Girl Fuse Gives Bold Voice to Girl Bloggers with Disabilities

    NEW YORK, NY, June 29, 2016 /24-7PressRelease/ -- "Are you fired up by being stereotyped in the media, burned out by being portrayed as someone's 'little angel' or an object of pity, incensed by all the inspiration porn? Light up and be a Girl Fuse!"

With that intriguing exhortation, a new effort to promote bold self-expression by girls with disabilities kicks off its public phase as a significant online forum.

Girl Fuse is an editorial project of Teen Voices, the global girl news and mentoring site of the New York-based Women's eNews. The series features personal stories and news articles by, about and with girls with disabilities. Female-identified 13-19 year-olds who are interested in getting paid for their published work are invited to submit their writing to [email protected].

"We want to hear girls' ideas for reported, journalistic stories as well as first-person essays," said Katina Paron, Editor of Teen Voices and director of Girl Fuse. "By joining Girl Fuse, girls and young women with disabilities will have ownership over how their stories are told. They will get to direct the narrative and share a platform with other girls, regardless of having a disability or not."

Recent Girl Fuse stories:

Teen Calls Out 'Me Before You' Movie as Offensive, Belittling
Being Thin Isn't All It's Cracked Up to Be, Teen Says
Teen Finds Disability Isolating Without Peer Network

Psychologist Dr. Danielle Sheypuk, respected worldwide as an advocate on behalf of people with disabilities, serves as a consultant for the Girl Fuse series. Dr. Sheypuk holds a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology (2009) from The New School for Social Research. She specializes in the psychology of dating, relationships, intimacy and sexuality, particularly among members of the disabled community. She has used a wheelchair since kindergarten and brings her own experience of living with a disability to the project.

"By bringing me on board, Women's eNews is making a strong statement that they want to promote the real voice of disability," said Dr. Sheypuk. "They are not just assuming that they know what it is like to have a disability, a mistake that is made time and again by mainstream media outlets. With Girl Fuse, girls and young women with disabilities gain an important outlet for sharing their experiences with the rest of the world.

"Bold, frank description and discussion of issues faced by teen girls is what Girl Fuse is all about," concluded Dr. Sheypuk. "It promotes the modern, progressive view of diversity while promising to bring forward a whole new generation of young thinkers and writers."

For more information, contact Katina Paron, [email protected], 212-244-1720; or Dr. Danielle Sheypuk, [email protected]

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