Soon, I will have a blog on Mad In America on the topic of supporting both Mad Pride Month and Disability Pride Month: July. Below are links & events about Mad Pride:
Background on Mad Pride
Mad Pride logo by artist Sarafin. Text at the bottom reads: “The right to be free, the right to be me.”
The Wikipedia link is: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mad_Pride
MindFreedom International has been one of the main groups to champion Mad Pride: https://mindfreedom.org/campaign/frequently-asked-questions/
MindFreedom Oregon has voted to support Mad Pride Month as July. Part of July is Creative Maladjustment Week. Martin Luther King, Jr. utilized this concept of creative maladjustment many times in his speeches. You can read about that week here: https://mindfreedom.org/mfi-taking-action/creative-maladjustment-week/
More information about MLK’s concept of creative maladjustment: https://mindfreedom.org/campaign/creative-maladjustment-week/
Vice did an article a few years ago, unfortunately using the phrase “mental illness,” but I remember there were some valuable points: https://www.vice.com/en/article/7bxqxa/mad-pride-remembering-the-uks-mental-health-pride-movement
My own essay about why we encourage folks not to use the phrase “mental illness”: https://mindfreedom.org/kb/not-mentally-ill/
New York Times did an article in 2008 here: https://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/11/fashion/11madpride.html?ref=oembed
Who are the leaders of Mad Pride and Disability Pride? You, if you choose. I consider both Mad Pride and Disability Pride to apply to anyone and everyone that chooses to take leadership in a positive sense.
You can be in touch with MindFreedom Oregon in promoting Mad Pride July by emailing to: MadPrideWorld@gmail.com.
It was surprising to me how much information I could find about Mad Pride simply by searching for it in Google, Twitter, etc.
Mad Pride Switzerland
Mad Pride Switzerland official website: https://madpride.ch/ Several language options are offered on their website.
A new song written for Mad Pride Switzerland by musical artist, Neitsa Duende: https://youtu.be/THiuPTziyBg
Mad Pride Month Events
Mad Pride London, UK on Thursday, July 14, 2022: https://twitter.com/CPAbolition/status/1527234742785024001?s=20&t=6UYwYIX8UxW93TrsUFIX9A
Another upcoming event will be held by Mad Pride Vermont on Saturday, July 16, 2022 in Burlington: https://madfreedom.org/madpride/
Archive about past Mad Pride activity: https://mindfreedom.org/category/campaign/madpride/
Wikipedia has reported that there have also been Mad Pride events over the last few decades in Australia, Canada, Ireland, USA, Portugal, Brazil, Madagascar, South Africa, and France.
Korea: Mad Pride Seoul in Korea usually picks 10 October, World Mental Health Day, for their parades and creative activities. Glad to see a song devoted to honoring their work: https://youtu.be/e1vEeQaCXNc
Netherlands: There is discussion by Mad Pride Netherlands: https://madpride.nl/
This is only meant to be a partial listing. If you know of any Mad Pride events, please share this news with others. You can find a discussion about Mad Pride on Reddit at: www.reddit.com/r/madpride. Also, you will find an email address at the end this blog to be in touch with World Mad Pride, as supported by MindFreedom Oregon.
On Twitter, it was gratifying to see the hashtag #madpride was in use. Other hashtags to consider using are: #MadPrideMonth #MentalHealth #Disability #DisabilityPride #DisabilityPrideMonth
Please leave your comments, ideas, questions, and leads below!
To learn more about Disability Pride, check out our Disability Pride Resources page.