tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214531909685193256.post2271080979446248088..comments2023-06-01T05:52:44.931-04:00Comments on CBC Diversity: Stereotypes in the Portrayal of People with DisabilitiesCBC Diversity Committeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02210096489191130439noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214531909685193256.post-25510977131120780872012-06-04T15:43:11.489-04:002012-06-04T15:43:11.489-04:00Glad it helped, Tanita! I had a similar experience...Glad it helped, Tanita! I had a similar experience reading that piece at the Rejectionist.Stacy Whitmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10368249394199905486noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214531909685193256.post-25426693631187930952012-06-04T11:34:06.973-04:002012-06-04T11:34:06.973-04:00Thank you for this perspective. I've created c...Thank you for this perspective. I've created characters with disabilities in contemporary realistic and historical fiction, and I appreciate seeing this topic from the perspective of an author of fantasy. Portrayals of disability in fantasy--not only in novels but also in comics and films such as the X-Men--play a huge role in how persons with disabilities see themselves in the world. As a teenager on the autism spectrum, I saw myself in the X-Men not because they fed into the supercrip stereotype (though I dreamed of having those special powers and certainly appreciated the photographic memory that allowed me to get straight A's through middle and high school) but because I struggled with issues of living in a world where I didn't fit in and that I didn't feel accepted me. <br /><br />Keep in mind that these issues are universal and not only experienced by persons with disabilities. Those points of connection are also important to highlight. For instance, the absence of the "magical cure" acknowledges that sometimes things change in one's life and one can never go back to the way they were before. And in terms of the X-Men theme, How does one acknowledge the fact that he or she will always be an outsider, find one's place within those parameters, and not become bitter or angry?Lyn Miller-Lachmannhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01939121876262433495noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214531909685193256.post-39311017895917565162012-06-04T10:03:11.955-04:002012-06-04T10:03:11.955-04:00Been musing on this post and getting a glimpse of ...Been musing on this post and getting a glimpse of how breaking the hold of the Able-Bodied narrative is good for all of us. The "ABN" emphasizes physical perfection as a requirement for full humanity, and especially for exalted roles like Princess, Prince and Hero. No one can measure up to these impossible standards.<br /><br />Accepting the Able-Bodied Narrative is oppressive to all, not just to those of us with disabilities. (And Person with a Disability is the one identity that any of us can join at any point in our lives.) Changing that narrative is liberating, for everyone. Characters who aren't physically "perfect," yet still get to be Princesses, Princes, and Heroes, create more space for all of us, with all our glorious imperfections.<br /><br />This is an important point for the entire diversity discussion. Sometimes the conversation is heard as narrow identity group politics or as political correctness. Certainly there are questions of justice and representation at stake here. But the question of who is portrayed and how is far greater than the interests of any one group. Welcoming, exploring and celebrating a wider range of the possibilities of being human is a gift to everyone.Anne Sibley O'Brienhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07084188995698656091noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214531909685193256.post-20125001570106343562012-06-03T15:22:55.104-04:002012-06-03T15:22:55.104-04:00The "Able-Bodied Narrative" is such a us...The "Able-Bodied Narrative" is such a useful category. Speaks volumes, and I won't forget it.Anne Sibley O'Brienhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07084188995698656091noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214531909685193256.post-35362480693196733952012-06-01T10:21:13.941-04:002012-06-01T10:21:13.941-04:00Whoa.
This really hits me - and having gone back a...Whoa.<br />This really hits me - and having gone back and read the piece from <i>The Rejectionist</i> I am going to reread an unsold manuscript which has a protag in a wheelchair. I never thought anything of making her story about her disabilities, and there certainly is no cure - the story is about something else, the spina bifida is just a fact of her existence, but... but... I need to be sure this is all done right.<br /><br />Thank you for this.tanita✿davishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01671822274852087499noreply@blogger.com