Interview with Jace Peters-White, June 28, 2022

THOMPSON: Hello, my name is Mack Thompson, and today I'm interviewing Jace Peters-White for the Disabled in Kentucky Oral History project remotely over Zoom. The date is June 28, 2022. Jace, I'm happy you're here.

PETERS-WHITE: I'm very happy to be here, Mack. Thank you so much for including me on this.

THOMPSON: All right, thank you for joining in on this project and being willing to be interviewed for this. I'm excited to hear from you. I guess to start things off, would you feel comfortable sharing a little bit about yourself?

PETERS-WHITE: Yeah, absolutely. So my name's Jace. I use any pronouns, but usually prefer they/them. I am originally from Scranton, Pennsylvania, but now I live in Lexington, Kentucky. I studied theater at UK and now I'm sort of in between jobs, but, you know, freelance artist and, you know--and looking, you know, into doing more advocacy work and--especially within, you know, the LGBTQ community, and especially

intersections of, you know, the disabled and, you know, Black community as well, you know, just finding ways to support that in any way. So yeah, that's sort of what I am currently doing.

THOMPSON: Thank you for sharing. I would love to hear more about your art and advocacy work, if you feel comfortable sharing.

PETERS-WHITE: Yeah. Yeah, definitely. So yeah, so, you know, my art has been something that I sort of, like, had a part of my life as long as I can remember, you know, in capacities. The thing that I, you know, enjoy the most is writing. I love writing all sorts of, you know, like, fiction, nonfiction, like, journalism, playwriting, and then also theater is the other one that I really enjoy. And, you know, within that, I like stuff that, you know, is very personable and, you know, fueled by, you know, my experiences but also, you know, just generally

has really, you know, strong intentions and purposes behind it. So, you know, I like to do theater that centers around non--especially, you know, cishet voices. So I've done a lot of projects within that. And then as far as my advocacy work, you know, I've done little bit of--not a little bit of everything, necessarily. (laughs) But, you know, I started off, you know, establishing a Gay-Straight Alliance at my high school many years ago and, you know, since that point, I've just really been passionate about, you know, just creating more, you know, safe spaces and open spaces for queer youth especially to just exist as themselves. So for about a year while I was in undergrad, I was in a programming internship for the Office of LGBTQ Resources at UK, and there I did educational programming

and events related to gender identity, pronoun button making, things like that. And I'm sort of, you know, taking another big step right now in a queer group that I've started called Queering Spirituality that I've started with the Spiritual Center that I attend here in Lexington, and that is, you know--the goal with that is, you know, like, similar to any kind of like, you know, safe space, you know, just having an open and affirming space for queer teens and young adults to, you know, just sort of explore this intersection of identity and spirituality, to, you know, network and connect with other queer people that--so they can, you know, feel included but, you know, have conversations that they feel like they might not be able to. Yeah, yeah.

THOMPSON: Thank you for sharing. Would you feel comfortable talking a bit more about your relationship to disability?

PETERS-WHITE: Yeah.

Yeah, absolutely. So yeah, it's interesting because, you know, for a long time, I, you know, didn't consider myself disabled, and I still sometimes struggle with that, I think, because of my own, you know, struggle with internalized ableism. But in the last two years since COVID came, I, you know, had some discoveries about, you know, especially, you know, my mental health and, you know, some neurodivergences I had. You know, so I've, you know, discovered, you know, that I am autistic, and, you know, I'm currently self-diagnosed. I'm pursuing an assessment, but also am completely and fully, like, accepting and believe in, like, self diagnoses being valid because, you know, AFAB experiences are completely different, and we can get--(laughs)--into more of that in a bit. But anyway, yeah, so, you know, I think

because of--because I've spent a lot of my life, you know, believing that I wasn't disabled and that, you know, it was--I think a lot of my views on disability were sort of, like, these, like, extreme ideas that sort of society gave me of, you know, like, "Oh, it's people that, you know, like, you know, like wheelchair users--excuse me--or, you know, people who are hard of hearing, or, you know, like, very specific, you know, you know, classes of, you know, physical disabilities or, you know, learning disabilities that--" You know, I was like, "Well, I--that's not me, so I'm not a part of that." But, you know, it's, you know, similar to, you know, a lot of things, including other identities. There's a lot of spectrum and broadness to it. And so now I feel more comfortable, you know, like, you know, calling myself disabled, you know, having some, like, a minor physical--excuse me--

minor physical disability, and some other disabilities. It feels more comfortable to say that because it's--because I understand a little bit better now.

