#disability inclusion
Disability in fanfiction: a few thoughts
- “Disabled” isn’t a derogatory term, you can use it!
Disability is not inherently bad so there’s absolutely no reason for filling your fics with “challenged”, “despite their limits”, “special needs”, etc. Use the “D” word.
- Be the writer the disabled community wants you to be!
If the show is misrepresenting the disabled character, be the hero and do right in fiction. Try to educate yourself, use the right vocabulary, remember how inclusive it felt to be into fandom? Well now make it moreinclusive.
- Break the rules!
If the show is erasing your character’s disability, do better! Not only you should not erase it, you should go big and represent it twice as double.
- Cyborg discourse is cool but also dangerous!
As much as we love cyborgs, prosthetics and mobility aids are parts of our daily life. Sometimes they can be uncomfortable but mostly they are BORING. Please, bore us with this stuff, normalize it.
- Drop the pity!
We won’t read your pity party. We’re not “broken” and we don’t want to feel “whole” or “strong” again.
- Accessibility is The Real Issue!
If your disabled character can always find an accessible bathroom, shower, sidewalk, path, building… Well, now that’s science fiction!
Now go and write wonderful disabled characters for us to enjoy! Make them live their best lives and destroy the ableist world!
