Melissa
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melissabreen.bsky.social
Melissa
@melissabreen.bsky.social
1.3K followers 930 following 470 posts
writer | disability advocate | tiocfaidh ar lá | saoirse don Phalaistíne | sí/í
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melissabreen.bsky.social
O'Connell Bridge, Dublin
A photo taken from the opposite side of the road as people stand waiting for traffic lights. It's a dreary grey day. On stone underneath the lamppost are the letters I R A. A Palestine flag is visible in the background
November 24, 2025 at 3:42 PM
melissabreen.bsky.social
This is a LIE. Disability orgs and activists worked tirelessly to spread awareness about the harms it would cause and they alone are the reason it was scrapped. This is the second lie about disabled people she has told on this campsign. We will NOT allow her to use us like this
A screenshot of an article titled I was the braver person to drop controversial paper on disability reforms says heather Humphreys
October 19, 2025 at 8:26 AM
melissabreen.bsky.social
✨☁️
A square photo of Melissa from the chest up. She is looking directly into the camera and is wearing a pale yellow wool t-shirt.she has long brown hair with two grey streaks in the front A square photo of Melissa taken from the chest up. Her head is slightly tilted to one side and she is smiling
September 5, 2025 at 10:10 PM
melissabreen.bsky.social
I'm not too far into it but I am very much enjoying Medicine As Culture : Illness, Disease and the Body by Deborah Lupton. It explains a lot of the issues I have with medicine/illness both in real life and in media
From this perspective the institution of medicine exists to attempt to ensure that the population remains healthy enough to contribute to the economic system as workers and consumers, but is unwilling to devote resources for those who do not respond to treatment and are unable to return to the labour market. Medicine thus serves to perpetuate social inequalities, the divide between the privileged and the underprivileged, rather than ameliorate them. Political economy writers comment on the cultural crisis of modern medicine, in which health care under capitalism is perceived as largely ineffective, overly expensive, under-regulated and vastly inequitable. For writers such as Freidson (1970), the high status of the medical profession and the faith that is invested in its members' abilities to perform miracles has resulted in other social problems being inappropriately redefined as illness. He contended that as a result of the widening of medical jurisdiction, more social resources have become directed Where the two approaches differ is that the latter school of thought believes that this power is harmful rather than benevolent and is abused by the medical profession. The political economic critique questions the values of scientific medicine and focuses on the identification of the political, economic and historical factors that shape health, disease and treatment issues. Scholars claim that the capitalist economic system has promoted a view of health care as a commodity, in which the seeking of profit is a major influencing factor, and that therefore the relationship between doctor and patient is characterized by conflict and the clash of differing interests and priorities. They argue that western medicine attempts to narrow the cause of ill-health to a single physical factor, upon which treatment is then focused. Medical care thus tends to be oriented towards the treatment of acute symptoms using drugs and medical technology rather than illness prevention or the maintenance of good health. miracles has resulted in other social problems being inappropriately redefined as illness. He contended that as a result of the widening of medical jurisdiction, more social resources have become directed towards illness, and the medical profession's power and influence increased markedly in the 20th century, with little scope to question its activities or use of resources. This 'medicalization' thesis was adopted by other political economic critics, including Zola (1981) who saw medicine as becoming a major institution of social control, superseding the influence of religion and law as a 'repository of truth'. Illich (1976) argued that modern medicine was both physically and socially harmful due to the impact of professional control over medicine, leading to dependence upon medicine as a panacea, obscuring the political conditions which cause ill-health and removing autonomy from people to control their own health They see a symbiotic relationship existing between capitalism and health care: capitalism produces health needs which are treated in such a way as to obscure their origins and demands the consumption of commodities to secure the healing process, which in turn supports the capitalist system of production (Navarro, 1976; Renaud, 1978). The proposed alternative is a socialized system of health care, in which the state provides care for all free-of-charge and alternative, non-biomedical methods of health-care delivery such as natural therapies are accepted as valuable.
