#portrayal of disabilities

[captaingimpy]

CinemAbility: A Heartfelt, Nuanced Look into the Issue of Representation in the Media ( repost)

Yo guys! This is my second repost, hopefully I will be back, full speed next week. I have in mind to share a bit of my personal history with film, maybe we can talk about your history in the comments. I just thought it would be nice to have some cool conversations with the people reading the blog. I wrote this because I am someone with a disability I was born with Cerebral Palsy, he’s a…

[jahanmp4]

There's something so powerful and beautiful about q!Etoiles, the most fearless warrior of the island, having a chronic disease. cc!Etoiles joking about being diabetic all the time kind of became apart of his cubito as well and I just... I don't know I just love it so much.

[moomeecore]

here's that essay i accidently hyped up (sorry) on how fionna & cake did a poor job of concluding betty & simons characters + story in the final 2 episodes. sorry it is so insanely long. i don't know what my deal is. sometimes a show just does such a bad job of handling your favorite characters that you have to write 19k+ words complaining about it, i guess. im linking it as a pdf bc i DO NOT want to have 2 copy & paste this all over to tumblr & i kinda don't think tumblr would be happy with me making a post that long.

[right-there-ride-on]

Gyjo in the fandom

cw: light discussion of ableism

Gyjo… what am I thinking about gyjo…

I like them. I like them a lot, actually. They have paralleled narrative arcs, they complement each other nicely, the romantic subtext is incredibly obvious to the point that even the most homophobic fan you know will admit they understand why people ship it… so why do I also have a problem with it?

There’s a lot of good fanart. Hell, I’ve reblogged plenty. Maybe it’s just something that’s more pronounced in fic.

I’m trying to word this correctly. My issue with gyjo has nothing to do with the text itself. I think my problem is just how people portray it in the fandom.

Maybe it’s because it’s so popular, or maybe it’s the sheer prominence of applying ‘Character A’ and ‘Character B’ dynamics without considerable regard for the characters involved, but I feel gyjo is very prone to flanderization. I believe the intersection with how ableist people are toward Johnny (intentionally or not, subtly or not) and the old tropes these two get shoved into makes it so I have trouble enjoying fics in the fandom.

I’m not saying it’s bad to enjoy certain tropes. I’m not saying headcanons are bad either. What I am saying is that writing is hard, but if you’re going to write fanfiction please have consideration for the characters you’re writing. The arcs of these two are complex and multilayered, which is why I think they have such staying power, but I also think they also provide a good opportunity for us as writers and artists to examine our biases when it comes to the portrayal of certain groups, personality types, mental illnesses, queerness, disability, etc. and maybe come out better people for it.

[spineless-lobster]

Okay but like being into greek mythology growing up and seeing everyone portrayed as thin, white and muscular nonstop vs now getting back into it and seeing how beautiful and diverse the art is now is an absolutely incredible feeling and it’s a wonderful thing to see

[loungemermaid]

One of the biggest things that bothers me about the take of “Katniss isn’t autistic, she just has PTSD, which causes a lot of the same symptoms” is, well, for one, why do you care then? Why does it bother you so much when she’s called autistic? There’s certainly no shortage of characters in the book that have PTSD. It’s not like the autism headcanon is taking away representation. And two, do you know what literally almost every autistic person has in the world??? PTSD. We all have PTSD, specifically C-PTSD. Saying Katniss is autistic isn’t saying she doesn’t have PTSD. However, arguing that she isn’t autistic has me feeling a certain way, especially when so many autistic kids saw themselves in her. If it bothers you, genuinely bothers you, when someone headcanons your fave as autistic, you need to think about that

[doyouknowthisdisabledcharacter]

hi, curious about your vetting process for submissions? you've mentioned checking characters before posting their polls and I was wondering what kind of research went into that?

partly sheer curiosity, partly because I submitted a few characters quite some time back who are reasonably obscure and I wondered if you were having trouble finding info about them and that was why we hadn't seen them yet. :) if there's any way I can help let me know

This is gonna be a longer response in a few sections.

1.) So, our vetting process isn’t that complicated or in-depth. We basically just check does the character exist, are they disabled, and are they disabled in the way the submitter said (you’d be surprised about how often they are disabled but in a slightly different way than the submitter said, or just count for a totally different thing too). (Person who submitted Alphonse Elric with Edward Elric’s disability you will forever be in my heart). Also, only one of us actually does the research about the characters, and I generally research them by using the fandom pages (they are the literal worst most of the time but they get the job done), also for the most part there usually is a fandom page (there’s been a few times where I’ve had to read through articles or scroll Goodreads for way too long to figure out if a character even exists but that’s usually books). We also tend to rephrase qualifications in a more accurate/succinct way.

2.) It is very unlikely that we would be unable to find information for more obscure characters being disabled. If we were unable to find information we would put out a post about it.

