Are you guilty of “inspiration porn”?
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Inspiration porn is everywhere. It is a form of unconscious bias that hurts people with disabilities
Inspiration porn is portraying people with disabilities as:
- inspirational solely or in part on the basis of their disability, or
- One-dimensional saints who only exist to warm the hearts and open the minds of able-bodied people
Stella Young coined the phrase “inspiration porn” in material leading up to her stereotype-shattering TED talk, “I’m not your inspiration thank you very much” Inspiration porn is disrespectful to people with disabilities, bordering on the offensive. Here’s how.
Feel-good stories
Examples: The guys from Home Depot that made the walker? The high school robotics team that made the electric wheelchair? Johnny raised $200 with his lemonade stand for cancer research? Suzie shaved her head in solidarity with her friend with leukemia?
With every feel good story there is a hidden truth — the story you should actually be evaluating
- Why the hell can’t the kids get the walker or wheelchair — a mobility device they need to fully participate in society? The story should be about what is wrong with our insurance companies.
- Why do cancer researchers need kids behind lemonade stands for funding? The story should be about funding for pediatric medical research
- Why did Suzie shave her head? The story should be about children bullying others because of their differences, and the failure of school districts to stop them.
Rather than focusing on the activity of the do-gooder, the focus of the story should be on the reason the do-gooder’s activity made us feel good.
“There but for the grace of God go I”
Examples: Necrotizing fasciitis. Lead poisoning for Las Vegas massacre victims. Neurological damage due to pesticide exposure.
These are stories that highlight that it is only random chance (or some deity’s influence, if you are a believer) that allowed one person to be in a situation with a disability. Regardless of your situation, you…