July 27, 2025 at 8:37 AM
melissabreen.bsky.social
10/10 hat. Tá me reidh le mo Hot Gael Summer ✌️tá an glas go deas
Photo of Melissa from the chest up. She's sitting on her bed, the background is dark and her face is lit. She's wearing a bottle green cap with the words "hot gael summer. Mara duit." On it but inverted. Another photo of Melissa from the chest up. She is looking slightly to the side. She's wearing a bottle green cap that says hot gael summer mara duit. Sorry to your screen readers that had to try pronounce Irish
July 18, 2025 at 1:17 PM
melissabreen.bsky.social
This was their closing argument... In order to be more inclusive we have to be nice to the guys who want to kick out everyone who isn't of their race and religion while they burn effigies of Irish people and POC. Makes total sense 🙄
As the region looks to a more inclusive future, rather than focusing only on the controversial and divisive aspects of the fires, it's worth also considering their importance to one community in fostering social cohesion - through collaboration, mentorship and shared identity.
July 10, 2025 at 12:14 PM
melissabreen.bsky.social
I never know what to caption photos of myself. It is uncomfy. Here is my face I guess 💁🤷
Photo of Melissa with bright light on her face and everything else is in shadow. Shes wearing an off the shoulder black top and she has long brown hair
July 6, 2025 at 5:07 PM
melissabreen.bsky.social
The venue names for the Twenty One Pilots tour is so depressing. American Family Insurance Theatre. Jiffy Lube Live. Maine Savings Amphitheatre. ithink Financial Amphitheatre. Ameris Bank Amphitheatre. I suddenly don't feel so bad about us having a 3 in front of all of ours
Screenshot of a list of tour dates underneath a YouTube video
June 22, 2025 at 7:18 PM
melissabreen.bsky.social
A still from the movie Mean Girls of Regina George sitting at a table leaning slightly forward. Text along the bottom reads "so you agree? You think countries shouldn't have nukes?"
June 20, 2025 at 5:16 PM
melissabreen.bsky.social
News piece on BBC about a doctor with Long Covid and M.E. I'm not sure when it aired
May 22, 2025 at 8:08 PM
melissabreen.bsky.social
The only calendar I could find across multiple shops was cows and I'm not mad about it look at their little faces!
The cover of a square calendar with two browns cows, one with it's head on the others forehead The back of the calendar which shows the picture in each month and it's all adorable cows. Brown cows and black cows and white cows. Two have horns and bangs. All are cute
May 20, 2025 at 3:12 PM
melissabreen.bsky.social
#NewProfilePic
Melissa is sitting on a bed taking a selfie in a full length mirror. She's wearing a red top, a black velvet pencil skirt and white boots
May 11, 2025 at 7:00 PM
melissabreen.bsky.social
There's something very 2000s about this photo of people queueing outside HMV to meet Twenty One Pilots 😂 I felt a pang of nostalgia
A crowd of people lined up alongside shop fronts on a Glasgow street.
May 6, 2025 at 10:40 AM
melissabreen.bsky.social
I loved this part in Max Porter's Shy. About people's reaction to the chronically ill
Lavender capsules, whale music, story tapes, Rescue Remedy, breathing, SSRIs, regular exercise, his diary, his walks, and now his mum's read an article about St. John's wort, so she's sending him a little bottle, drop a spot in your tea every morning, plop a drop in each eyeball, stab yourself in the heart with John's worty blade, clamber up on St. John and have a ride, aren't you better yet? Aren't you fixed? Aren't you having lovely dreams? Aren't you ready to go to college then to uni, get a job, get married, have kids? Benny is taking the piss out of Steve and Shy tells him to shut up. You what, short arse? Says benny. I said, shut up, says Shy the whole room tenses, the collective intake of breath before a ruck. Benny gets up and walks over. Shy clenches, ready for a slap. Watch yourself, faker, says benny, and flicks Shy's forehead.
May 4, 2025 at 7:53 PM
melissabreen.bsky.social
The millennial urge to throw a peace sign is never far away
Photo of Melissa smiling Photo of Melissa giving a peace sign
April 6, 2025 at 10:35 AM
melissabreen.bsky.social
Ilya Kaminsky's 'Deaf Republic' is SO GOOD
Picture of a poem in a book called the little bundles. While the days of June like middle aged men walk into prisons, I cut Anushka's hair: on her shoulder on her shoulder the little bundles pile up. I am mortal- I nap. Anushka your pajamas- they are the final meanings of my life. To get you into your pajamas, Anushka! So much to live for. To bed, Anushka! I am not deaf, I simply told the world to shut off it's crazy music for a while Photo of a poem in a book titled question. What is a woman? A quiet between two bombardments
March 22, 2025 at 10:47 AM
melissabreen.bsky.social
The opening poem in Ilya Kaminsky's 'Deaf Republic'