Now onto the next part:

1.) In relation to our vetting process, we do not have the time to check that every piece of media a character is from isn’t problematic, I do try my best to at least see if the characters are problematic, but I do not have the time or energy to figure out controversial media, especially because a lot of the media is somewhat hard to find information on (we haven’t gotten to a lot of the obscure characters but I assure you they are there). In this case Harry Potter being excluded is the exception to the rule, not establishing a rule.

2.) Right now, for specific characters, the only thing that would automatically disqualify them is if they are a rapist or something along those lines, although we may try to avoid ableist representations of characters, its often hard to figure out if the depictions are ableist from just reading the wiki for them (I don’t have the time to vet the characters in significantly more depth, and often even if I looked up if the portrayal was flawed there isn’t much out there sometimes). Additionally, I’ve seen that a lot of people have a lot of different opinions on if a character is bad representation or not, so it feels wrong to exclude characters just due to reasons that can be extremely subjective.

3.) Honestly, when it comes down to it, the reason why our exclusions are the way they are is because we are submission based, and we’d like to honor that as much as possible.

[sarafangirlart]

Hephaestus defends Hera from Zeus’s abuse a couple of times, and Hera praises him in the Iliad and Dialogues of the gods, So I don’t really understand ppl writing them like they hate each other. Yes Hera is a terrible mom, yes their relationship is a mess but I don’t think they outright hate each other, it’s more complicated (and interesting) than that.

[weltraum-vaquero]

X reader fics are getting tiring. If they’re nsfw they always have reader doubt he can dominate them because he’s disabled and then he needs to prove himself it’s TIRING.

I’m glad this felt like a safe space to come out and say this. I do my best to make sure that isn’t a sentiment that readers come across in my fics. Even though my specialty and favored NSFW topic are submissive men, I’ve found myself really enjoying dom Viktor, so I feel like I can kind of speak from both perspectives.

I agree with the sentiment that many (not just x reader) fics that portray him as submissive often approach it from the angle of his insecurity which some writers assume would stem from his disability. The thing is, though, that doesn’t really… seem to be a source of insecurity for him, so it feels both out of character and at the very least vaguely ableist.

I also agree that the inclusion of the reader doubting him just because he uses a cane/crutch is… not great, to say the least. I think something like that is a telling sign of ableism that goes beyond just internalized. And is probably something the author should take a hot second to work through.

Of course there’s bodily limitations that come with a physical disability, but I really don’t think Viktor would approach them from a place of feeling broken or incapable. That’s not how he approaches anything in his life. It feels much more healthy and in character (and engaging as a writer) to include workarounds, or even just make him dominant in a power bottom and/or pillow princess kind of way. There’s a lot you can do with Viktor and his disability in NSFW contexts, as long as you take the time, patience, and care to stay true to his character and have fun with it.

[proudfreakmetarusonikku]

some people go “oh yeah this character is so mental illness they’re soooooo neurodivergence” and then get weirdly offended if you depict them with anything but very romanticised inaccurate versions of depression or autism.

[bonefall]

Briarlights death makes sense to me. As much as I love her character, the movement technology you’ve come up with wouldn’t be enough to keep her alive in a society where her nether regions are constantly exposed to the outdoors. She would get UTIs and kidney infections very quickly, which would be fatal when you can’t feel pain. My partner has to use catheters to avoid them (he is paralyzed in the same spot Briarlight would be.)

I think it’s disingenuous to have a character that’s paralyzed but have no other health problems or concerns regarding it, even if it’s uncomfortable to think about for some readers. It’s just as ableist to minimize the additional struggles she’d face as it is to kill her off unnecessarily.

Not accusing you of ableism, but expressing my concern. They’d need to find a way for her to poop and pee in a way that’s sanitary and a way to combat infections long term - even if the thought is “gross” to some people it’s the reality she’d have to live with. She should, at the very least, remain immunocompromised.

That is a valid concern. I will keep this in mind-- I'll make sure to note her immediately being cleared out of camp at the first sign of sniffles to avoid it. My cats can do some very minor building and there are now several cats on Jayfeather's Garden Patrol, it wouldn't be too much of a problem to make that area into a comfortable "satellite camp".

I do want to add though that my most important guiding principle is a stronger narrative which includes better portrayals of disabled characters, not perfect rugged woodsman realism. The medicine I add and the guides I write are in the hopes of better representing the lives of the real-life people who see themselves in the fantasy battle cats.

Realism does factor into that of course! But it goes out the door the minute it would smash up against a disabled character's inclusion. This is a series for human beings like your partner; as close to it as I can get by bending the setting when needed.

For example, Epilepsy

Epilepsy was deadly before modern medicine. Full stop. The herbs I created for that guide would not save someone like Shadowsight, whose convulsions are at extreme risk of turning into Status Epilepticus. It would help manage, but Shadowsight's life would have been very brief.

All the chamomile in the world wouldn't replace phenobarbital... or even the older medications, barbituates. Barbituates have been replaced and good riddance, but it's important to understand that even this drug known for causing EXTREME lethargy and horrible side effects was revolutionary. It saved countless lives.

