Why is Ableism still so present in media without many repercussions and what are its effects on how disabled people are treated in real life? -Orion Songster (9th grade)
It’s no secret that ableism is still a big part of society. It hasn’t yet been denormalized in most settings, making it a constant struggle for many disabled people. One of the ways that this is able to happen so easily is through the portrayal of disabled people in media. This constant spread of misinformation, stereotyping, and flat-out bullying all contributes to an extremely harmful narrative.
One way that media has shown to be ableist is through the use of casual ableism. This may be making a joke about a person in a wheelchair, maybe about laziness, or making fun of how a deaf person talks. Regardless, it’s something that you would see in everyday speech. No one calls it out and no one is there to counteract the stigma and hate being spread. For example, words like lame and psycho are still used constantly in everyday speech, although they all have their roots in ableist terms. All disabled characters–if they even exist–-follow common stereotypes.
Although there are many different ways that ableism shines through most media, there are some stereotypes that just show up again and again and again.
First there is the disabled villain, which goes hand-in-hand with queer-coded villains, where an antagonist has some kind of disability, whether physical or mental. One example of this is Captain Hook. He is a horrible, downright evil man, and he just happens to have a hook instead of a hand. Like most of these villain characters, Captain Hook doesn't have his entire personality revolving around his disability, but like Jan Grue from The Guardian says, “Politely calling a… villain a ‘differently abled person’ does nothing to undo the link between their embodiment and their villainy.”
Another stereotype that is more of a generalization than any specific character, is the use of mental illness in slasher horrors. The killer is always in some way mentally unstable. These characters are always extremely one-dimensional, just killing machines with blood in their hair and a glint in their eye.
Next, we have the “overcoming” stereotype. This includes the character, typically the protagonist, striving to overcome or cure their disability. For example, we have Mike from Total Drama. He is a character with Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), the symptoms of which are also represented horribly. His DID is seen as an obstacle for his goals, such as winning the game or getting the girl. It’s obvious the creators did little to no research. His whole character arc is just him attempting to overcome his DID, and in the end, he does just that. We see his headspace (where the alters co-mingle), and the alters press a button –a button. Then bada-bing-bada-boom, Mike is “cured.” His DID is seen as something to get over, an obstacle in his journey. As The Guardian says, it’s not inclusive when “a differently abled person overcomes [their] physical challenges in order to become an inspirational example of world-threatening villainy.”
After that, we have the helpless outcast trope. This character is weighed down by their disability, a helpless oaf who is too sad to do anything. This stereotype helps non-disabled people “feel comfortable with not taking people with disabilities seriously”, according to Lindsey Reid from UAB. For example, in Edward Scissorhands, although an amazing character, Edward is portrayed as incredibly helpless. He cannot put on suspenders, sleep in a water bed, or even eat his dinner. He’s taken in by Joyce, who cares for him every second of the day, absolutely infantilizing him.
Another occurrence of ableism in this movie is his backstory. Edward isn’t human, which adds to the idea of disabled people being subhuman, or other. Many other movies and shows have been especially loud about this idea. For example, in the Hunchback of Notre Dame, when Frollo first sees Quasimodo, he believes the child to be a demon. Quite possibly the most famous example of this is Darth Vader. He is described as, “more machine than man.” He is practically not human. This is also reminiscent of giving more animalistic traits to darker skinned characters, like Catra, from She-Ra.
All of these stereotypes influence how disabled people are treated in the real world. For example, when we see casual ableism, it normalizes ableism and keeps it as a part of our language, and contributes to a world where it is more acceptable to poke fun at people just because of their disability.
Demonizing also leads to real life problems. People tend to demonize mentally disabled people, no doubt a partial result of “crazy killers” in horrors and thrillers. The general consensus seems to be that these people will one day snap and go on a killing spree, which is not accurate at all. A lot of people who create these shows and movies don’t realize how dangerous this mental illness and disability representation can be, like making people with these conditions feel alienated and feared. Creators need to do research on real life, not just stereotypes and stigma.
The idea of disabled and mentally ill people being “helpless” or “dependent on others” usually ends up with infantilization of these groups of people and in others being overeager to provide unneeded help or applaud at unnecessary times. For example, every single person with autism experiences it differently, yet people group all autistic people into one category of “kids with no social or life skills,” then are shocked to realize that not all autistic people are like that. They have been fed no information except for stereotypes and intense generalization by media. People pity others with disabilities and use them more as a tool to show their “allyship” than actually helping them. These people feed off of saviorism. As adayinourshoes.com says, “Much like white saviorism in which white people try to “save” Black people, this…involves…“[saving]” the disabled person.” It’s not helpful. It’s just annoying at this point.
