June 30, 2026 • 10 mins
Today we share the art and advocacy of queer disability activist Ruby Allegra.
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Speaker 1 (00:05):
Hey, this is anny An Smith. Though I'm looking to
stuff we never told you production, I heard you.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
And as we wrap up the twenty twenty six Pride Month,
we are and are headed toward Disability Pride Month. We
thought we would close out with an intersectional activist, a
non binary disabled artist, Ruby Allegra. Yeah, I kind of
like June's spending out longer than I expected.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
I don't know why that felt that way.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
I know it's not, but because it's reached into the
second like another one of our episode dates, and I'm like, oh,
I don't know why I was ready to hop into
the next month.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
Time doesn't exist with me. You know this.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
Things are always movings about this.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
I stuck Withweny twenty six for a minute, so I'm
doing so good.
Speaker 3 (00:59):
You know, they took control almost alive. Yeah, got it, Okay,
moving on.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
So Allegra they them is a native of Australia and
has been a giant voice in the lgbtqia plus disability world.
In their community, they have been a big advocate in
not only loving and embracing themselves and telling you us
to embrace it ourselves completely, but also an express and
(01:25):
share that with those around them from their work and
makeup exhibitions, tattooing, and so much more. They use their
art to share their voice and experiences with those who
may have never felt represented before. And you know how
we feel about representation here. It is so important, and
voices like theirs is one of the big things that
(01:46):
we talk about because it helps to see it helps
to see yourself represented in media and we love that.
So from their article from Bustle, they say this, growing
up in Adelaide, Australia, Ruby Allegra never really saw someone
who looked like them, that is, someone who has a
disability that prohibits them from walking and therefore they use
(02:06):
a powered wheelchair. Represented in film or TV or any
other sort of media. Generally, if those characters did have disabilities,
they weren't portrayed by actors that actually have disabilities, and
they certainly weren't portrayed in a positive or strong way.
Allegra tells Bustle, I never really heard news stories about
disabled people achieving things. It's always had quite a negative
(02:29):
spin on it, or sympathetic pity kind of vibe.
Speaker 3 (02:32):
And we've talked about that many times.
Speaker 2 (02:34):
How we see this as kind of like the pity
porn and why we can't we get great representation or
an ablest ideals And so, just like many others, Allegra
saw that themselves, and the article continues for this reason.
Allegra says they feel a responsibility to be a role
model for more than seventeen thousand people who follow They
(02:57):
are at for their Instagram page, which is our VB
why A L L E g r A. Although they
originally joined the social media platform to promote their makeup work,
they began the secondary account to explore the activism side
of Instagram, which we've talked about before, activism on social
media and from the Star, Allegra has been using their
(03:19):
platform to advocate for disability and LGBTQIA activism, and it's
also in this type of activism they use the platform
to teach and encourage others to love themselves. From a
Frankie dot Com article, Allegra gives specifics for the marginalized
folks to see themselves more positively, including the following things
expressing themselves in their fashion. They write this, something that
(03:42):
I like about fashion is being able to challenge what
people assume about disability or body image or disability or sexuality.
I'm enjoying challenging the stereotypes that say that your body
type determines whether or not you're allowed to be fashionable,
that fat people can't wear crop tops or type fitting clothes,
that this able people don't have style and can't enjoy
what they look like. I also like being able to
(04:04):
use fashion to illustrate to others that I'm queer and
that I'm not cis gender. That's really important to me
because gender and sexuality aren't necessarily things that you can see.
It's a sense of being part of your identity and
something that you can express through your style. And with
that for the queer community taking down the pressure. This
is one of the other things that they say. There's
(04:25):
a lot of focus in our society on gender binary,
male and female. There's this idea that there's nothing in between,
is one or the other, whether you're sis gender woman
or man, or a transgender woman or a man. That
may is it difficult for people who are non binary,
or gender queer, or gender fluid or a gender to
find a sense of belonging in community and identity. And
(04:46):
they go on to explain that they have more that
with more people willing to step beyond these norms. There's
more representation for that queer community, which we agree, we
love that. In a twenty twenty two interview with Sola
Podcasts about their exhibition from My Room, they talk about
their interconnected works, which ranges from zine making, tattooing to
makeup artistry. They say, I feel like it then answering
(05:08):
this question, they all kind of connect together to form
my practice or like the medium that I'm using, I
guess it kind of depends on the work that I'm
wanting to make and like what the message is when
I'm wanting someone to feel from receiving that work, And
so that's kind of what informs what I choose to
go in terms of direction of what medium I'm going
to use for it. So having all of these different
(05:30):
elements I definitely think is probably very closely linked with
my ADHD as well as autism in terms of getting
hyper fixated on a specific hobby or skills or things
and having a hyperfixation really intensely. And then they talk
about discovering new skills and having new mediums and why
this is so important to them as well as being
hyper focused on certain things and why they have so
(05:50):
many hobbies, which yes, I think many people can relate to.