THOMPSON: Thank you for sharing that. I guess do you feel like being in the pandemic helped, like, facilitate, like, have time to, like, discover your autistic identity? Or is that kind of, like, separate, like?

PETERS-WHITE: Yeah, no, that's a great question. It is very much been a time for me to figure that out. I think it's, you know--it's been a time for a lot of people to discover a lot of different elements in themselves they just didn't really explore because, you know, we were all suddenly forced to, you know, isolate and be on our own, so we were sort of exploring parts of ourselves that, you know, had never even crossed our minds. And a friend of mine had actually--had just

started--this is, you know, mid to late 2020--had just started talking to their therapist about possibly being autistic, and I was just sort of silently thinking, like, "Huh, that--I can sort of relate to that, but I don't know if that's me." And I actually--I have a memory a couple months after that, talking to my roommate, how--and I said something to her along the lines of, like, "Oh yeah, as the only neurotypical one of the group," and she sort of chuckled at me and she was like, "The most neurotypical one of the group," and, you know, several months later, even that wasn't--(laughs)--necessarily true, after all these discoveries that I had about myself. And yeah, so anyway, yeah, COVID has definitely, you know, given opportunity to explore, you know, these communities and, you know, research and learn more about myself in a much broader

capacity.

THOMPSON: I feel like a lot of people are saying that, and that's definitely been my experience too, so thank you for sharing. (laughs) Hashtag-relatable. How else--if you feel comfortable sharing, are there other ways that you've been impacted about--by the pandemic that you feel comfortable sharing today?

PETERS-WHITE: Yeah, sure. I mean, you know, big--you know, I think emotional impact has been, you know, the largest component of that, just, you know, being in periods of isolation and, you know, like, having sort of this--I can't remember the exact term for it, but, you know, like, global trauma that everybody is experiencing of going through this and, you know, that it is continually going on, that it, you know--despite things, you know, improving in some ways, it's

staying the same and still getting worse in a lot of other ways at this point. And I had another point, and it totally drifted from my brain. Yeah, and, you know, like, in terms of, like, you know, like, physical wellbeing, it was also, you know--it was stressful for me, you know, as somebody who has, you know, worked in the food industry a lot and, you know, like, in an industry that is all about, you know, like, you know, consumption and, you know, working with the public. You know, I have a lot of friends that work in it, and I--you know, I wasn't working in the food industry at the time, but I started again in 2021, and it was very horrifying to, you know, be working with the public in that intimate of a setting and, you know, worry about my health and, you know, worry about being at risk, and--yeah, and, you know, that sort of, like, leading up to

back in December, myself and my two roommates and another friend of mine all got COVID back in January, and it's definitely, you know, impacted me, you know, like, emotionally, but also physically. You know, I've definitely got a little bit long COVID symptoms, like the brain fog still lingers every once and a while. Yeah. Yeah, I guess those are--I sort of jumped all over the place, but those are kind of some of the things that have directly impacted me with COVID.

THOMPSON: Thank you for sharing. So you had COVID December or January or both?

PETERS-WHITE: January. So it was--(laughs)--I actually got my test results, like, on New Years Day.

THOMPSON: Oh, wow.

PETERS-WHITE: Yeah.

THOMPSON: That's--yeah, I'm sorry. That's not great. So you worked--

sorry, I'm--I'll go back to that point.

PETERS-WHITE: You're totally fine.

THOMPSON: --ask later on, so we'll go back later. So you said that you're, like, late to--you didn't realize you were autistic until, like, college. So, like, how do you think this, like, impacted you? And, like, be late-detected autistic?

PETERS-WHITE: It was very much--I almost described--similar to, like, a five stages of grief kind of thing--(laughs)--in that, you know, I, you know, initially, like, was sort of in this denial stage of, like, "Oh, no, that's not really me. I just have, like--you know, like, everybody has, like, a couple of things that they can relate to, and this and that," and then, you know, the more I researched, the more I learned about--I was like, "Well, maybe this is me," and then there was sort of a brief, you know, moment of, like, euphoria in realizing, like, "Oh, this explains so much." And then there was this sort of, like, anger

that came from me that in time of, you know, like, "Oh gosh, this explains so much," and, you know, sort of, like, frustration of, you know, not being detected until I was, you know, out of college and, you know, like, a fully-grown adult, and it--and, you know, with that came a lot of, you know, imposter syndrome, you know, still occasionally get that with just sort of invalidating, you know, my own experiences, thinking that I'm making it up, all these things. So it definitely--you know, having that later-in-life discovery definitely impacted me a lot.