When someone is seen as non-human, we save barely any respect or kindness for them. The more we see disabled characters on screen as something other than human, even if not meant in a derogatory way, the more we will come to disrespect their human identities. A lot of the hate we see for the disabled people is not because able-bodied people think they are bad, it is because able-bodied people literally don't see them as human. They don’t see non able-bodied people as capable of having human thoughts and experiences. They don’t see neurodivergent people as able to experience humanity in a valid way.
Good representation is never easy, but it is something that we need more than ever before. If we put our minds to it, we can make it happen. And here is how:
Include casual representation. This is the opposite of casual ableism, if we casually mention and include disabled people in stories–without ostracizing or making jokes about them, just treating them as we would an able-bodied person, this can keep alienation from forming. Superstore does this with their character Garrett. He’s shown as a normal person. Sure he’s in a wheelchair, but we focus on him as a person, not a disability.
Removing disabled villains. Of course, this does not mean that every villain you make must be a cishet white able-bodied rich man (and the list goes on), but when we see patterns in how many villains just happen to be disabled, or of color, or queer-coded, it doesn’t help. It’s always best to include as few disabled villains as possible, but if you do include one, make them a real character, with personality, history, and relations, not a one-dimensional shell or a killing machine.
Don’t force characters to overcome disabilities. Let them live with it. Don’t show the disability as something to get over or past. Don’t make the character an inspiration just for having misplaced features. Treat them as normal humans. If you are going to have them get treated or “healed”of their condition, make it realistic. You don’t just get cured with the snap of a finger. There are side effects and there are let-downs.
Stop treating disabled characters as helpless. Disabled people can do things without needing endless help from others. Disabled people can exist without an able-bodied caretaker breathing over their shoulder. Don’t act like they’re children (unless the character is a literal child). Show the real symptoms and effects of whatever the disability is. Do your research and make that evident.
Make your disabled characters human. Unless everyone in the story is a robot, an animal, or something else, make the character human. Don’t treat them as less, don’t give them animalistic features (like a tail or something), they are human, and you will treat them as such.
One way that media has shown to be ableist is through the use of casual ableism. This may be making a joke about a person in a wheelchair, maybe about laziness, or making fun of how a deaf person talks. Regardless, it’s something that you would see in everyday speech. No one calls it out and no one is there to counteract the stigma and hate being spread. For example, words like lame and psycho are still used constantly in everyday speech, although they all have their roots in ableist terms. All disabled characters–if they even exist–-follow common stereotypes.
Although there are many different ways that ableism shines through most media, there are some stereotypes that just show up again and again and again.
First there is the disabled villain, which goes hand-in-hand with queer-coded villains, where an antagonist has some kind of disability, whether physical or mental. One example of this is Captain Hook. He is a horrible, downright evil man, and he just happens to have a hook instead of a hand. Like most of these villain characters, Captain Hook doesn't have his entire personality revolving around his disability, but like Jan Grue from The Guardian says, “Politely calling a… villain a ‘differently abled person’ does nothing to undo the link between their embodiment and their villainy.”
Another stereotype that is more of a generalization than any specific character, is the use of mental illness in slasher horrors. The killer is always in some way mentally unstable. These characters are always extremely one-dimensional, just killing machines with blood in their hair and a glint in their eye.
Next, we have the “overcoming” stereotype. This includes the character, typically the protagonist, striving to overcome or cure their disability. For example, we have Mike from Total Drama. He is a character with Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), the symptoms of which are also represented horribly. His DID is seen as an obstacle for his goals, such as winning the game or getting the girl. It’s obvious the creators did little to no research. His whole character arc is just him attempting to overcome his DID, and in the end, he does just that. We see his headspace (where the alters co-mingle), and the alters press a button –a button. Then bada-bing-bada-boom, Mike is “cured.” His DID is seen as something to get over, an obstacle in his journey. As The Guardian says, it’s not inclusive when “a differently abled person overcomes [their] physical challenges in order to become an inspirational example of world-threatening villainy.”
