I’m sharing a fundraiser for a fellow POTSie who has the opportunity to get a low price wheelchair and seriously improve their life the same way I did. Donate $1 or 2 here if you can manage it: she has $56/$250
PSA to all you fantasy writers because I have just had a truly frustrating twenty minutes talking to someone about this: it’s okay to put mobility aids in your novel and have them just be ordinary.
Like. Super okay.
I don’t give a shit if it’s high fantasy, low fantasy or somewhere between the lovechild of Tolkein meets My Immortal. It’s okay to use mobility devices in your narrative. It’s okay to use the word “wheelchair”. You don’t have to remake the fucking wheel. It’s already been done for you.
And no, it doesn’t detract from the “realism” of your fictional universe in which you get to set the standard for realism. Please don’t try to use that as a reason for not using these things.
There is no reason to lock the disabled people in your narrative into towers because “that’s the way it was”, least of all in your novel about dragons and mermaids and other made up creatures. There is no historical realism here. You are in charge. You get to decide what that means.
Also:
“Depiction of Chinese philosopher Confucius in a wheelchair, dating to ca. 1680. The artist may have been thinking of methods of transport common in his own day.”
“The earliest records of wheeled furniture are an inscription found on a stone slate in China and a child’s bed depicted in a frieze on a Greek vase, both dating between the 6th and 5th century BCE.[2][3][4][5]The first records of wheeled seats being used for transporting disabled people date to three centuries later in China; the Chinese used early wheelbarrows to move people as well as heavy objects. A distinction between the two functions was not made for another several hundred years, around 525 CE, when images of wheeled chairs made specifically to carry people begin to occur in Chinese art.[5]”
“In1655,Stephan Farffler, a 22 year old paraplegic watchmaker, built the world’s first self-propelling chair on a three-wheel chassis using a system of cranksandcogwheels.[6][3] However, the device had an appearance of a hand bike more than a wheelchair since the design included hand cranks mounted at the front wheel.[2]
The invalid carriage or Bath chair brought the technology into more common use from around 1760.[7]
In1887, wheelchairs (“rolling chairs”) were introduced to Atlantic City so invalid tourists could rent them to enjoy the Boardwalk. Soon, many healthy tourists also rented the decorated “rolling chairs” and servants to push them as a show of decadence and treatment they could never experience at home.[8]
In1933 Harry C. Jennings, Sr. and his disabled friend Herbert Everest, both mechanical engineers, invented the first lightweight, steel, folding, portable wheelchair.[9] Everest had previously broken his back in a mining accident. Everest and Jennings saw the business potential of the invention and went on to become the first mass-market manufacturers of wheelchairs. Their “X-brace” design is still in common use, albeit with updated materials and other improvements. The X-brace idea came to Harry from the men’s folding “camp chairs / stools”, rotated 90 degrees, that Harry and Herbert used in the outdoors and at the mines.[citation needed]
“But Joy, how do I describe this contraption in a fantasy setting that wont make it seem out of place?”
“It was a chair on wheels, which Prince FancyPants McElferson propelled forwards using his arms to direct the motion of the chair.”
“It was a chair on wheels, which Prince EvenFancierPants McElferson used to get about, pushed along by one of his companions or one of his many attending servants.”
“But it’s a high realm magical fantas—”
“It was a floating chair, the hum of magical energy keeping it off the ground casting a faint glow against the cobblestones as {CHARACTER} guided it round with expert ease, gliding back and forth.”
“But it’s a stempunk nov—”
“Unlike other wheelchairs he’d seen before, this one appeared to be self propelling, powered by the gasket of steam at the back, and directed by the use of a rudder like toggle in the front.”
Give. Disabled. Characters. In. Fantasy. Novels. Mobility. Aids.
If you can spend 60 pages telling me the history of your world in innate detail down to the formation of how magical rocks were formed, you can god damn write three lines in passing about a wheelchair.
Signed, your editor who doesn’t have time for this ableist fantasy realm shit.
Image Description: A lined drawing in black ink of several people interacting with Confucius, who is sitting in a high-backed chair with two wheels, and long handles another person is using to push him.
not so friendly reminder that if a character has a mobility aid, amputation/prosthetics, skin conditions, etc. not drawing it because it’s “too difficult” is not an option. if you don’t know how, learn or don’t draw the character at all
seeing people on shows use canes incorrectly!! OMG YOU WILL HURT YOURSELF. STOP DOING THAT.
YES OMG STOP IT. This is one of my biggest pet peeves; people who know me irl probably have heard me rant about it. They make sure that the character walks funny to show that they’re really disabled or whatever, even though the WHOLE POINT OF CANES is to let you walk as normally as possible so you don’t screw up your body.
