy me a coffee! If you leave your Twitter @ name when you buy me a coffee, I will personally thank you. If you'd rather be anonymous then that's totally cool. Thanks for the caffeine!
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