1 link 9 January 2014

[sasha_feather]

Susan Nussbaum, HuffPo Chicago:
Disabled Characters in Fiction

Disabled characters are written into stories for one reason: the disability. Do most people actually believe real disabled people spend our days obsessing about being cured? Or rhapsodizing about killing ourselves? Here is the truth: Disabled people barely ever even think about our disabilities. When we do think about them, it's usually because we are dealing with an oppressive, systemic problem, such as employment discrimination. Can't there ever be a disabled character in a book or film just because?

From 11/19/2013

Comments

[jesse_the_k]

Which gives me the chance to yet again recommend Nussbaum's outstanding novel, Good Kings, Bad Kings. Here's a detailed review:
http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/18630-institutionalization-as-alternative-lifestyle-susan-nussbaums-good-kings-bad-kings

It's got humor, and teenagers being themselves. It takes place almost entirely in a "care home" where the only people who care can't leave, so it makes for difficult reading. I think it should be mandatory for anyone planning on working with disabled people as carers, herders, labelers, policy makers, teachers, aides and so forth. Nussbaum carefully chose language which is accessible at a basic reading level.

Well...

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> Disabled characters are
written into stories for one
reason: the disability. <<

That's a very narrow-minded view
of literature. I've read, written,
and prompted for stories where
a disabled character is a hero,
or has background parity, and
the disability is not central
to the plot. Sometimes I do
write stories where the disability
is very much a focus. But more
often it's just because I'm
building up a group of characters
and want a realistic demographic.