Melissa Blake (born 1981) is an American writer, blogger, journalist, and disability activist. She is best known for her blog "So About What I Said", where she discusses relationships, pop culture, and disability.[1] Her work has appeared in The New York Times,[2] Bustle,[3] CNN,[4] Good Housekeeping,[5] among others. She is an alumnus of Northern Illinois University[6] with a bachelor's degree in journalism, and currently resides in DeKalb, Illinois.[7]
Blake lives with Freeman-Sheldon Syndrome, a genetic disorder affecting her bones and muscles in addition to causing a visible facial difference. Her disability activism has helped her to feel confident and proud of her identity as a disabled woman.[8]
Personal life
editBlake was born in 1981. Because of her disability, she spent much of her time in hospitals. To straighten the bones in her legs, Blake wore an Ilizarov apparatus multiple times. She also had an operation on her spine to correct severe spinal cord compression when she was 13. Her last major surgery was a knee fusion surgery at the age of 15.[9]
Blake's father died by suicide in March 2003 after undergoing treatment for sinus cancer.[10]
Career
editBlake is an outspoken critic of United States president Donald Trump[11] and was harassed online after writing an article about him for CNN in 2019.[12]
After being told by a troll that she should be banned from posting pictures of herself online,[13] Blake began posting daily selfies on Twitter (now X)[14] in order to promote disability acceptance.[15]
Her first book, "Beautiful People", was published in March 2024.[16]
Further reading
editReferences
edit- ^ "Welcome to So About What I Said". So About What I Said. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
- ^ Blake, Melissa (2017-02-15). "Opinion | Disabled, Shunned and Silenced in Trump's America". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
- ^ "Melissa Blake". Bustle. 10 October 2017. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
- ^ Blake, Melissa (2020-10-31). "Someone told me I'd never model because I'm disabled. I proved them wrong at NY Fashion Week". CNN. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
- ^ "Melissa Blake". Good Housekeeping. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
- ^ "Melissa Blake, '05, Makes Kindness and Courage Go Viral". www.myniu.com. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
- ^ @21stshow (2020-10-15). "DeKalb Disability Activist, Melissa Blake". Illinois Public Media. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Melissa Blake Is Disabled and Proud of It - HealthyWomen". www.healthywomen.org. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
- ^ "My Dad Made Me Feel Beautiful". Good Housekeeping. 2017-06-05. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
- ^ "My Father Committed Suicide, but He's Still My Superhero". Cosmopolitan. 2016-04-12. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
- ^ Blake, Melissa (2017-02-15). "Opinion | Disabled, Shunned and Silenced in Trump's America". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
- ^ Blake, Melissa (2019-08-03). "What if we all unfollowed Trump on Twitter?". CNN. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
- ^ "Blogger delivers pointed response after receiving hateful comments online about her appearance". ABC7 San Francisco. 2020-07-30. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
- ^ "Melissa Blake Was Trolled for Being Disabled. Then a Viral Tweet Gave Her the Platform to Speak Out". Shondaland. 2021-11-04. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
- ^ "What It Feels Like Getting Bullied On Social Media | Ravishly". www.ravishly.com. 2017-05-11. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
- ^ Blake, Melissa (2023-07-03). Beautiful People. Hachette Books. ISBN 978-0-306-83042-6.