Crip Kinship: The Disability Justice and Art Activism of Sins Invalid

by Shayda Kafai

The remarkable story of Sins Invalid, a performance project that centres queer disability justice.

In recent years, disability activism has come into its own as a vital and necessary means to acknowledge the power and resilience of the disabled community, and to call out ableist culture wherever it appears.

Crip Kinship explores the art activism of Sins Invalid, a San Francisco Bay Area-based performance project, and its radical imaginings of what disabled, queer, trans, and gender-nonconforming bodyminds of colour can do: how they can rewrite oppression, and how they can gift us with transformational lessons for our collective survival.

Grounded in the disability justice framework, Crip Kinship investigates the revolutionary survival teachings that disabled, queer of colour community offers to all our bodyminds. From their focus on crip beauty and sexuality to manifesting digital kinship networks and crip-centric liberated zones, Sins Invalid empowers and moves us toward generating our collective liberation from our bodyminds outward.

Genres: Disability, Nonfiction, Queer, Social Justice, Disability Studies, Activism, Politics

194 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2021

Reviews

[Sarah Cavar · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don’t think I’m the audience for this — there wasn’t really anything new presented, it is more an amalgamation of conversations existing in queercrip / DJ networks published as a book. Also, I’m beginning to realize / fall way out of love with the particular, sugar-sweet writing style a lot of, I guess, “Bay Area mutual aid organizer” types tend to use. I think it could be effective and welcoming to a new queercrip, but again, didn’t work for me and where I’m at.

[Danika at The Lesbrary · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a history of Sins Invalid, a disability justice performance project founded in 2006 in San Francisco. It explains how they got started, but more than just recounting, it explores the ideas behind Sins Invalid and why it became such an important outlet for people. It discusses how the mainstream disability rights movement as well as disability studies as an academic framework centre white disabled activists.

This is part history, part manifesto, bringing in so many different voices. I especially liked a chapter that discussed how Sins Invalid reclaims beauty for disabled bodyminds, but also gives space for another disability justice perspective that beauty is an unsalvageable concept based in restriction and oppression, and that it is more freeing to reclaim Ugly as a concept.

I highly, highly recommend this and Care Work to anyone and everyone. It left me with a lot to think about, and I can’t wait to learn more.

Full review at the Lesbrary.

[Mansi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Both a history of Sins Invalid and Disability Justice manifesto. I was really excited about this, but did not enjoy the writing style and found it to be extremely repetitive.

[Care · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not familiar with Sins Invalid previously to reading this (it sounds awesome), so some of this is definitely lost on me. It's the main subject for this collection, though disability studies and experiences are also more generally discussed.
The different chapters circled the same themes and topics, meaning they felt repetitive and not in a 'building on each other' way.
The arguments weren't anything I hadn't read before and I wish there had been more care spent crafting this book to have a particular point of view and trajectory to push the reader through the chapters. It just plodded on and the repetitiveness made it much less compelling and fresh than other collections I've read on similar topics.
More of the people involved in SI and less of the rehashed theory would have helped me get more out of this book. A couple essays stood out more than the rest, but I think that looking back on this one at the end of the year, I won't really remember it.

[Neha · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is going to live in my messy, disabled, still-persisting heart and bodymind forever.

great entry-level introduction into disability justice/Sins Invalid, recommend for everyone disabled or not. covers multiple topics within disability justice including artmaking, sex/pleasure, community, and rest. starring places to come back to and revisit has my copy of this text looking like a cosmos.

some lessons in this book have seared themselves into my brain and will resonate in me in everything i do. rest is active and productive (and revolutionary). decolonize beauty to include every bodymind imaginable. community is how we survive - this is the biggest one for me and this book feels like a disabled mentor holding my hand/cradling my cheek/patting me on the back/cheering me on with every word. crip community is survival, crip community is revolutionary, crip community is love. i look forward to finding crip community in my own life.

what an incredibly reinvigorating, hopeful way to start 2024.

[Hannah Silver · Rating 4 out of 5]

Glad to know about all of Sins Invalid's work and ethos. The writing style was a little weird for me at times, but registers as heartfelt.

[Goblinite · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book did what it set out to do: give a history of the work of Sins Invalid and give some basics on disability justice. Unfortunately the authors writing style was not for me and it made this book very difficult to get through.

[Lancakes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it so much. Understand that it is a thesis and yet! Wish the language were less academic. How rude of me.

[Kora Dzbinski · Rating 5 out of 5]

"we are storytellers. we are protest. we are crip kinship networks vast, bold, and soft."

ending the year with this book was an exhale, for a breath i didn't realize i was holding. another world is possible. i love you all so much.

[Mathieu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ça tournait un peu en rond parfois mais pour le reste, oui :) j’ai appris des choses + j’ai apprécié que la voix de l’autrice ne soit pas en retrait + j’ai trouvé très pertinent et efficace l’aspect recherche qui n’efface ni les prétentions de manifeste ni les personnes derrière Sins Invalid

[Mel B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really great subject matter and writing. I struggled with having the citations at the back of the book instead of in a footer.

