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Mary Frances Platt

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This article is about the American writer and activist; for the British biochemist with a similar name, see Frances Platt.
Mary Frances Platt
BornJune 16, 1953
Methuen, Massachusetts, U.S.
DiedSeptember 15, 2004 (aged 51)
Other namesMaryFrances Platt
Occupation(s)Writer, activist

Mary Frances Platt (June 16, 1953 – September 15, 2004), sometimes written as MaryFrances Platt or mary frances platt, was an American writer and activist in the causes of disability rights, LGBT rights, feminism, and fat liberation.

Early life and education

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Platt was born in Methuen, Massachusetts, the daughter of James D. Platt and Mary F. Donovan Platt. Her father was a veteran of World War II.[1] She described her childhood as difficult because she was asthmatic, and she was institutionalized as a teenager. She held a master of education degree (MEd), in counseling psychology.[2][3]

Career

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Platt worked in carnivals as a young woman.[2][4] She was a writer and activist in the causes of disability rights, gay rights, feminism, and fat liberation. Her essays and poems appeared in activist periodicals including Off Our Backs[5] and Ragged Edge,[6] and in several anthologies.[7][8][9] "I am not a disabled woman who is imprisoned in her body or who has overcome or who strives to overcome her disability," she began a 1995 essay. "I am a radical crip who struggles to stay alive in an ableist culture."[7]

After finding support for her concerns at the East Coast Lesbian Festival in 1989,[10] she served on the steering committee of the National Lesbian Conference (NLC) in 1990.[11] She also ran a support group for "adult daughters of addicted and emotionally ill parents" in Northampton, Massachusetts.[12]

Publications

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  • "Disability and Accessibility Cost Money!" (1990, with Margy Dowzer and Aviva Schmuckler)[2]
  • "Creating Accessibility: Organizing for the National Lesbian Conference" (1990)[13]
  • "Serious Shit at the NLC" (1990)[5]
  • "A View from this Wheelchair" (1990)[10][14]
  • "25 Ways to Oppress a Lesbian with a Disability" (1991)[15]
  • "Planning an Accessible Indoor Event" (1992, with Lynn Zelvin and Shemaya Laurel)[16]
  • "Reclaiming Femme--Again" (1992)[8]
  • "Jennifer's Gift" (1995)[17]
  • "Not Imprisoned, Just a Fact of Life" (1995)[7]
  • "United in Ableism's Web" (1996)[18]
  • "Oxygenated Babe" (1995, 1999)[19][20]
  • "Mae Still Be Alive" (1999)[21]
  • "Assisted Suicide: Devaluing Disabled Life" (1999)[3]
  • "Passing through Shame" and "Personal Assistance: A job, a politic" (1999)[9]
  • "Homesick Song" (2000)[22]
  • "The New Refugees" (2003)[6]
  • "The Belchertown Crip Railroad" (2003)[23]
  • "The Terri Schindler Schiavo Crippled Kickball Team" (2003)[24]
  • "Rebeca, Me and the Freak Show" (2004)[25]

Personal life

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Platt lived in Belchertown, Massachusetts, but sometimes traveled in her van during the winter, to manage her respiratory and neurological conditions.[6] After a pulmonary embolism in adulthood,[3] she used a motorized wheelchair and supplemental oxygen,[7] and had a service dog named Lucy.[26][27] She died in 2004, at the age of 51.