THOMPSON: Thank you for sharing. So do you feel like your disability interacts with, like, any of your other social identities?

PETERS-WHITE: That's a good question. I think so, for sure. I mean, especially, you know, like, I mentioned that story about me and my roommate.

I came to realize very quickly that, you know, especially with neurodivergences, you know, you know, those--and with queerness, you know, that's slightly different--we all tend to sort of, like, be magnetic towards other even subconsciously, and with that, you know, most of the friends that I have surrounded myself with, you know, have also been neurodivergent or disabled in some capacity. And I--and, you know, with the--and I think--I mentioned briefly, you know, a minor physical disability. I--and, you know, I struggle with it because it does, you know--it makes me slightly--a little bit less mobile, but I don't know if it's technically classified as one, but I have trouble walking sometimes with a condition I have with my feet. And anyway, that's definitely impacted, you know, my social interactions and my social

identity because, you know, that has a direct impact on, you know, like, doing activities, you know, walking around, doing things that are, you know, physically active. And yeah, so I definitely think, you know, it's had a pretty big impact, you know, on my social identity.

THOMPSON: Thank you for sharing that. So you mentioned earlier--and you said that you'll talk more on this later, maybe--but, like, you mentioned self-diagnosis and how, like, it presents differently in AFAB people, for example. And I was wondering if you could talk more about, like, intersectionality when it comes to, like, self-diagnoses and just that whole, like, field of things.

PETERS-WHITE: Oh yeah, absolutely. Yeah, you know, that was, you know, sort of finding this whole world of neurodivergency in general, but especially the vast sort of spectrum of

experiences, especially with autism, and, you know, differences between, you know, AMAB and AFAB experiences. It was really almost shocking to see, like, the--you know, the sort of, like, wide, you know, like, experiences, and, you know, sort of, like, these, like, different, like, extremes, and, you know, not that it's sort of, like, an imposing sides thing, but, like, it is--you know, it's very similar to, like, you know, gender identity, you know, like, if--like, I'll say to people, like, you know, "If you've met one trans person, you've met one trans person, and if you've met one autistic person, you've met one autistic person," and, you know, everybody's needs and experiences are so different, and, you know, when it comes to intersectionality, you know, the way that those other parts of our identity, like, cross over with, you know, neurodivergency, you know, is--like I said, especially autism, you know, it's--

there's so many other, like, layers about, you know, our identity, and especially with how many autistic people also identify as LGBTQ in some way. I mean, there's so much overlap, and I think that's--it's definitely something that--I'm very glad to see it starting to, you know, be more, I think, inclusive in conversations, you know, about, you know, making more inclusive spaces, more accessible spaces, but it's something that I think needs to be a priority with a lot of conversations about, you know, inclusivity overall.

THOMPSON: Thank you for sharing. You mentioned that a lot of autistic people are LGBTQ. Do you have any, like, theory as to why that might be? Or is that just, like, a thing? (laughs)

PETERS-WHITE: Yeah. (laughs) I've seen a lot of theories about, you know, gender especially. You know, that a lot of, you know, autistic

people are, you know, trans or nonbinary or just generally don't have, you know, a similar sense of gender as, you know, neurotypicals may have. And I--the thing that I read the most is, you know, that, you know, that it has a lot to do with, you know, social constructs and, you know, difficulties with, you know, understanding, like, sort of social rules. And, you know, that can get a little blurry sometimes too because I don't think it's necessarily that, you know, autistic people don't understand social rules. It's just, you know, this misunderstanding of when they're not followed all the time or when, you know, thinking in very sort of, like, step-by-step, like, pragmatic kind of thinking, and any time that that's sort of challenged, it can be difficult, you know, on either side. That's

a very general weird way of putting it, but I just totally lost my train of thought. Sorry. Oh my God, I completely blanked out. (laughs) I'm so sorry. Could you repeat the question one more time?

THOMPSON: Can I? (laughs) Let's see if I remember what the question--

PETERS-WHITE: It’s okay, it's okay.

THOMPSON: I guess just what--like, oh, because we were talking some about, like, queerness and autism, and I asked if you had any, like, theories as to why so many autistic people are LGBTQ?