And also the fact that they go outside of the
binary and outside of the box is really important to them.
In speaking of that exhibit, here's a bit from demir
mag dot com about that work, described as a colorful
celebration of a disabled existence. From my Room is like
(06:13):
the rainbow that appears when light hits a prism. Ruby
has taken their disabled joy, pride, pain and pleasure, and
with it created illustrations, paintings, lino prints, textile works, sculptures
and installations, all made as the name suggests, from their bedroom,
and I continue, from my Room is an invitation to rest,
to share love and joy, and to honor ourselves at
(06:35):
our disabled ken, with Ruby generously cultivating a space space
for us to do so.
Speaker 3 (06:40):
You're here, amids art, you can rest rise.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
Ruby, from the exhibition opening to the exhibition itself From
my Room continuously reminds us to take care of each
other and ourselves, to rest as political protests and to
always be practicing collective care, access and liberation.
Speaker 3 (06:58):
I love that and that podcast, as we mentioned.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
Earlier, that interviewed them where they actually went to their
room and sat around and talked about what this topic
exhibition meant for the disabled community and how it represented
them themselves. So very interesting works and they're currently still
doing quite a bit, including selling their art in forms
(07:20):
like letter writing sets, which I love later like Snell
Meil Writing is What It Says, which include hand drawn
art with writing paper, envelopes, postcards, and so much more.
You can go take a look at their instagram RVB
Why the Artist at RVB, Why the Artist to look
at all of their art which have some of the
(07:41):
most incredible art you can see, as well as their
T shirts that they've been selling and I think the
shoot and I think they went viral for their T
shirt as well, and yeah, other great pieces, so you
should definitely check that out. And we wanted to end
the show with something they wrote for a lore titled
disabled hands are magical and deserved to be seen. So
they write, and I'm not reading entire thing, so you
(08:01):
definitely should go and look this up because it's a
beautiful piece. We're just reading a little bit from the
top in the bottom kind of give a summary of
what they wrote. So they write this, I have very
very soft hands, I have been complimented for this by
many people who wonder about my skincare routine or which
magic hand cream I use. I don't use hand cream. Often,
the softness of my hands is the first impression I
(08:23):
make when I shake hands with a new acquaintance, render lover.
There are surgical scars on both of my thumbs which
look like rose thorns. It make me feel at home
in my garden. I think there's something poetic in that.
My best friend once told me that I have magic
in my hands when I draw, cook for my chosen family,
put makeup on, or write poetry about a cute queer babe.
(08:44):
Disabled hands are magic, and this is at the end
of the article. Over the years, many others have not
wanted to touch or be touched by my hands, and
I sometimes think of this as evidence that my magic
hands can protect me without my knowledge ableism, transphobia, fat phobia,
and massage. You threaten my softness each day. Often I
exist wearing armor to protect myself from systems that cause harm,
(09:06):
not my hands, though my magic. Disabled hands are the
softest part of me. When I have to be hard
and rough hue to survive, disabled hands are magic. I
love this, and so if you have a chance to,
definitely go read the entirety of their article. I think
it's so beautiful and poetic. Obviously they are artists, so yes,
it's not surprising that they would write something so heartbelt
(09:29):
and lovely. So yes, and again go check out their instagram.
It is really amazing that art is so fun.
Speaker 1 (09:36):
Yes, go do all of that. Listeners, go check all
of that out. As always, let us know if you
have any thoughts about this or who we should cover,
episode topics, whatever.
Speaker 3 (09:49):
We would love to hear from you. How has your
pride been well?
Speaker 1 (09:52):
Are you thinking about disability pride? As we move into
that line.
Speaker 3 (09:57):
Let us know.
Speaker 1 (09:58):
You can email us at Hello Stuff, Whenever Told You
dot com. You can find us some blue Sky at
mom Stuff podcast or on Instagram and TikTok at stuff
When Never Told You. We're also on YouTube. We have
sub merchandise at coom Bureau, and we have a book
you can get wherever you get your books. Thanks as
always to our super producers Chandler at Casey and Rima
and our executive producer Maya. Thank you and thanks to
(10:18):
you for listening. Stuff Whenever Told Youse production by heart Radio.