[chirpingwrens · Rating 4 out of 5]

A must-read for any disability justice activists, Crip Kinship reads like a love letter and manifesto for queer, disabled bodyminds that live in ableist, heteronormative, white-centric, patriarchal, capitalistic world. Kafai details the history behind Sins Invalid as a disabled arts movement, and dreams and crip-centric liberated zones the organization creates to center marginalized lived experiences of crip, femme, queer people of color.

I knew what Sins Invalid did from references in my past readings, but this was the first book that gave examples of their diverse performances. I was particularly enamored by the description of Mat Fraser's performance; he kicks and falls repetitively as ableist attacks boom in the theatre, and in the end, his body falls to the ground and is dragged off stage. There is an old youtube recording of his performance that I watched after. I've always wanted to find these performances online, but they have always been obscure to find. Sins Invalid's performances are also a way of remembering and fighting constant erasures of crip futures. Crip erasure is as recent as 2016 and malicious, as shown by the case when a former employee of a residential care facility in Japan killed nineteen disabled people "for the sake of society."

I also took note of Sins Invalid's access suggestions for mobilizations. This was particularly relevant for me, because I remember when I attended Seattle's women's march the day Roe v. Wade was overturned, there were loads of access issues (i.e. marching up a steep hill, speakers being drowned out by loud noises, etc.) that made me wonder how to mobilize movements and marches while keeping access in mind (also, how some pro-choice people use narratives of disabled infants to further their cause - how do you reconcile being disabled and supporting pro-choice when this narrative runs rampant within the movement?). I feel like most able-bodied people often eschew access accommodations because it gets messy, but as Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha describes it, "Disability Justice, when it's really happening, is too messy and wild to really fit into traditional movement and nonprofit industrial complex structures, because our bodies and minds are too wild to fit into those structures."

Overall, I learned and reviewed a lot of things from this book. It was great to learn in-depth about each aspects of Sins Invalid's disability justice principles elaborated in a concrete, heartfelt ways.

[SamSamSam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, this was a great read with really helpful and thought-provoking information. I agree with other reviewers that it was repetitive at times and could have been shortened significantly. I also agree that, for a book about what Sins Invalid does, I wanted more information about their actual events and performances. It seems like this book is more about disability justice in general. I think this could have been strengthened by focusing on the theme of disability justice while referencing work from Sins Invalid and other orgs/people where relevant.
This is definitely not a beginner's read. There is a lot of academic jargon in here that was new to me, and I'm no stranger to academic jargon. This is a book for people who are familiar with disability justice and are ready to think about it more deeply.
Three stars for the execution, but I'm actually giving 4 because I learned a lot.

[liss · Rating 2 out of 5]

I went in only reading the title and not the subtitle so I didn’t realize this was basically a book describing the achievements of an org. I wanted more generalized discussion on disability kinship and such, but every single point led back to Sins Invalid which made the whole thing feel like a weird advertisement. It’s probably my fault for not doublechecking ahead of reading but I feel like this had potential to be something much bigger than the niche topic it turned out to be :(

[Sonja · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn’t know much about sins invalid, and looked forward to learn, and learn I did. Unfortunately the writing is too fluffy for me and after the first half, it was a chore to get through the rest which felt repetitive and using too many of the same stilistic writing choices over and over. No doubt an important book a d even more fundamental topic, but just didn’t keep me involved.

[Serena · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was really excited about this, until I started reading it. It was recommended by my local library on one of their reading lists and all the intersections and focus on disability grabbed my attention, as disability rights is something I’ve been trying to work on, and addressing my ableism. However, this book was just not written well, objectively. It’s meant to be beginner friendly and academic and accessible, yet the author doesn’t explain the terms used, assuming everyone’s already got a base understanding of them (ie “audism, sanism, Mad”- all things I’ve never heard of before) and also includes terminology and lingo and word placements that I didn’t get; “wisdom-making, knowledge-creation, body-mind”, are just some examples (I assume these terms come from a social justice movement I’m unfamiliar with, but if this has to do with the author’s disability instead or something it was never explain or stated, but again, I don’t think after reading this that it was meant for non-disabled readers unfamiliar with the movement as the target audience). As other reviewers have said, it was very, very repetitive and had sooo much filler in it. It was challenging to get through as I just felt like I was reading the same thing over and over again, without much being added.

That being said, I found the org Sins Invalid to be interesting in and of itself, and the work they’re doing is obviously very important and meaningful to the community. It was cool to read about the performances and different ways that the art activism is being implemented and encouraged. I just couldn’t get over the writing style and unnecessary repetition. It dragged for me, the whole way through. I applaud the author for writing this book however and think a lot of other people will probably enjoy it more and find it more impactful as an affirmation and I think it is a meaningful book still.