PETERS-WHITE: Yes, yes. Now I--now I'm recalling. Thank you. (laughter) I appreciate the--getting back on track. Yeah, so, you know, I think, you know, a lot of it, you know, just has to do with, you know, with autistic people having

just a more complex understanding of, you know, like, social constructs. I don't think it's a--I definitely don't think it's a limited understanding of social constructs, which is, I think, sort of a misconception or stereotype, and from that, I think we can sort of, like--it's where we're able to sort of build this more, like, lush and beautiful understanding of gender and, you know, sexuality, romantic identity, you know, all sorts of--I--parts of our identity. I think that's sort of what--not necessarily leads us, being both autistic and LGBTQ, but, you know, sort of, like, a correlation, not causation, kind of thing, I guess.

THOMPSON: That totally makes sense. Thank you for sharing that.

PETERS-WHITE: Yeah.

THOMPSON: So kind of transitioning subjects a little bit, like, you mentioned having been a student, and I was just wondering, like, how was, like, school? Both your younger years and

at UK, how was that for you as someone who had disabilities but maybe wasn't even aware of it at the time?

PETERS-WHITE: Yeah. So, you know, especially growing up, I--you know, in early elementary school, I, you know, did pretty well, you know, academically. I, you know, was, you know, getting straight A's and, you know, like, just performing overall really well. I was, like, considered for my school's gifted program, and I think my parents ended up deciding that they didn't want to go through with it for me, and, you know, socially, I had friends, but I remember, you know, like, just sort of, like, jumping around and sort of struggling sometimes with friends. I--and then middle school, sort of where things got a little more challengingly for me academically. I think that's sort of when, you know, especially, you know, with social expectations

and, you know, just general academic expectations, it made it harder for me to, you know, stay focused and to, you know, find routines that, you know, actually worked for me because most of them were--because material was getting more difficult. You know, the expectations were getting higher and, you know, I didn't have tools that I needed to succeed as much. And then high school, you know, just continued to get even harder, and, you know, same for college. I remember--actually before I moved down here, I spent a semester and a half in culinary school, thinking that I wanted to really go into food service, and it was an unbelievably overstimulating and overwhelming environment, to the point where I ended up having to admit myself into an inpatient program for about a week. And I just remember, you know, in all those moments where, you know, things got very difficult,

you know, especially in high school and college, I--you know, not having these diagnoses and not having this understanding about myself, I had a lot of moments where I was just, like--I just don't know what's wrong with me, and, like, you know, I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I thought that I was--you know, I feel like I'm taking care of myself, but I still am not getting better. And it was a lot of moments like that, you know, especially in--like, later in my life, I've had so far.

THOMPSON: Thank you for sharing that. That sounds really rough, and I'm sorry that you went through that. So you mentioned that, like, the food industry was very overstimulating for you. Were there other ways that it was inaccessible as well? Or was that the main thing for you?

PETERS-WHITE: That was the biggest thing for me. Interesting enough, you know, it was definitely, you know, inaccessible in general. I actually had a girl--she's one of my

closest friends from the program, and she's deaf, and she is the first person to have successfully graduated from that program as a deaf person. And they--she was initially told when she applied that she likely wouldn't be able to succeed in the program, and she basically said, "Well, screw that. I'm going to get through because I should be able to do, you know, anything else that any other, you know, hearing person can be able to do." So she did, and, you know, it--but beyond that, you know, it was especially, you know, inaccessible for, you know--in terms of my needs, you know, like, it was overstimulating. It also, you know, was very physically demanding, which, you know, at that point, that was sort of when my minor physical disability sort of started sort of showing up. I danced for

sixteen or seventeen years, and I think from that and from starting to work in the food industry, I developed plantar fasciitis, and it, you know--like I said, it just makes it really difficult to stand for long periods of time or do any, like, high-impact exercise. And, you know, that was sort of, like, a nonnegotiable thing and a--not something that they really frankly cared about at that point. So yeah, beyond, you know, being overstimulating, it was also very physically demanding and exhausting.

THOMPSON: Thank you for sharing, and I'm sorry that you had that experience. How do you think that, like, the food industry could, like, improve with accessibility or, like, with being more available for everyone to get involved?

PETERS-WHITE: Yeah, absolutely.

