Mad Pride

Mad Pride emerged at the end of the 20th Century, primarily in London and the United Kingdom, as a mass movement of mental health services users and their allies. Mad pride events have been organized around the globe, from Australia to South Africa and the United States, drawing thousands of participants, according to MindFreedom International, a United States mental health advocacy organization that promotes and tracks events spawned by the movement. [ [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/11/fashion/11madpride.html?partner=rssnyt ‘Mad Pride’ Fights a Stigma] ]

Mad Pride activists seek to reclaim terms such as 'mad', 'nutter' and 'psycho' from misuse, such as in tabloid newspapers. Through a series of mass media campaigns, Mad Pride activists seek to re-educate the general public on such subjects as the causes of mental disorders, the experiences of those using the the mental health system, and the global suicide pandemic. One of Mad Pride's founding activists was Pete Shaughnessy, who later committed suicide. [ [http://www.mentalmagazine.co.uk/pete_shaughnessy.htm#petemain Pete Shaughnessy r.i.p.] ] Robert Dellar and 'Freaky Phil' Murphy were among the other founders of the movement. "Mad Pride: A celebration of mad culture" records the early Mad Pride movement. [cite book|title=Mad Pride|publisher=Chipmunka Publishing|isbn=095257442X|date=2000-03-01]

History

Mad Pride was launched alongside a book of the same name, "Mad Pride: A celebration of mad culture", published in 2000. [cite book|title=Mad Pride|publisher=Chipmunka Publishing|isbn=095257442X|date=2000-03-01] On May 11, 2008, Gabrielle Glaser documented Mad Pride in "The New York Times".Author: Gabrielle Glaser. Web page: “ ‘Mad Pride’ Fights a Stigma.” Web site: "The New York Times.” Date: May 11, 2008. Institution: The New York Times Company. Date of access: May 11, 2008. Web address: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/11/fashion/11madpride.html.] Glaser stated, "Just as gay-rights activists reclaimed the word queer as a badge of honor rather than a slur, these advocates proudly call themselves mad; they say their conditions do not preclude them from productive lives." The Mad Pride movement was further mentioned in "The Huffington Post".Author: The Huffington Post. Web page: “Glad To Be Mad: Mentally Ill Start 'Mad Pride' Movement (VIDEO).” Web site: "The Huffington Post.” Date: May 12, 2008. Institution: HuffingtonPost.com, Inc. Date of access: May 26, 2008. Web address: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/05/12/mad-pride-movement-combat_n_101347.html.]

Mad culture and events

The Mad Pride movement has spawned recurring cultural events in Toronto, London, and other cities around the world. These events often include music, poetry readings, film screenings, and street theatre, such as 'bed push' protests, which aim to raise awareness about the poor levels of choice of treatments and the widespread use of force in psychiatric hospitals. [The Great Escape Bed Push [http://www.bedpush.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1&Itemid=2] ] A week-long Mad Pride event in Toronto, highlighted by a bed push, is now in its fourteenth year, and a series of bed push events take place around London each year. Commentaries on the Mad Pride movement have been made by such literary luminaries as the English Republican Jonathan Freedland [cite news|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2007/may/08/health.healthandwellbeing|title=Glad to be 'mad'?|publisher=The Guardian|first=Jo|last=Brand|date=2007-05-08] and popular novelist Clare Allan [cite news|title=Misplaced pride|publisher=Guardian Unlimited|first=Clare|last=Allan|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/story/0,,1881476,00.html|date=2006-11-27] . Mad Pride cultural events take a variety of forms, such as the South London collective Creative Routes, the Chipmunka Publishing enterprise, and the many works of Dolly Sen. ["World Is Full of Laughter: 1 Million People Commit Suicide Every Year", Dolly Sen, Chipmunka Publishing, October 2002 ISBN 9780954221812]

ee also

*Mentalism (discrimination)

References