For more podcasts from My heart Radio, you can check
out the heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you
listen to your favorite shows.
Hey, this is anny An Smith. Though I'm looking to
stuff we never told you production, I heard you.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
And as we wrap up the twenty twenty six Pride Month,
we are and are headed toward Disability Pride Month. We
thought we would close out with an intersectional activist, a
non binary disabled artist, Ruby Allegra. Yeah, I kind of
like June's spending out longer than I expected.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
I don't know why that felt that way.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
I know it's not, but because it's reached into the
second like another one of our episode dates, and I'm like, oh,
I don't know why I was ready to hop into
the next month.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
Time doesn't exist with me. You know this.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
Things are always movings about this.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
I stuck Withweny twenty six for a minute, so I'm
doing so good.
Speaker 3 (00:59):
You know, they took control almost alive. Yeah, got it, Okay,
moving on.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
So Allegra they them is a native of Australia and
has been a giant voice in the lgbtqia plus disability world.
In their community, they have been a big advocate in
not only loving and embracing themselves and telling you us
to embrace it ourselves completely, but also an express and
(01:25):
share that with those around them from their work and
makeup exhibitions, tattooing, and so much more. They use their
art to share their voice and experiences with those who
may have never felt represented before. And you know how
we feel about representation here. It is so important, and
voices like theirs is one of the big things that
(01:46):
we talk about because it helps to see it helps
to see yourself represented in media and we love that.
So from their article from Bustle, they say this, growing
up in Adelaide, Australia, Ruby Allegra never really saw someone
who looked like them, that is, someone who has a
disability that prohibits them from walking and therefore they use
(02:06):
a powered wheelchair. Represented in film or TV or any
other sort of media. Generally, if those characters did have disabilities,
they weren't portrayed by actors that actually have disabilities, and
they certainly weren't portrayed in a positive or strong way.
Allegra tells Bustle, I never really heard news stories about
disabled people achieving things. It's always had quite a negative
(02:29):
spin on it, or sympathetic pity kind of vibe.
Speaker 3 (02:32):
And we've talked about that many times.
Speaker 2 (02:34):
How we see this as kind of like the pity
porn and why we can't we get great representation or
an ablest ideals And so, just like many others, Allegra
saw that themselves, and the article continues for this reason.
Allegra says they feel a responsibility to be a role
model for more than seventeen thousand people who follow They
(02:57):
are at for their Instagram page, which is our VB
why A L L E g r A. Although they
originally joined the social media platform to promote their makeup work,
they began the secondary account to explore the activism side
of Instagram, which we've talked about before, activism on social
media and from the Star, Allegra has been using their
(03:19):
platform to advocate for disability and LGBTQIA activism, and it's
also in this type of activism they use the platform
to teach and encourage others to love themselves. From a
Frankie dot Com article, Allegra gives specifics for the marginalized
folks to see themselves more positively, including the following things
expressing themselves in their fashion. They write this, something that
(03:42):
I like about fashion is being able to challenge what
people assume about disability or body image or disability or sexuality.
I'm enjoying challenging the stereotypes that say that your body
type determines whether or not you're allowed to be fashionable,
that fat people can't wear crop tops or type fitting clothes,
that this able people don't have style and can't enjoy
what they look like. I also like being able to
(04:04):
use fashion to illustrate to others that I'm queer and
that I'm not cis gender. That's really important to me
because gender and sexuality aren't necessarily things that you can see.
It's a sense of being part of your identity and
something that you can express through your style. And with
that for the queer community taking down the pressure. This
is one of the other things that they say. There's
(04:25):
a lot of focus in our society on gender binary,
male and female. There's this idea that there's nothing in between,
is one or the other, whether you're sis gender woman
or man, or a transgender woman or a man. That
may is it difficult for people who are non binary,
or gender queer, or gender fluid or a gender to
find a sense of belonging in community and identity. And
(04:46):
they go on to explain that they have more that
with more people willing to step beyond these norms. There's
more representation for that queer community, which we agree, we
love that. In a twenty twenty two interview with Sola
Podcasts about their exhibition from My Room, they talk about
their interconnected works, which ranges from zine making, tattooing to
makeup artistry. They say, I feel like it then answering
(05:08):
this question, they all kind of connect together to form
my practice or like the medium that I'm using, I
guess it kind of depends on the work that I'm
wanting to make and like what the message is when
I'm wanting someone to feel from receiving that work, And
so that's kind of what informs what I choose to
go in terms of direction of what medium I'm going
to use for it. So having all of these different
(05:30):
elements I definitely think is probably very closely linked with
my ADHD as well as autism in terms of getting
hyper fixated on a specific hobby or skills or things
and having a hyperfixation really intensely. And then they talk
about discovering new skills and having new mediums and why
this is so important to them as well as being
hyper focused on certain things and why they have so
(05:50):
many hobbies, which yes, I think many people can relate to.