I think one of the--it's something small, but it's still like, you know--having the accessibility or--like, the option to just sit down and, like, you know, take more, like, frequent breaks rather than sort of--you know, with the food industry, you know, I see so many people who are working, you know, like, eight, ten, twelve-hour shifts, sometimes even longer, and they're just on their feet their entire time and are just given, like, sort of, like, one long, like, you know, thirty-minute or one-hour break, like, right in the middle of their shift, and it just--you know, it's--that alone is not accessible. You know, having sort of ways to, you know, implement small things like that, you know, like, having, like, sort of, like, short breaks all throughout a shift rather than one long break, I think, could have a big impact, and that sort of goes into more about, you know, like--I think, you know, leaders in food--the food industry just need to have more conversations with disabled

people to find ways for it to be more accessible. They need to have conversations with, you know, potential employees who, you know, who are disabled and want to work there, but cannot, like, you know, physically or mentally work there because of the circumstances. You know, it--I think it just needs to be--it needs to shift towards--we just need to have more open conversations about it because, you know, there's so many little things that we could change, but, you know, especially, you know, sort of this hustle culture, this culture of, you know, like, working until you're about to fall over, like, it's something that I really think needs to just stop. And we're starting to see that a lot, I think, you know, that, like, this sort of idea that, you know, like, resting is more of a priority now than, you know, working yourself to death. But yeah. Yeah.

THOMPSON: Thank you for sharing that. So

how's accessibility in, like, broader (??) and Lexington?

PETERS-WHITE: Yeah, yeah. I want to say I'm a little less familiar with Lexington's just because, you know, I--because I'm, you know, fairly, you know--I've only lived in Lexington for about five years, and, you know, I'm--I've sort of just started to, like, you know, sort of identify as somebody who's disabled, and I think, you know, Lexington is better than some cities, but there're still, like, so many opportunities for, you know--to be more accessible, and, I mean, you know, I'm--there's a lot of stuff, you know, that I'm still sort of unfamiliar with, you know, within the disabled community that, you know, I, you know, we need to, you know, have discussions about and make more accessible.

But, you know, it's--I definitely think, you know, there's growth necessary and, you know, that there needs to--you know, similar to, you know, the food industry, I think more conversations need to be had. It just needs to be sort of, like, something that is added to, like, an agenda of, you know, any kind of, like, growth plan for, you know, whether it's, you know, a coffee shop or, you know, it's--the entirety of Lexington, you know, how can we, you know, make this space more accessible? What can we do to accommodate, you know, the, you know, disabled communities for this specific event? How can we make, you know, this area of town more accessible to people? And I think it's, you know--like I said, better than maybe, like, an average city, but definitely, like, is nowhere near where it needs to be.

THOMPSON: Thank you for sharing that. I guess kind of sidelining off of that, like, I know

you've done a lot, like--and you might be more familiar with it--this subject of it of, like--within, like, the queer and LGBT spaces and, like, if you feel like that has been accessible to you as someone with autism and other disabilities? Like, for example, a lot of people talk about Pride. Honestly, all queer activist spaces need--definitely have, like, the topic of accessibility and how that needs (??) to be--I would love to hear, like, if that has been accessible? If it needs improving? Anything along those lines.

PETERS-WHITE: Absolutely. Yeah, I think that's--you know, that's where my sort of, like, priorities--that's the word--priorities are with, you know, like, really making spaces more accessible because, you know, I don't think it's, you know, a negative thing. But, you know, a lot of queer spaces, you know, have started off as, you know, underground spaces, you know, like spaces for--especially, you know, cis gay men to, you know, to

be together, you know, to party, to drink, and, you know, like, to have a good time, which is why, you know, bars and clubs have, you know, become sort of, like, the, like, keystone queer space. And it's just, you know--I don't think that, you know, that's definitely not the only option here is Lexington, but that's, you know, definitely--I think that that's something that--that's what a lot of, you know, like, queer culture, and I think sort of, like, queer socialization has been centered around for a long time, and I think we're finally getting to a point where we're shifting from that, and at least starting to have conversations about it. And, you know, it actually--you know, it's another thing that I think sort of was a positive moment within the pandemic was that, you know, because, you know, we weren't able to meet in person, people that--who weren't able to access, you know,

groups or events that may have been in person that they couldn't make it to were suddenly now digital and online, and that definitely made it, you know, more accessible. What's sort of unfortunate is, you know, now we're sort of reaching a point where we're trying to "go back to normal," and we're losing some of that, you know, digital accessibility, so now I think it needs a shift of, like, you know, like, no, it's not one or the other. I think we need to have both. And, you know, prioritizing having, you know, more spaces that are sober spaces, more spaces that are for, you know, queer kids and queer teens, more spaces for--that are just not necessarily, you know, like, you know, like, sex-centered spaces or, you know, socially, like, overstimulating kind of spaces, like clubs or bars. I think that that--like, prioritizing that and prioritizing, you know, both digital and in-person spaces, I think, is super important.