But I'm not here to write a story for the real-life horror that is epilepsy in a pre-modern society. I'm here for the parent who personally thanked me for making their daughter feel less alone.

Evil spirits attacking the living! God knocking over trees! Attacking a bulldozer! That all happens; there's no reason they can't help Briarlight too!!

But I'll make sure to include her being immunocompromised. And I'll include ways they handle that. Just like I included a cat engineer who made a blanket sled.

So... suggestion accepted! I will keep this in mind.

Briarlight's Canon Death

...I will maintain though that the canonical death of Briarlight was one of the worst, most short-sighted, cruelest decisions that has ever been made in this series.

Because ultimately Briarlight is not a real person. She is a writing choice. She is a character based on Vicky's paralyzed cousin, "Dan," and Briarlight was directly modeled on Dan's personality and recovery.

What did the new writing team do, the minute they were writing a series without Vicky? Killed Briarlight to fucking greencough. For shock points. Narrative moves right on back to the MAIN conflict-- Alderheart having feelings for Velvet and Jayfeather enforcing the vow of chastity. ShadowClan officially falls apart in the background lol

It was never about realism, or realistic portrayal of disability.

This series doesn't care about realism when cats have bloody Freddy Kruger deaths in their sleep, or when shadow goo starts eating cat hell, or when lightning strikes Shadowsight. But they suddenly care about how realistic it is that the only paralyzed character survives greencough?? No! Of course not!

In the middle of the CONSTANT "Ohh she's finally in heaven where she can run and jump and not have a disabled life"? And the infamous Squirrelflight's Hope line, "You don't want to be alive again, Squirrelflight! You might become disabled like BRIARLIGHT"

(WHICH BTW THEY STILL HAVE NOT REMOVED DESPITE PROMISING IT YEARS AGO)

I absolutely do not believe for a second that they had a realistic portrayal of an immunocompromised cat in mind when they did it! Hell, screw it. I'll just say it outright;

I firmly believe that the new writing team killed Briarlight because they did not want to deal with her.

I flatly refuse to give them charity towards this choice. At NO POINT did they earn a speck of good faith. They continued every negative trend that was set up by the previous writers (including Vicky herself tbf), and went a step further by killing her to "we need to get rid of some randos" disease.

Not only that; but the Clan dynamics were NEVER the same after her death, because there was no character who could replace her personality. In this cast of cardboard cats, they plucked out one of the few optimists with a clear, unique perspective, not shared by ANYONE else.

My ire wouldn't JUST be because they happened to kill a disabled character in the way they did (though that is frustrating on its own imo). It's because it was Briarlight.

I hope every writer involved with the decision to kill Briarlight in the "Nothing is Happening! Quick! Kill Someone!" book of AVoS chokes on it. I will DIE on this hill and my blood will never wash out of the grass.

[rebelwriter99]

You know you’ve made good life choices when you’ve gone from being so overwhelmed with your existence as a disabled medical student you can’t sleep, to staying up late to finish an assignment as a creative writing student. And it doesn’t feel like work. I am simply working on it now because I’m least symptomatic late on in the day, and I can choose to enjoy my work rather than fight to function.

After all, what’s not to enjoy? I’m writing an essay about Remus Lupin, dynamic disability, and seeing yourself in stories. My hardest job is keeping it inside the word count!

I also got told outright by my tutor he would not take any marks off me for referring to Professor Lupin’s creator as nothing more than “the author”. Because he could tell I was being pointed about it. So what if I’m supposedly less useful to society or some such nonsense now that I’m not a medic. This is way more fun!

[maraeffect]

you know the piece of art in my last rb made me realize why i dislike most disability related art. and it's that a large portion of it (especially on here) has messaging about ableism. like in the art itself it will have quotes regarding ableism. which is cool and fine, but i am SO tired of the constant trauma and reminders of trauma around my physical disabilities. for once i want to see someone like me just exist. i want to see them happy and peaceful.

it reminds me of how people finally started to view LGBTQ trauma p*rn movies. we as queer people are traumatized constantly. ENOUGH media about queer trauma. where is the queer JOY?

i feel exactly the same about disability portrayed in media/art and otherwise. where is the JOY?

[dashiellqvverty]

catholic crutchie literally kills uksies for me lmao

[malaysianpeanut]

Need help in filling out a survey for my Master's research in animation

Hello and greetings,

With a humble heart, I would like to ask your help in filling out this survey for my Master's research on deaf representation in animation.

This survey is in English and it will take about 10-15 minutes. If you like watching cartoons and animation, and you believe in including more representation of those who are often left out in media, then this survey is just for you. Your help is greatly appreciated.

After filling in the survey, please also help to share this among your friends, peers or any groups you are a part of. I will need to collect as much data as I can. Thank you.

Form: https://forms.gle/xTTLmrGCfr1WFJiC7

[tezzaa]

watched all of monk + the movie. cried a lot. sorry for getting attached to autistic mentally ill pathetic old wifeguys again. as if its my fault