UC Irvine Libraries are excited to celebrate Disability Pride Month by calling attention to resources that document, mark, and elevate the voices and contributions of people with disabilities. This guide highlights select resources available through UC Irvine Libraries that focus on disability justice, lived experiences, and the creative and intellectual work of the community.*

Unless they specify a UC Irvine login, these materials are available to the public year-round, at no cost.

For research help with disability studies, contact a subject librarian or visit guides.lib.uci.edu for a complete list of Libraries’ Research Guides.

Online Resources

• Disability Pride Month films on Kanopy (requires UC Irvine login)
• Disability documentaries on Docuseek (requires UC Irvine login)
• Celebrating One and All: Disability Pride Research Guide

Books

In addition to online resources, a selection of books in the Libraries' circulating collection focus on the contributions and experiences of people with disabilities.

• Feminist, Queer, Crip (2013), by Alison Kafer, imagines a different future for disability and disabled bodies. Kafer juxtaposes theories, movements, and identities such as environmental justice, reproductive justice, cyborg theory, transgender politics, and disability that are typically discussed in isolation and envisions new possibilities for crip futures and feminist/queer/crip alliances.
• Exile and Pride: Disability, Queerness, and Liberation (2015), by Eli Clare, weaves together memoir, history, and political analysis to explore the intersections of disability and queerness. Clare examines concepts of home and belonging while providing an intersectional framework for understanding how oppression and resistance operate in daily life.
• Such a Pretty Girl: A Story of Struggle, Empowerment, and Disability Pride (2019), by Nadina LaSpina, chronicles the author's journey from her early years in Sicily after contracting polio to her emergence as a disability rights activist in America. LaSpina's memoir parallels the political development of the disability rights movement, refuting stereotypical narratives while exposing the harm of society's oppressive standards of normalcy and focus on pity.
• Scrounger (2020), by Athena Stevens, is a play that explores how Britain is failing its most vulnerable and the extreme cost paid by those seeking justice, inspired by real events and a lawsuit initiated by Stevens herself.
• Disability Pride: Dispatches from a Post-ADA World (2022), by Ben Mattlin, examines the evolution of disability rights and culture in the decades following the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Drawing from personal experience and cultural analysis, Mattlin explores how the ADA generation has matured, addressing both the successes and shortcomings of disability activism while investigating contemporary issues and the ongoing struggle for inclusion and representation in American society.
• Embodied Injustice: Race, Disability, and Health (2022), by Mary Crossley, weaves health research with social science, critical approaches, and personal stories to portray the devastating effects of health injustice in America.
• The Art of Flourishing: Conversations on Disability (2025), edited by Liz Bowen et al., is an edited volume in which scholars, artists, writers, and thought leaders with disabilities reflect on what “flourishing” means to them.
• Home Movies Hardly Silent: Unlocking Our Deaf Folklife Films (2025), by Matt Malzkuhn and Ted Supalla, shows how the American deaf community utilized silent film technology while overcoming its inherent spoken communication barrier through sign language.
• The Physically Disabled Dancer and the Affirmative Model of Disability (2025), by Lawrence Shapiro, investigates the contributions and achievements of the physically disabled dancer while challenging and recognizing the inherent inequities in the field of integrated dance in the UK, which currently places greater emphasis on the learning‑disabled performer.
• Trans and Disabled: An Anthology of Identities and Experiences (2025), edited by Alex Iantaffi, brings together stories, poems, plays, drawings, and personal essays by trans disabled people on the intersection of disability and gender identity.

Diversity of UC Irvine Libraries’ Collections

UC Irvine Libraries collect materials in all formats to support the university’s research, teaching, and public service mission.

We believe it is crucial that our collections reflect the diversity of our students, faculty, staff, and larger Orange County community. Thus, we are making an effort to collect materials that consider the needs and perspectives of historically underrepresented, marginalized, and oppressed groups. For more information, please refer to our Diversity Statement and Plan.

For additional information about UC Irvine Libraries’ efforts to celebrate diversity in its users, staff, collections, and resources, visit the UC Irvine Libraries Diversity webpage.

*The acceptability of language and how people with disabilities self-identify continuously evolves over time. Although current usage may differ, this article retains the original names of each resource to provide historical context.