THOMPSON:

Thank you for sharing that. I mean, kind of off-topic, but you mentioned that, like, bars and stuff aren't the, like, only, like, queer, like, spaces in Lexington. I would love to hear about other, like, spaces that LGBT people might be gathering in the city, if you feel comfortable sharing.

PETERS-WHITE: Yeah, absolutely. So, I mean, like, in terms of, like, physical spaces, the only one that I know of, you know, very specifically is the Pride Center, and that's, you know, more of, like, a resource hub than anything else. I'm also, you know, glad that, you know, UK offers the Office of LGBTQ Resources. I think it's super important that, you know, it's right there in the Student Center. They--you know, they have, you know, sort of, like, the speakeasy wall. They, like, you know, respect people's privacy and need to, you know, sometimes, you know, keep themselves, you know, in the closet and, you know, like, just, you know, aren't able to be out yet. And

you know, there's, you know, small groups. You know, I actually attended an event a little less than two months ago called Quietly Queer that a friend of mine started a few years ago that, you know, allows, you know, queer people in Lexington--I think it was inspired by a group in New York that does something similar where, you know, they just offer, like, to, like, host a space where, you know, queer people who, again, aren't interested in, you know, like, any overstimulating or, you know, inaccessible environments to, you know, meet together, network, meet other queer people. So they had an event, I think, at Chocolate Holler, a chocolate and coffee bar and, you know, just allowed for people to, like, you know, meet up and just meet other people. I--other than that, I

don't know of any other ones specifically. You know, I know a lot of places that are, you know, queer friendly or, you know, sort of, like, safe--designated, like, safe spaces. But yeah. Yeah.

THOMPSON: Thank you for sharing that. So kind of--I would love to hear, like--we're talking a lot about Lexington, so I was also wondering, like, how was the transition from Pennsylvania to Kentucky for you? Like, in terms of disability, but also just, like, in general? Like, anything you want to talk about.

PETERS-WHITE: Yeah, definitely. It's definitely been a very interesting transition. You know, I grew up in Northeast Pennsylvania, and it's--Pennsylvania's sort of a--like, a mixed bag in that, you know, it has a lot of--you know, it's got some of the biggest, like, you know, major cities, you know, in the country. You know, there's Pittsburgh. There's Philadelphia. There's the capital, Harrisburg. But, you know, other than those major parts,

you know, like, most of, you know, Southwest, all the way up to Northeast PA, all of Central PA, it's all, you know, Appalachian, and, you know, very rural, and that's sort of the part that I grew up in. You know, I grew up in a very rural area and, you know, it was sort of, like, rural suburban, and it was definitely a bit of--(laughs)--not necessarily culture shock, but definitely a shift, you know, moving down here and into a sort of--just sort of adjusting to that, you know, growing from this sort of, like, northern coldness where you don't really, you know, chat with people or, like, you know, make eye contact with people, you know, as you're walking past them on the street, to--you know, shifting to this, like, Southern hospitality has been, you know, very interesting. (laughs) And that's just sort of, like, a general, you know, experience with my transition to moving down here. And in terms of, you know, accessibility and, you know, like, even just, like, representation, you know, I was, you know--I had fully, you know, figured out that I was trans, like,

you know, when I was still in Pennsylvania, when I was still in high school, and things were--just had not moved along much at all and, you know--accessibility and, you know, conversations about the disabled community just--they were just kind of, like, absent at that point. You know, it just wasn't something that I even considered or knew about until I moved out here, which is kind of interesting because everybody, you know, that I told, you know, like, "Oh, I'm moving down to Kentucky," they're like, "Well, why would you move to Kentucky?" I'm like, "Well--" And that's a whole other thing, you know, people dismissing the South and--but, you know--and I think it's--you know, it's more so, I think, just a, like, larger societal shift that's happening rather than just, like, necessarily, like, a regional thing, because it is something that I think has started to improve back in my hometown

area. But yeah. Yeah, so it's, you know--funny enough, I've actually, you know, seen--I don't know. And, you know, not to mention, you know, Lexington's a bit of an anomaly, I think, you know, compared to a lot of Kentucky just in terms of, you know, like, general progressiveness and general, you know, like, acceptance of, you know, intersectional identities and such, so yeah.