References

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  1. ^ "James D. Platt, Co-founded Andover Junior Football League". Andover Townsman. January 27, 1994. p. 28. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c Dowzer, Margy; Platt, Mary Frances; Schmuckler, Aviva (February 4–10, 1990). "Disability and Accessibility Cost Money!". Gay Community News: 13 – via Internet Archive.
  3. ^ a b c Platt, Mary Frances (Winter 1999–2000). "Assisted Suicide: Devaluing Disabled LIfe" (PDF). The American Feminist: 12–13.
  4. ^ Leslea Newman (1995-01-01). The Femme Mystique. p. 317.
  5. ^ a b platt, mary frances. "Serious Shit at the NLC." Off Our Backs 20, no. 5 (1990): 10-10.
  6. ^ a b c Platt, Mary Frances. (March–April 2003). "The New Refugees" Ragged Edge Magazine.
  7. ^ a b c d Kahn, Karen (1995). Frontline Feminism 1975-1995: Essays from Sojourner's First 20 Years. Aunt Lute Books. p. 65. ISBN 978-1-879960-43-5.
  8. ^ a b Platt, Mary Frances (1992). "Reclaiming Femme--Again" in Joan Nestle, ed., The Persistent Desire: A Femme-Butch Reader (Alyson Publications 1992).
  9. ^ a b Platt, Mary Frances (1999). "Personal assistance: a job, a politic" in Victoria A. Brownworth and Susan Raffo, eds., Restricted access: Lesbians on disability (Seal Press 1999). ISBN 9781580050289
  10. ^ a b Platt, Mary Frances (March 25–31, 1990). "A view from this wheelchair". Gay Community News: 5.
  11. ^ Gaines, Kelly (March 11–17, 1990). "Lesbian conference seeks dykes with disabilities". Gay Community News: 2 – via Internet Archive.
  12. ^ "Adult Daughters of Addicted and Emotionally Ill Parents". Daily Hampshire Gazette. 1987-11-13. p. 72. Retrieved 2024-05-29 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ Platt, Mary Frances (April 1–7, 1990). "Creating Accessibility: Organizing for the National Lesbian Conference". Gay Community News: 9 – via Internet Archive.
  14. ^ platt, mary frances. "A View From This Wheelchair." off our backs 20, no. 5 (1990): 11-11.
  15. ^ Platt, Mary Frances (December 1991). "25 Ways to Oppress a Lesbian with a Disability" (PDF). Herland Voice: 3.
  16. ^ Zelvin, Lynn, Mary Frances Pratt, and Shemaya Laurel. "Planning an Accessible Indoor Event" Maize 31 (Winter 1992): 24-25.
  17. ^ Platt, Mary Frances (1995-01-01). "Jennifer's Gift". In Newman, Leslea (ed.). The Femme Mystique. pp. 189–190.
  18. ^ Califia-Rice, Patrick; Sweeney, Robin (1996). The second coming : a leatherdyke reader. Internet Archive. Los Angeles : Alyson Publications. ISBN 978-1-55583-281-0.
  19. ^ Elwin, Rosamund; Tulchinsky, Karen X. (1995). Tangled sheets : stories & poems of lesbian lust. Internet Archive. Toronto, Ont. : Women's Press. pp. 195–196. ISBN 978-0-88961-207-5.
  20. ^ Platt, Mary Frances (1996). "Oxygenated Babe". In Tremain, Shelley (ed.). Pushing the limits : disabled dykes produce culture. Internet Archive. Toronto : Women's Press. pp. 152–153. ISBN 978-0-88961-218-1.
  21. ^ Platt, Mary Frances (1996). "Mae Still Be Alive". In Tremain, Shelley (ed.). Pushing the limits : disabled dykes produce culture. Internet Archive. Toronto : Women's Press. pp. 138–139. ISBN 978-0-88961-218-1.
  22. ^ Platt, Mary Frances. (January–February 2000). "Homesick Song" Ragged Edge Magazine.
  23. ^ Platt, Mary Frances (July–August 2003). "Belchertown Crip Railroad". Ragged Edge Magazine. Retrieved 2024-05-28.
  24. ^ Platt, Mary Frances. (October 28, 2003). "The Terri Schindler Schiavo Crippled Kickball Team" Ragged Edge Magazine.
  25. ^ Platt, Mary Frances. (March 25, 2004) "Rebeca, Me, and the Freak Show" Ragged Edge Magazine.
  26. ^ Loisel, Laurie (2004-04-01). "CDH accommodates Lucy in her work". Daily Hampshire Gazette. p. 3. Retrieved 2024-05-29 – via Newspapers.com.
  27. ^ Kelliher, Judith (1993-09-28). "Disabled woman may press access charge against courts". Daily Hampshire Gazette. p. 3. Retrieved 2024-05-29 – via Newspapers.com.
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