Conversations about disability are slowly increasing, especially when it comes to ableist language and how disabled people are represented in the media. Here's how to talk sensitively about disability.
, inspiration porn is defined as"objectifying disabled people for the benefit of nondisabled people." McDonnell-Horita said an example of inspiration porn is the viral videos that get spread around prom season of a high school football player asking a girl with Down syndrome to prom.
Being asked to prom is something that almost everyone wants, she said. But videos of disabled people getting asked to prom get amplified because society perceives disabled people as pitiable and"unlovable." This is just one example of how inspiration porn degrades, exploits and others disabled people. "It's really dangerous to have that be the trope because then it really limits and continues to infantilize disabled people and their potential," McDonnell-Horita said."It's very patronizing, and it only continues to other disabled people, as if they don't deserve to have access to regular life milestones that other young people have." A wheelchair-bound woman smiles as she takes part in a 'Disability Pride Parade' by people from Italian disability organisations, in front of the Altare della Patria, the Monument of the unknown soldier, on July 14, 2019 in central Rome. - July is designated as "Disability Pride Month" in honor of the 29th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, that aims to guarantee equal opportunities and rights for people with disabilities. Another example of inspiration porn is videos of disabled people standing up out of their wheelchair at a wedding. This directly ties into the"overcoming disability" narrative. Reedy points out that these tropes come back to disabilities being seen as a deficiency and that they serve to dehumanize disabled people. "If the stakes are lower and the assumption is that you can't do anything, that you're not that smart and that you aren't supposed to achieve anything, [then] any time you achieve something, it becomes like a party. But what that does is it erases all of the disabled person's effort, all of the barriers they've had to overcome," Reedy said. These tropes frame disabled people as being held back by their disability and imply that it's something that they have to overcome. McDonnell-Horita said that her disability identity isn't something she has had to overcome. Instead, she has had to overcome the shame she was taught to feel about herself as a disabled person, ignorant questions that people ask her and the systemic ableism that keeps disabled people out of certain spaces."It's not really necessarily my disability that I've had to overcome. It's the negative attitudes and stereotypes that come with being a disabled person. That is more exhausting," said McDonnell-Horita. Reedy said that most of the time, it isn't a person's disability holding them back, but rather barriers such as inaccessibility and lack of accommodations. Reedy doesn't fault the general public for paying so much attention to these inspirational narratives, because they're constantly being perpetuated by films and TV and in journalism. But storytelling is a powerful tool in changing the narrative. "If you're still writing stories about inspirational people and disability and not really digging into the barriers, then you're creating — and this is going to sound extreme, but — you're creating violence. You are perpetuating violence among a group of people, which, by the way, is a quarter of the American population," Reedy said.Within the disability community, there are several subcommunities that have a wide range of experiences and subcultures. Disability isn't a monolith, and it's important to acknowledge that not everyone has the same experiences. "If you have interviewed and spoken to one disabled person, that's only one perspective in the whole community. So trying to even diversify the voices who are speaking about the disability community, I think, is really important," McDonnell-Horita said. For example, McDonnell-Horita emphasized how person-first versus identity-first language preferences vary within subcultures and even from person to person. She points out how important it is to ask the person what their preferences are and to not make assumptions if you're ever unsure. Aside from language preferences, disability identity is a journey that is very individualized. It's important to show the disabled experience from all sides. For instance, many individuals within the disability community emphasize the harm in writing stories about disabled people that frame them as being pitiable, unhappy or bitter all the time due to their disability. The same is true, however, for stories that center disabled people as being saint-like and positive all the time. People from Italian disability organizations hold a banner reading "For a new way of experiencing disability" as they participate in a disability pride parade in central Rome on July 14, 2019. McDonnell-Horita pointed out that as a disabled person, there are days when she is frustrated when her body doesn't cooperate with her. Similarly, she noted that many disabled people are also exhausted from experiencing two pandemics: living under a government and society that doesn't care whether disabled people live or die, as well as constantly fighting against their rights being taken away. Framing disabled people as being one or other — either happy all the time or bitter all the time — only further perpetuates the idea that the community is a monolith."It's not always pride," said McDonnell-Horita."I think that there is this new wave of young people, and newly disabled people because of COVID, who are really trying to embrace all of the sides and the human aspect of being disabled."McDonnell-Horita defines infantilization as a nondisabled person having more power than a disabled person and using that power against them to invalidate their thoughts, opinions or experiences. This can show up in numerous ways, such as indirectly speaking to a disabled person or assuming that the individual can't advocate or speak for themselves. Reedy said that infantilization once again goes back to the constant perception that disabled people are less than. For example, Reedy said that as a dwarf, she has experienced situations in which people would raise their voice or speak to her as though she were a baby. The infantilization in such language is harmful, as it leads to people not being able to make choices in their lives and the assumption that they shouldn't. For example, 1.3 million disabled adults are in conservatorships in the United States, according to the
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