THOMPSON: Thank you for sharing that. That's a really interesting experience that you've had. I guess with, like--do you have any, like, theory as to why this cultural shift that you described, like, has occurred? Like, if you want me to refresh what the shift was, I can right now (??).

PETERS-WHITE: Oh no, that's okay. Yeah. You know, I think--part of it, I think, had a lot to do with COVID

and sort of, you know, having this necessary conversation about accessibility and about, you know, the literal, like, wellbeing of, you know, everybody in the world. And, you know, that sort of--I think sort of, like, catapulted a lot of the conversations more. And, you know, I--I'm very aware that, you know, a lot of these conversations have been happening for a long time, but they just haven't, you know, had the space to be heard well enough, which is why, you know, I hadn't really, you know, known about, you know, a lot of this stuff until I moved down here and sort of, like, learned more about the disabled community and, you know, learned stuff about myself and all of these things. And I think so--you know, I think COVID had a really big part of it, and I think also, you know, just this general shift in the last, like,

I'd say even, like, you know, like, maybe, like, five years or so, five or six years. I had a conversation with a friend a couple months ago about sort of the--like, some sort of shift happened at some point, you know, especially when it came to sort of representation about, you know, any kind of intersectionality, especially in, like, television or any kind of media where, you know--and it could sort of like, you know, just be sort of, like--pointed to, like, political correctness sort of, like, being a thing. And, you know, I don't like to use that term just because it gets sort of mocked or looked down at, but that's sort of the only term that it comes with. And I'm not sure how--where I'm really going with this. But like, there was a real shift with, you know, like,

people actually listening to people when saying, like, you know, like, "No, like, you know, these kind of, you know, microaggressive kind of, you know, comments that you might make or jokes that you might make, like, do have an impact, and they build up to a certain point where we reach the point where, you know, people are, you know, being harassed, being attacked, you know, being, like, murdered because of, you know, parts of themselves." And I think there was some sort of shift and, again, I can't really pinpoint what it was that sort of moved that conversation a little bit more to the forefront, I think. It was a very long-winded way of--(laughs)--of answering that, but.

THOMPSON: No, thank you for sharing that. So I guess--this is kind of going back to something discussed a while ago, and you don't have to share this if you don't feel comfortable, but you did reference the time that you spent inpatient, and I was wondering if you felt comfortable talking about your experiences with that.

If you don't, that's totally okay. Just let me know.

PETERS-WHITE: Yeah, no, I appreciate the check-in. I'm very open to talking about it. So yeah, so I was about--let's see, about two and a half months into my culinary program. It was a very intensive program. It was an eighteen--no, it was a year-long program followed by an internship or an externship that lasts about four months, and what made it possible to complete the program in a year was that you were in classes Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. So it was kind of like a full--it was literally a full-time job. I was, you know, privileged enough to not have to, you know, work on top of that. You know, I had some savings. I had financial support from my family. But even with that, you know, even not needing to

take up a job, I was, you know, physically and emotionally drained, and Halloween of October 2016 came up, and I just sort of had this, like, breaking point. I--it literally was just, like, I was about to go to bed and I realized that I had forgotten another assignment and I just--I had a complete breakdown, and the next day, I--you know, I skipped class. I called my mom and I was like, "I'm not okay. I don't really know what to do." And then, you know, from there, a couple days later, we decided to go to the emergency room. I got a psychiatric evaluation and--I don't know if this is an across-the-board thing, but, you know, the system that they used, you know, they ask you sort of, like, an intake--kind of, like, assessment, just, like, questions about, you know, your current wellbeing, and they sort of rank it on a scale of zero to thirty, zero being, you know, you're sort of--you're mentally well, you don't need any kind of, you know, specific treatment. Thirty is, like,

immediate hospitalization, and I was at a fifteen, like, right down the middle. So the nurse that did my intake said, you know, "It's up to you if you want to do this," and it was one of the hardest decisions I've had to make in my twenty-four years so far, but I decided to go through with it, and I stayed for, I believe, eleven or twelve days. So just under two weeks. I said a week before, but it was actually just under two weeks that I was there. And, you know, it was an odd experience, you know. Spaces like that, I think, you know--inpatient programs are typically--seems like sort of, like, brushed under the rug and, you know, not given the full sort of, like, resources that they always need for them to function really

wholeheartedly. You know, most of the nurses and, you know, therapists and people that I talked to were working there on a volunteer basis. I--but at the same time, I know that, you know, having that, you know, space to, at the very least, have my, like, basic needs met while I worked on myself was helpful to me. Yeah. Yeah.

