By Anna on 31 December, 2010
That’s right. And we’re tired of preaching to the converted. I mean, we’re all sitting here, all of us here are sitting in the room talking about these things that we talk to each other about all day every day. It would have been nice to have someone like Ryan Murphy sharing practices that those people, like the Breaking Bad people, sharing their best practices with those who could learn something. But, it didn’t happen.
Posted in disability activism, how to be accessible, identity, invisibility, justice, media and pop culture, mental health, movies, normality, othering, politics, race, representations, social attitudes, television
By Anna on 23 December, 2010
I don’t have a t.v. at home so I don’t actually watch a lot of advertisements, but when I do, there’s one thing I notice: Unlike the rest of my life, advertisements only include people with evident disabilities when they want to make some sort of point.
I’m really bothered by this. I know, I know, it’s advertising. We also don’t get excited about brighter brights in our laundry and aren’t followed around by wind machines when we get new shampoo. It’s certainly not supposed to represent “real life” in any way, because it’s all fantasy to sell you stuff. But part of what advertising sells us is ideas about people. And part of what I think it sells us is that disability is a punishment, a novelty, a metaphor, or a joke.
Posted in gender, invisibility, media and pop culture, representations, television, Videos | Tagged advertisements, advertising, disability, self esteem
By Chally on 22 December, 2010
Ages ago, I said I was going to write a series about disability in Greek myth. Of course, I had to do things like “study,” “sleep” and “move three times in six months” so that fell through. Oh, Hephaestus, I am sorry. However, I hope this post covering a fair portion of the myths featuring [...]
Posted in representations | Tagged blind, Greek, mythology, stories
By Chally on 7 December, 2010
This piece contains lots of spoilers. I wanted to love this book, I really did. I have enjoyed the couple of Julie Ellis novels I’ve read, but this one just tipped the charming/not happening scale a bit far. It has a really strong heroine in Vicky, who escapes the Russian pogroms to build a new [...]
Posted in books, feminism, gender, media and pop culture, race, relationships, representations, sexuality | Tagged book review, disability in fiction, disabled women, fiction, problematic attitudes, reviews, sex, wheelchair users, women
By Anna on 6 December, 2010
Don and I went to see a movie the other night, and gosh, we had fun! I mean, there’s nothing funner than going out for a nice evening with your husband and being confronted straight on with the knowledge that one of the scariest things some people can imagine is being forced to live with someone like you! Yay, fun times for everyone!
Posted in anna rants, blaming, Education, media and pop culture, mental health, movies, othering, representations, shaming
By Anna on 5 December, 2010
I know I’m not alone in being aware that there are people who still insist – despite all evidence to the contrary – that disability rights activism sprung into existence the moment they were first irritated by someone saying “He, that’s ableist”. I like that editors at Wikipedia have worked hard to develop the disability portal, and that Wikipedia’s policies about editing mean that anyone can edit to expand and clarify disability-related articles.
Posted in language, media and pop culture, meta, representations | Tagged wikipedia
By Staff on 22 November, 2010
This weekend, s.e. and abby both read The Summoning, by Kelley Armstrong. Rather than fighting over which one got to review it, they decided to have a chat instead! Here’s the synopsis from the publisher, and be advised that mild spoilers lie beyond! My name is Chloe Saunders and my life will never be the [...]
Posted in books, mental health, relationships, representations | Tagged institutionalisation, mental illness in fiction, mentally ill characters, YA Lit
By Anna on 19 November, 2010
1. Ableism has a dictionary definition; 2. Ableism can be deliberate; 3. Ableism has an academic definition; 4. Ableism can be accidental – this doesn’t make it okay; 5. Ableism kills.
Posted in 101, Ableist Word Profile, deaths, disability activism, identity, normality, othering, policy, politics, relationships, representations, social attitudes | Tagged ableism, definitions
By s.e. smith on 10 November, 2010
The Wall Street Journal has apparently been so sad that it’s been missing out on all the potential in disability reporting that it decided to go right for a bingo, do not pass go, do not collect $200. And I would like us all to issue a round of applause to Ben Rooney, because he [...]
Posted in media and pop culture, representations | Tagged blindness, disability tropes, journalism
By Anna on 30 October, 2010
So, share your thoughts! What books would you recommend? Do you see any books on this list that you want to gush about, or point out as a problem? Anything you’d love to discuss with other readers? Feel free to link reviews of the books (your own or someone else’s), especially if they specifically mention the disability-related aspect.
Posted in media and pop culture, reading list, representations | Tagged books, fiction, young adult books
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