And this is actually legit damaging because no one tells you how to use a cane. Usually, you just get one, and then you use it the way you’ve seen other people use it, and if you only see people on TV with canes…you’re gonna use it wrong.
sorry to jump all over your post this just annoys me so much and your post came up first in the cripple punk tag so
If possible could you detail correct cane usage somewhere for anyone who might need it? (I understand if it’s a visual sort of instruction)
When I began using one, I looked on youtube for how-tos. It’s definitely necessary because, yeah, if people go by what they see on tv, they will likely start using it wrong and it’s really difficult to undo learning it that way.
Basically all there is to remember is that you use your cane alongside the opposite leg– not like the cane is affixed to the leg it’s closest to. If I’m holding my cane with my left arm, it’s following the right leg.
Anyone have an infographic? I do not.
here’s one i found! it’s a little confusing bc it starts at the bottom and you read upwards.
here’s two for stairs:
Here are a few!
Here is a very short video about using a cane. It’s very specific. I will say, though, that she mentions that “you’ll hear different people say different things” re: using a cane affixed to your “bad leg” but I gotta say, I’ve never heard a medical professional tell anyone to use a cane any other way than the way described in the video.
If you use a cane like Dr. House on House (for example), YOU WILL HURT YOURSELF.
I use my cane for balance, but I still use it as if I had a bad leg like described above. Sometimes the “good” leg will be bad and I’ll have to figure out how walk with the cane in my left instead of right hand.
What I’m saying is that this is the correct use of a cane even if you use it for different reasons than included in this post.
Making sure your cane is the correct height is also very important! Dr. House’s cane is TOO SHORT. He also uses it by holding the handle against his hip and pushing the tip out away from his body. This causes you to have lean to the side with every step. You will throw your back and/or hips out of alignment if you walk this way. Leaning to the side on your cane will also cause damage to your hand and arm joints.
Your cane should sit comfortably in your hand, should remain vertical when you’re standing still, and the height should allow your elbow to bend a little when you’re holding it standing up straight. If your elbow is fully extended when holding your cane at your side, it is too short.
^ all of this. i legit did research on how to walk w a cane before i got one. because otherwise… yeah. and i dont do it *perfectly* because sometimes it just doesn’t work with the ways my body allows me to move, but i never do that for more than a few minutes at a time.
and yeah. when tv people use canes in ways that will fuck up their bodies. im pissed. because i did have to go off google to correctly walk with one
A piece of advice to anyone who’s been considering, avoiding thinking about, or waffling on:
Get the fucking cane.
I am very serious. Get the cane, get the assistive device (I’m going with cane here, because simplicity, but the device you’re thinking about goes here), do it. If you’re thinking “damn, if these Symptoms get much worse, I’m gonna need to get a cane”, you already need the cane. You’ve probably been in a state that would be improved by it for a while.
I get it, though. I had other disabilities, including physical ones, prior to Getting A Cane, and I heard this advice from other people and I thought “okay, but my situation is not that bad, and I’m sure I’ll know when it’s really bad” as I lay awake half the night in pain because of a short little walk that afternoon. It turns out, I am not immune to internalized ableism either, like I’m a person in an ableist society or something.
I thought “this is gonna be a hassle, and they cost money, and people will be weird about it”, and learning to use it did take a minute, thankfully mine was pretty cheap, and yeah, some people are weird but most importantly: fuck ‘em, I did in fact need the cane. I can do a lot more now, and probably could have prevented some damage if I’d gotten it earlier and it looks cool.
Stop putting it off. Stop worrying about unpleasant people being unpleasant. You don’t have to suffer at the highest pain/difficulty/etc to be allowed to get the cane, you’re allowed to get it now. If you only need it sometimes, that’s okay.
does anyone know where i can get a cane that doesn’t look like something my great uncle would use? ya know, the boring grey ones that just scream “old person” ? or should i get a boring grey one and cover it in googly eyes?
i think more characters should have canes actually. theyre cool. theyre sexy. they can have swords in them. they come in any color u want.
alright I’m rbing to add onto this bc it’s getting way more attention than I ever expected and people seem to be more likely to check the rbs than the replies. plus I want people to be able to rb this version.
the point of this post is not swords. it is not how well someone can fight w a cane. the point is I want to see more disabled representation and I want to see characters who use canes and I want them to use them correctly and I want them to be just as fleshed out and interesting as their abled counterparts.
my cane user friend and I were talking abt sword canes just before I made the post so I tossed it in. I collect blades—knives, daggers, swords—and I’m also a disabled cane user who collects fancy canes. so I think combining the two is cool. I don’t even think they’d be good for self defense, I just think they’re a fun thing to show off to friends!
but this post has always, first and foremost, been abt mobility aids. this is abt being a young cane user who doesn’t see rep. I’d love to see highschool dramas where a character uses a cane but it’s not used to make u pity them, it’s just a regular part of their life. I wanna see fantasy cane users where the animal head handle speaks. I wanna see sci-fi cane users and cane users in romances and cane users in main roles.