"We Lived Happily During The War: and when they bombed other people's houses, we
protested
but not enough, we opposed them but not
enough, I was
in my bed, around my bed America
was falling: invisible house by invisible house by invisible 1/2
Photo of a page in a book. We Lived Happily During The War: and when they bombed other people's houses, we protested but not enough, we opposed them but not enough, I was in my bed, around my bed America was falling: invisible house by invisible house by invisible house- I took a chair outside and watched the sun. In the sixth month of a disastrous reign in the house of money in the street of money in the city of money in the country of money, our great country of money, we (forgive us) lived happily during the war."
February 18, 2025 at 1:51 PM
melissabreen.bsky.social
Everything is heavy right now. Here is the best picture I've ever taken. Take a moment to forget the horrors of the world and go awwww
Two adult cats cuddle up together. They are grey with black stripes. There is a pile of kittens of all colours at their feet. Ginger ones, black ones, white ones all cuddled up together
January 24, 2025 at 8:40 AM
melissabreen.bsky.social
I'd love to be drawn 🙏
A selfie of Melissa with a soft expression. She's wearing a black hoodie and has long dark brown reddish hair with bangs
December 27, 2024 at 5:55 PM
melissabreen.bsky.social
My Christmas book haul 🙌

💙📚 #BookSky
Three book lying on a bed. The first is corpsing by Sophie white. It's a white book with a picture of a house with legs. Yes you heard that right, a house with legs. The second is black and Irish by Leon Diop and Brianna fitzimons. It's a black book and with a splat of colours behind the letters. The third is Oona by alice lyons. The cover has an orangey red powder on it
December 26, 2024 at 10:37 PM
melissabreen.bsky.social
Book 5 📚💙

The Yellow Wallpaper- Charlotte Perkins Gilman

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Ok so this isn't a short story, it's a book but it's so good and such a vibe I had to include it
The cover of The Yellow Wallpaper. It's is a mustard yellow colour with a lighter yellow resting swirling patterns and shapes
October 24, 2024 at 7:07 PM
melissabreen.bsky.social
It was a reoccurring theme, I forgot for months 😂

Book 4 📚💙

The Orestia- Aeschylus

I had to read this one for college. Thinking about how long these stories existed and how different life was when they were first performed is wild.
The cover of the book The Orestia. A woman looks to the left with a sheer cloth over her face. It's in the style of penguin classics
October 24, 2024 at 7:04 PM
melissabreen.bsky.social
I forgot to add this which I predict will be a reoccurring theme...

Book 3 💙📚

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Took me a while to get into it but loved it once it hooked me in. I learnt a lot about Afghanistan I didn't know before.
Book cover for a thousand splendid suns. The title is in black font at the top of the page. There is an image of a figure wearing what looks like a burka facing away and looking over a town stretched out in the valley below, with dry brown mountains in the distance
February 6, 2024 at 4:34 PM
melissabreen.bsky.social
Book 2 💙 📚
Miracle in the Andes by Nando Parrado with Vince Rause

Expect to see every other book about this incident on this list over the next few months. It's such a singular experience. Astounding.
White text with the title miracle in the Andes in front of a blue sky under which is a plane crashed in some snowy mountains
January 13, 2024 at 11:29 PM
melissabreen.bsky.social
The Best American Short Stories (2008)- ed. Salman Rushdie

This one was for college because we have a short story module next year (did I mention I love college?) 2/5. It was ok but loses points for the r slur and a few other ableist moments which I have no patience for
Red cover with white text in capitals and two grey strips along the top and towards the bottom
January 10, 2024 at 11:08 AM