[Jen (Remembered Reads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Crip Kinship provides a fantastic overview of the Disability Justice performance project Sins Invalid. With an examination of the concept of storytelling as active followed by descriptions of certain performances (many of which are available in whole or in part on YouTube for those interested), it's a great introduction for anyone new to the project or people wanting to look back on the project so far.

It is written in a style that is a bit jargon-heavy, and sometimes the use of language leans towards the poetic, which can be lovely but also makes it somewhat less broadly accessible than a more straightforward style might have been. Some audiences will benefit from having their ideas of how language "should" be used challenged, but others will almost definitely come away confused. But of course that's always going to be a challenging balancing act when it comes to storytelling in this style.

The one thing I wished had more focus was the few notes on things that could have been done better. There are passing mentions of things like an intern mentioning that an event wasn't accessible to neurodivergent attendees, or one individual being dragged into acting as a secretary for another - but there's never enough detail for anyone working on their own art/activism project to take away tips for avoiding the same issues.

Still, if you're interested in Sins Invalid (or just Disability Justice or just performance as activism) it's well worth picking up.

[Gabe Dulecki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmmmm… I struggled a lot with this book, and learning that it was adapted from a thesis makes a lot of sense as to why. A lot of the language is very academic and verges on being inaccessible. I do think the dive into the history and politics of Sins Invalid was done well, but I do wish there had been more about their performances because I really enjoyed whenever there was a snapshot of a performance and its intention.

One thing that drove me absolutely bonkers and made me consider not reading the book at all was how when someone used multiple pronouns, rather than switching between the two, the author wrote out both of them every single time?? I did appreciate that ever time a new person was introduced their pronouns were listed, but one example I wrote down was “this topic came up for patty when she/they reflected on the administrative work she/they do.” HUH!!!! I fr almost dnf’d because this was so hard to read lmao

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very powerful. I did find myself craving more descriptions of the various performances; to get a better understanding of more of them and experience them on the page (much of this book seems to assume you've already seen/attended these performances and are familiar with them).

However, even lacking that, this was a strong call for the powerful need for dedicated crip spaces and gave me hope for a future imagined in the pages wherein our bodyminds can obtain the accommodations needed as a given, as a community of "of course" instead of a hushed and shameful "ugh, what do you need now?".

[Rxmee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liked the Sins Invaljd story and history - not so much written style. The books preface says that this book has a wide audience including "people who have just learned what ableism is" and I would disagree. I don't think that's a problem, but at least baseline understanding of disability justice principles, familiarity with Sins Invalid's work and name recognition of disability scholars needed to get something out of the book (which again, fine, but wouldn't recommend for a such a wide audience).

[Elise · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book made me so happy! I felt a lot of disabled & queer joy reading this book.

It does intersectionality right -- i really appreciated how it centered the experiences of queer and disabled people of color.

The book goes pretty deep into disability justice and makes me want to dive even deeper -- I plan to try to find and watch videos of some of the interviews and sins invalid performances mentioned in the book. It also has excellent references to other disability justice books, interviews, articles, etc.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful historical account of Sins Invalid and its creators & community members work in sharing their stories and ideas through art and performance as disabled queer people of color. My favorite discussion comes near the end of the book regarding "crip doulas", and the role of guiding & supporting each other in the often hostile world around us.

Grateful to have found this piece and Care Work by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha

[Brittany]

disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial

It was fascinating to learn about Sins Invalid, which I didn’t know anything about even though I grew up in the SF Bay Area (not like me knowing is a good litmus test, because as I grow older, the more I realize I don’t know shit 🙃). I was intrigued by the history & this was a pretty quick read!

[Jehnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

More of a 3.5
This was recommended to me when I was teaching and might hit differently if I were still in a college classroom. I got out of it what I wanted for now.
It is more of a summation of various performance art pieces by Sins Invalid than the workbook I had expected. I'm curious how it hits in 2025 considering its publication in the height of Covid and our curious backsliding on any type of justice activism.

[Zen Lara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love all of the concepts but I found myself wanting more accessible language. It reads easily enough if you're already embedded in social justice and more specifically disability justice spaces, but if these concepts are new to the reader, the wisdom and the nourishment is just left on the page, unsavored.

[Kaila Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did enjoy learning about Sins Invalid, but it was difficult to digest with the style and language of the book. It felt like the points made were very clear and didn’t need much explanation. I did also like how I got to see photographs of some of the people mentioned in this book.

[K Wheeler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great topic/content, but I kept getting caught up on the wording/language—and in some cases the formatting—while reading which took me out of it. If not for that, I would have given it a higher rating.

[Laura Sackton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read my review of this brilliant and generous book here: https://booksandbakes.substack.com/p/...

[Ryley K · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent introduction text to disability justice and movement work.

[Ellice Patterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing didn't want it to end