''New Mobility'', launched in 1989, is a United States-based magazine for active
wheelchair
A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, used when walking is difficult or impossible due to illness, injury, problems related to old age, or disability. These can include spinal cord injuries ( paraplegia, hemiplegia, and quadriplegia), cerebr ...
users. This monthly publication covers
health
Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organiza ...
,
disability rights
The disability rights movement is a global social movement that seeks to secure equal opportunities and equal rights for all people with disabilities.
It is made up of organizations of disability activists, also known as disability advocat ...
,
adaptive technology
Assistive technology (AT) is a term for assistive, adaptive, and rehabilitative devices for people with disabilities and the elderly. Disabled people often have difficulty performing activities of daily living (ADLs) independently, or even with ...
and lifestyle topics such as recreation, travel, the arts, relationships, sexuality, parenting, employment and home modification. It also profiles successful wheelchair users, including
John Hockenberry
John Charles Hockenberry (born June 4, 1956) is an American journalist and author. He has reported from all over the world, on a wide variety of stories in several mediums for more than three decades. He has written dozens of magazine and newsp ...
,
Christopher Voelker
Christopher Voelker (born February 2, 1961 in Los Angeles, California - Died September 11, 2014) was an American photographer.
General information
Voelker was a full-time wheelchair user due to a spinal cord injury ( quadriplegia) from a high-s ...
,
Brooke Ellison
Brooke Mackenzie Ellison (born October 20, 1978) is an American politician. She is known for being the first quadriplegic to graduate from Harvard University.
History
On September 4, 1990, at the age of 11, Brooke was hit by a car while walking ...
,
Chantal Petitclerc
Chantal Petitclerc (born December 15, 1969) is a Canadian wheelchair racer and a Senator from Quebec.
Early life
At the age of 13, Petitclerc lost the use of both legs in an accident when at a friend's farm, a heavy barn door fell on her, fra ...
and the late
Christopher Reeve
Christopher D'Olier Reeve (September 25, 1952 – October 10, 2004) was an American actor, best known for playing the title character in the film ''Superman'' (1978) and three sequels.
Born in New York City and raised in Princeton, New Jersey, ...
. ''New Mobility'', received an
Utne Independent Press Award
''Utne Reader'' (also known as ''Utne'') ( ) is a digital digest that collects and reprints articles on politics, culture, and the environment, generally from alternative media sources including journals, newsletters, weeklies, zines, music, and ...
for Lifestyle Coverage in 2006.
History
''New Mobility'' was founded in 1989 in
Boulder
In geology, a boulder (or rarely bowlder) is a rock fragment with size greater than in diameter. Smaller pieces are called cobbles and pebbles. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive.
In c ...
,
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...
, by Sam Maddox to provide information about life after
spinal cord injury
A spinal cord injury (SCI) is damage to the spinal cord that causes temporary or permanent changes in its function. Symptoms may include loss of muscle function, sensation, or autonomic function in the parts of the body served by the spinal cor ...
,
multiple sclerosis
Multiple (cerebral) sclerosis (MS), also known as encephalomyelitis disseminata or disseminated sclerosis, is the most common demyelinating disease, in which the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are damaged. This d ...
,
post-polio sequelae and other disabling conditions. Originally titled, ''Spinal Network Extra'', the then-quarterly magazine was a spin-off of the 1987 book ''Spinal Network: The Total Resource for the Wheelchair Community.''
Maddox edited ''New Mobility'' until 1991, when Barry Corbet, a
paraplegic
Paraplegia, or paraparesis, is an impairment in motor or sensory function of the lower extremities. The word comes from Ionic Greek ()
"half-stricken". It is usually caused by spinal cord injury or a congenital condition that affects the neural ...
from a spinal cord injury, took the helm. The title was changed to ''New Mobility'' for the Summer 1992 issue. In 1993, the magazine temporarily ceased publication. Miramar Publishing (later Miramar Communications) bought the title and relaunched it in 1994. It became bimonthly in 1995 and monthly in 1996. In 1998, No Limits Communications acquired the magazine. In 2000, Corbet retired, and Gilmer, also paraplegic, took over as editor. In 2010,
United Spinal Association
United Spinal Association is a nonprofit membership, disability rights and veterans service organization in the United States. It was formed in 1946 as Eastern Paralyzed Veterans Association by a group of paralyzed World War II veterans from New ...
bought ''New Mobility'' and continues to publish it monthly. In 2018, Gilmer retired and Ian Ruder took over as editor.
The Niche
Early disability titles tended to reflect what is known as the
medical model of disability
The medical model of disability, or medical model, is based in a biomedical perception of disability. This model links a disability diagnosis to an individual's physical body. The model supposes that this disability may reduce the individual's qua ...
, which emphasized the need for cures and referred to people with disabilities as "patients". ''New Mobility'' defined its
social model of disability
The social model of disability identifies systemic barriers, derogatory attitudes, and social exclusion (intentional or inadvertent), which make it difficult or impossible for disabled people to attain their valued functionings. The social mode ...
point of view with a lifestyle-oriented approach,
inclusion
Inclusion or Include may refer to:
Sociology
* Social inclusion, aims to create an environment that supports equal opportunity for individuals and groups that form a society.
** Inclusion (disability rights), promotion of people with disabiliti ...
mentality and
people-first language
People-first language (PFL), also called person-first language, is a type of linguistic prescription which puts a person before a diagnosis, describing what condition a person "has" rather than asserting what a person "is". It is intended to av ...
. It was also one of the first periodicals to seriously address
sexuality and disability
Sexuality and disability is a topic regarding the sexual behavior and practices of people with disabilities, who have a range of sexual desires and differ in the ways they choose to express their sexuality. Commonly, people with disabilities la ...
, and its provocative role in this area has been recognized by the ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
,'' and subsequently the
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
.
Sex and the Disabled: Still a Taboo Topic
/ref> The magazine sums up its place in the field of disability journalism with the tagline "Life Beyond Wheels".
References
External links
''New Mobility'' magazine
1989 establishments in Colorado
Lifestyle magazines published in the United States
Monthly magazines published in the United States
Quarterly magazines published in the United States
Disability publications
Health magazines
Magazines established in 1989
Magazines published in Colorado
Mass media in Boulder, Colorado