After that, we have the helpless outcast trope. This character is weighed down by their disability, a helpless oaf who is too sad to do anything. This stereotype helps non-disabled people “feel comfortable with not taking people with disabilities seriously”, according to Lindsey Reid from UAB. For example, in Edward Scissorhands, although an amazing character, Edward is portrayed as incredibly helpless. He cannot put on suspenders, sleep in a water bed, or even eat his dinner. He’s taken in by Joyce, who cares for him every second of the day, absolutely infantilizing him.
Another occurrence of ableism in this movie is his backstory. Edward isn’t human, which adds to the idea of disabled people being subhuman, or other. Many other movies and shows have been especially loud about this idea. For example, in the Hunchback of Notre Dame, when Frollo first sees Quasimodo, he believes the child to be a demon. Quite possibly the most famous example of this is Darth Vader. He is described as, “more machine than man.” He is practically not human. This is also reminiscent of giving more animalistic traits to darker skinned characters, like Catra, from She-Ra.
All of these stereotypes influence how disabled people are treated in the real world. For example, when we see casual ableism, it normalizes ableism and keeps it as a part of our language, and contributes to a world where it is more acceptable to poke fun at people just because of their disability.
Demonizing also leads to real life problems. People tend to demonize mentally disabled people, no doubt a partial result of “crazy killers” in horrors and thrillers. The general consensus seems to be that these people will one day snap and go on a killing spree, which is not accurate at all. A lot of people who create these shows and movies don’t realize how dangerous this mental illness and disability representation can be, like making people with these conditions feel alienated and feared. Creators need to do research on real life, not just stereotypes and stigma.
The idea of disabled and mentally ill people being “helpless” or “dependent on others” usually ends up with infantilization of these groups of people and in others being overeager to provide unneeded help or applaud at unnecessary times. For example, every single person with autism experiences it differently, yet people group all autistic people into one category of “kids with no social or life skills,” then are shocked to realize that not all autistic people are like that. They have been fed no information except for stereotypes and intense generalization by media. People pity others with disabilities and use them more as a tool to show their “allyship” than actually helping them. These people feed off of saviorism. As adayinourshoes.com says, “Much like white saviorism in which white people try to “save” Black people, this…involves…“[saving]” the disabled person.” It’s not helpful. It’s just annoying at this point.
When someone is seen as non-human, we save barely any respect or kindness for them. The more we see disabled characters on screen as something other than human, even if not meant in a derogatory way, the more we will come to disrespect their human identities. A lot of the hate we see for the disabled people is not because able-bodied people think they are bad, it is because able-bodied people literally don't see them as human. They don’t see non able-bodied people as capable of having human thoughts and experiences. They don’t see neurodivergent people as able to experience humanity in a valid way.
Good representation is never easy, but it is something that we need more than ever before. If we put our minds to it, we can make it happen. And here is how:
Include casual representation. This is the opposite of casual ableism, if we casually mention and include disabled people in stories–without ostracizing or making jokes about them, just treating them as we would an able-bodied person, this can keep alienation from forming. Superstore does this with their character Garrett. He’s shown as a normal person. Sure he’s in a wheelchair, but we focus on him as a person, not a disability.
Removing disabled villains. Of course, this does not mean that every villain you make must be a cishet white able-bodied rich man (and the list goes on), but when we see patterns in how many villains just happen to be disabled, or of color, or queer-coded, it doesn’t help. It’s always best to include as few disabled villains as possible, but if you do include one, make them a real character, with personality, history, and relations, not a one-dimensional shell or a killing machine.
Don’t force characters to overcome disabilities. Let them live with it. Don’t show the disability as something to get over or past. Don’t make the character an inspiration just for having misplaced features. Treat them as normal humans. If you are going to have them get treated or “healed”of their condition, make it realistic. You don’t just get cured with the snap of a finger. There are side effects and there are let-downs.
Stop treating disabled characters as helpless. Disabled people can do things without needing endless help from others. Disabled people can exist without an able-bodied caretaker breathing over their shoulder. Don’t act like they’re children (unless the character is a literal child). Show the real symptoms and effects of whatever the disability is. Do your research and make that evident.
Make your disabled characters human. Unless everyone in the story is a robot, an animal, or something else, make the character human. Don’t treat them as less, don’t give them animalistic features (like a tail or something), they are human, and you will treat them as such.