THOMPSON: Thank you for sharing that. So I want to shift into some, like, broader questions, and you can feel free to take this in any way that you want. What do you wish people knew about being disabled? Or--either in the sense of your disability or just broadly?

PETERS-WHITE: I think, you know, I wish people would just sort of--you know, similar to what I was

talking about earlier, just have a better understanding of, you know, the broad spectrum of disabled community, and that, you know, it's--you know, I--you know, there are, you know, like--I think the, like, sort of the shift in, you know, like, there's no sort of, like, you know, like--sort of shifting from, like, you know, referring from autism as, like, you know, mild autism versus, like, severe autism, I think, you know, could even, you know, more broadly, you know, be spoken about, you know, disabilities. There's ones that, you know, need more accommodations and need more needs, and that is completely okay. But I don't--but, you know, using that to sort of invalidate other people's experiences who, you know, still have needs and, you know, accessibility requirements, but, you know, might not be as many as, you know, the person next to them. I think, you know, the biggest thing is, you know, broadening their perspective on what it means to be disabled.

I watched a TikTok recently about how--I don't remember the exact language but, you know, the disabled community is--one--is the community that is, you know, continues to, you know, gain new people, like, every single day, you know, all--like, constantly because it's something that, you know--any point, somebody can become either temporarily or permanently disabled. And, you know, it's something that, you know, we just don't have conversations about, you know, things like that. And yeah, so I think, you know--I wish that people would just have a, I guess, broader perspective on disability as a whole is the biggest thing, I think.

THOMPSON: Thank you for sharing that. What advice would you give someone who recently realized that they were disabled or, like, recently

was diagnosed with a disability? And you can -----------(??)---------- if you want.

PETERS-WHITE: Yeah, no, I appreciate that. Well, I think, you know, as much as, you know, the Internet can be, like, both a, like, amazing and horrible tool--(laughs)--in that, you know, like, we have access to so many different, you know, pieces of information, just holding, you know, the, like, you know, thought in mind that, you know, like, it's--even if, you know, it feels isolating and, you know, feels, like, scary, you know, it is not, you know--you're not the only one, you know. And it feels, like, sort of, like, cliché and cheesy to be saying something like that. You know, like, "Oh, you're not alone." But it is--it's very true because, you know, within my experiences, you know, like, it--I've been able to--similar to when I

learned about, you know, my queerness and my gender identity, like, was introduced to this beautiful community of, you know, very welcoming people and, you know, who, you know, would ask about, like, you know, accommodation things that, you know, I didn't even think of. Like, "Oh, well, you know, I don't necessarily need this, but this is really cool, you know, like, and important that, you know, we're, you know--this helps somebody out, and that is, like, really incredible that we are continuing to, you know, put more, I guess, sort of, like, checkpoints up to make sure that people feel that they can, you know--like, that spaces and, you know, whatever it might be are accessible." So, you know, like, just sort of, like, keeping in mind, you know, that, you know, there's no, like--this isn't, like, a single battle and, you know, I--and I don't need to use the word battle. It's a bad way of phrasing it. But, you know,

like, you're not, you know, facing, you know, any, you know, short or long-term, you know, things that you, you know, have to struggle with on your own. You know, that there's a, you know, broad community of people to support, you know, whatever your needs are, so.

THOMPSON: Thank you for sharing that. I think that's really important and valuable information to share. Is there anything else that you would like to add to the discussion that we haven't already talked about or that hasn't been discussed in enough detail?

PETERS-WHITE: I don't think so. I mean, I feel like I, you know, said as much as I feel like I, with my own experiences can share, so.

THOMPSON: All right. Well, are you okay, then, if we end this interview now?

PETERS-WHITE: Yep, that works for me.

THOMPSON: All right, thank you for talking with me today. Why is my--sorry, my Zoom's acting weird.

PETERS-WHITE: Oh, you are all--

THOMPSON:

(laughs) Thank you for talking me today--with me today and sharing this. I'm going to go ahead and end the recording now.

PETERS-WHITE: Okay.

[End of interview.]