Mary Frances Platt

Mary Frances Platt (June 16, 1953 – September 15, 2004), sometimes written as MaryFrances Platt or mary frances platt, was an American writer and activist in the causes of disability rights, LGBT rights, feminism, and fat liberation.

Early life and education Platt was born in Methuen, Massachusetts, the daughter of James D. Platt and Mary F. Donovan Platt. Her father was a veteran of World War II. She described her childhood as difficult because she was asthmatic, and she was institutionalized as a teenager. She held a master of education degree (MEd), in counseling psychology.

Career Platt worked in carnivals as a young woman. She was a writer and activist in the causes of disability rights, gay rights, feminism, and fat liberation. Her essays and poems appeared in activist periodicals including Off Our Backs and Ragged Edge, she served on the steering committee of the National Lesbian Conference (NLC) in 1990. She also ran a support group for "adult daughters of addicted and emotionally ill parents" in Northampton, Massachusetts.

Publications "Disability and Accessibility Cost Money!" (1990, with Margy Dowzer and Aviva Schmuckler) "Serious Shit at the NLC" (1990) "25 Ways to Oppress a Lesbian with a Disability" (1991) "Planning an Accessible Indoor Event" (1992, with Lynn Zelvin and Shemaya Laurel) "Reclaiming Femme--Again" (1992) "Jennifer's Gift" (1995) "Not Imprisoned, Just a Fact of Life" (1995) "Oxygenated Babe" (1995, 1999) "Mae Still Be Alive" (1999) "Assisted Suicide: Devaluing Disabled Life" (1999) "Homesick Song" (2000) "The New Refugees" (2003) "The Belchertown Crip Railroad" (2003) "The Terri Schindler Schiavo Crippled Kickball Team" (2003) "Rebeca, Me and the Freak Show" (2004)

Personal life Platt lived in Belchertown, Massachusetts, but sometimes traveled in her van during the winter, to manage her respiratory and neurological conditions. She died in 2004, at the age of 51.