And also the fact that they go outside of the
binary and outside of the box is really important to them.
In speaking of that exhibit, here's a bit from demir
mag dot com about that work, described as a colorful
celebration of a disabled existence. From my Room is like
(06:13):
the rainbow that appears when light hits a prism. Ruby
has taken their disabled joy, pride, pain and pleasure, and
with it created illustrations, paintings, lino prints, textile works, sculptures
and installations, all made as the name suggests, from their bedroom,
and I continue, from my Room is an invitation to rest,
to share love and joy, and to honor ourselves at
(06:35):
our disabled ken, with Ruby generously cultivating a space space
for us to do so.
Speaker 3 (06:40):
You're here, amids art, you can rest rise.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
Ruby, from the exhibition opening to the exhibition itself From
my Room continuously reminds us to take care of each
other and ourselves, to rest as political protests and to
always be practicing collective care, access and liberation.
Speaker 3 (06:58):
I love that and that podcast, as we mentioned.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
Earlier, that interviewed them where they actually went to their
room and sat around and talked about what this topic
exhibition meant for the disabled community and how it represented
them themselves. So very interesting works and they're currently still
doing quite a bit, including selling their art in forms
(07:20):
like letter writing sets, which I love later like Snell
Meil Writing is What It Says, which include hand drawn
art with writing paper, envelopes, postcards, and so much more.
You can go take a look at their instagram RVB
Why the Artist at RVB, Why the Artist to look
at all of their art which have some of the
(07:41):
most incredible art you can see, as well as their
T shirts that they've been selling and I think the
shoot and I think they went viral for their T
shirt as well, and yeah, other great pieces, so you
should definitely check that out. And we wanted to end
the show with something they wrote for a lore titled
disabled hands are magical and deserved to be seen. So
they write, and I'm not reading entire thing, so you
(08:01):
definitely should go and look this up because it's a
beautiful piece. We're just reading a little bit from the
top in the bottom kind of give a summary of
what they wrote. So they write this, I have very
very soft hands, I have been complimented for this by
many people who wonder about my skincare routine or which
magic hand cream I use. I don't use hand cream. Often,
the softness of my hands is the first impression I
(08:23):
make when I shake hands with a new acquaintance, render lover.
There are surgical scars on both of my thumbs which
look like rose thorns. It make me feel at home
in my garden. I think there's something poetic in that.
My best friend once told me that I have magic
in my hands when I draw, cook for my chosen family,
put makeup on, or write poetry about a cute queer babe.
(08:44):
Disabled hands are magic, and this is at the end
of the article. Over the years, many others have not
wanted to touch or be touched by my hands, and
I sometimes think of this as evidence that my magic
hands can protect me without my knowledge ableism, transphobia, fat phobia,
and massage. You threaten my softness each day. Often I
exist wearing armor to protect myself from systems that cause harm,
(09:06):
not my hands, though my magic. Disabled hands are the
softest part of me. When I have to be hard
and rough hue to survive, disabled hands are magic. I
love this, and so if you have a chance to,
definitely go read the entirety of their article. I think
it's so beautiful and poetic. Obviously they are artists, so yes,
it's not surprising that they would write something so heartbelt
(09:29):
and lovely. So yes, and again go check out their instagram.
It is really amazing that art is so fun.
Speaker 1 (09:36):
Yes, go do all of that. Listeners, go check all
of that out. As always, let us know if you
have any thoughts about this or who we should cover,
episode topics, whatever.
Speaker 3 (09:49):
We would love to hear from you. How has your
pride been well?
Speaker 1 (09:52):
Are you thinking about disability pride? As we move into
that line.
Speaker 3 (09:57):
Let us know.
Speaker 1 (09:58):
You can email us at Hello Stuff, Whenever Told You
dot com. You can find us some blue Sky at
mom Stuff podcast or on Instagram and TikTok at stuff
When Never Told You. We're also on YouTube. We have
sub merchandise at coom Bureau, and we have a book
you can get wherever you get your books. Thanks as
always to our super producers Chandler at Casey and Rima
and our executive producer Maya. Thank you and thanks to
(10:18):
you for listening. Stuff Whenever Told Youse production by heart Radio.
For more podcasts from My heart Radio, you can check
out the heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you
listen to your favorite shows.
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