Stories About Disability Don’t Have to Be Sad

As a non-disabled person, I used to feel sorry for disabled people. This idea - that to be disabled is inherently bad - has been a socialised notion for millenniums, dating back to Plato where virtue and beauty were linked to “normality”, and “difference” was a defect.

What I have learnt is that disability doesn’t need our pity. In fact, to do so only others disabled communities even more.

By the same token, it is not productive to view disabled people as “inspiring” by virtue of the fact that they are disabled. Don’t get me wrong, there are clearly many disabled people who ARE inspirational and worthy of applause, just like how there are many inspirational non-disabled people. However, it becomes problematic when disabled people are seen as inspiring for merely existing with a disability. Disabled people shouldn’t be reduced to their impairment. This undermines their lived experiences, and is minimising as it confines disabled people into a dichotomy where they are and can be only defined by their disabilities.

Disabled people are more than just their disabilities. To normalise this is a crucial step in creating a more inclusive society.

Isabella