I know abt canne de combat and bartitsu and the other fighting styles u can use a cane for. that’s never been what this post is abt. I just want to see myself in media.
everyone who rbs this version gets a kiss on the forehead
EDS Culture is having to explain to family members why you’re suddenly using a wheelchair (or other mobility aid) and them not believing you truly need it
Thoughts on power chairs vs. manual chairs with power assist devices? I’m debating between them, but most of the sites don’t seem to have customer reviews which doesn’t help.
Ponyboy and I have been getting out much more often now that we have our rollator and the weather isn’t -30f out. Also, he has a new pastel rainbow bandana he is rocking- gotta show our Pride.
[Image Description: We are on the sidewalk, and this is a top down veiw of Ponyboy, you can see the wheel of my red rollator. Ponyboy is wearing his new bandana, and his blue head halter with pink and white patterns resembling abstract hearts. His ears are perked, his forehead is wrinkled, he is waving, and licking his front lips in atincipation of a treat.
Guess who’s insurance is going to help pay for a rollator!
So tell me- what are your tips? Do you have your dog tuck under it while your sitting? Do you let your dog do DPT while your sitting? What are your favorite accessories? What leash do you suggest? Over the shoulder, traffic lead, or in hand? I can’t wait to be able to travel more, have fun, have some freedom! Do you have any safety tips or cautions? Do you have ways of winterizing yours? Would zip ties on the wheels work like they do with wheelchairs? I live in new york, we get what feels like half a year of snow and ice.
i think more characters should have canes actually. theyre cool. theyre sexy. they can have swords in them. they come in any color u want.
alright I’m rbing to add onto this bc it’s getting way more attention than I ever expected and people seem to be more likely to check the rbs than the replies. plus I want people to be able to rb this version.
the point of this post is not swords. it is not how well someone can fight w a cane. the point is I want to see more disabled representation and I want to see characters who use canes and I want them to use them correctly and I want them to be just as fleshed out and interesting as their abled counterparts.
my cane user friend and I were talking abt sword canes just before I made the post so I tossed it in. I collect blades—knives, daggers, swords—and I’m also a disabled cane user who collects fancy canes. so I think combining the two is cool. I don’t even think they’d be good for self defense, I just think they’re a fun thing to show off to friends!
but this post has always, first and foremost, been abt mobility aids. this is abt being a young cane user who doesn’t see rep. I’d love to see highschool dramas where a character uses a cane but it’s not used to make u pity them, it’s just a regular part of their life. I wanna see fantasy cane users where the animal head handle speaks. I wanna see sci-fi cane users and cane users in romances and cane users in main roles.
I know abt canne de combat and bartitsu and the other fighting styles u can use a cane for. that’s never been what this post is abt. I just want to see myself in media.
everyone who rbs this version gets a kiss on the forehead
I’m both a glasses user (24/7, my prescription is pretty bad and is affected by my hypermobility) and a cane user. Both of my disability aids matter and neither are ‘not as disabled’ as the other. I’ve had people rip off my glasses from my face because they were 'just curious’ to see how blind I really am. I really hope that never happens with my cane.
In any case, people need to start seeing glasses as mobility aid - or at least, a tangential one. Without my glasses I’m severely unable to see. Which means I’m also unable to move around unless I know my environment very very well.
One time, in Spain, my glasses broke and I couldn’t see my way around the town, in Arona, Tenerife. I had to rely on family members to guide me to the opticians. It’s a good thing I can speak Spanish, but still, I would have been completely unable to really fend for myself or look after myself glassesless. There were so many roads I had to cross, it was actively dangerous for me!
I do think sometimes we’ve normalised glasses to a point where people don’t actually consider glasses wearers disabled. But we are and we deserve better. We deserve community too. When glasses wearers have our glasses on, sure, we are able to function. But that doesn’t negate our disability. The same way that mobility problems being eased by a cane or wheelchair doesn’t magically make the user not disabled. We’re just being aided.
I sincerely hope it doesn’t happen to me, but I think there is some real solidarity to be had between mobility aid users- including glasses in that- when our aids get messed with or stolen away from us by ignorant abled people.
I do consider my glasses a mobility aid, the same way my cane is. And I really hope that maybe with dyspunk, we can start bridging solidarity between groups who are constantly told they’re 'not disabled enough’.
The guide is now live. Thank you to everyone who provided feedback and offered improvements on the original draft.
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As someone who has arthritis in the hips and is thinking about going from a cane to forearm crutches to support both sides, how would I walk with them?
I assume it would be like I was using a cane on both sides so left leg - right arm and right leg - left arm?
if you need an ambulance and you use a wheelchair that doesn’t fold, they will force you to leave it behind. wherever it is, wherever you are. just abandon your autonomy and ability to move around and potentially tens of thousands of dollars of equipment
imagine if you needed an ambulance and they said fine but you can’t bring your legs
people have taken issue with my use of the word ‘force’, so, after rolling my eyes so hard i can now see my brain, i will clarify that, no, they can’t 'force’ you to do anything. they will simply not take you to the hospital if you refuse to leave your wheelchair behind.
