Annie Segarra (born August 22, 1990), also known as Annie Elainey, is an American YouTuber, artist, and activist for

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

and disability rights. Segarra, who is

queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are not heterosexual or cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against those with same-sex desires or relationships in the late 19th century. Beginning in the lat ...

, Latinx, and disabled, advocates for

accessibility Accessibility is the design of products, devices, services, vehicles, or environments so as to be usable by people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design and practice of accessible development ensures both "direct access" (i. ...

body positivity Body positivity is a social movement focused on the acceptance of all bodies, regardless of size, shape, skin tone, gender, and physical abilities, while challenging present-day beauty standards as an undesirable social construct. Proponents fo ...

, and media representation of

marginalized Social exclusion or social marginalisation is the social disadvantage and relegation to the fringe of society. It is a term that has been used widely in Europe and was first used in France in the late 20th century. It is used across discipline ...

communities.

YouTube career

In 2010, Segarra created a

Tumblr Tumblr (stylized as tumblr; pronounced "tumbler") is an American microblogging and social networking website founded by David Karp in 2007 and currently owned by Automattic. The service allows users to post multimedia and other content to a sho ...

account ''Stop Hating Your Body'', which became a popular forum for people to share stories about body image and self-love. Segarra was invited to speak at schools about body image issues. She launched a YouTube channel and began vlogging, as Annie Elainey, about body image and recovery from an

eating disorder An eating disorder is a mental disorder defined by abnormal eating behaviors that negatively affect a person's physical or mental health. Only one eating disorder can be diagnosed at a given time. Types of eating disorders include binge eating d ...

. In 2014, Segarra began experiencing pain when walking, and eventually needed a wheelchair to get around. At age 26, she was diagnosed with Ehlers–Danlos syndrome (EDS), a genetic collagen disorder. Segarra documented her experiences and thoughts about disability on her YouTube channel. She has cited

Frida Kahlo Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón (; 6 July 1907 – 13 July 1954) was a Mexican painter known for her many portraits, self-portraits, and works inspired by the nature and artifacts of Mexico. Inspired by the country's popular culture, ...

, another queer Latina suffering from chronic pain, as a source of empowerment. Segarra felt that the

2017 Women's March The Women's March was a worldwide protest on January 21, 2017, the day after Inauguration of Donald Trump, the inauguration of Donald Trump as US president. It was prompted by Trump's policy positions and rhetoric, which protesters called Misog ...

lacked visibility and accessibility for disabled people. In response, she created a t-shirt with the text "The Future is Accessible", modeled after a popular "The Future is Female" shirt from the 1970s. In 2017, Segarra was featured in the

NBCNews.com NBCNews.com, formerly known as msnbc.com, is a news website owned and operated by NBCUniversal as the online arm of NBC News. Along with original and wire reporting, it features content from NBC shows such as ''Today'', ''NBC Nightly News'', ''M ...

Latino 20. In 2019, Segarra was selected to be part of the YouTube NextUp program.

Personal life

Segarra lives in

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

, Florida. She has a younger sister, Emily, who is

autistic The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...

. Segarra regards Emily as her best friend.

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Segarra, Annie 1990 births American disability rights activists LGBT Hispanic and Latino American people American LGBT rights activists LGBT YouTubers Living people People from Miami 20th-century American LGBT people 21st-century American LGBT people