Disability Inclusion Isn’t Important – It is ESSENTIAL [#Geekdis]

It is the last day of GeekDis 2022, and please join me in welcoming Mary who is guest posting today. Her post rounds off our month of talking about disability representation in pop culture and why it is so important. While Mary herself is not disabled she is here representing her children who have are disabled and as the Director of Disability Book Week and is Founder and President of the non-profit Advocates for Disability Inclusion in Literature.

When people are asked about inclusion, they usually think about race, gender, and sexual orientation. Disability is rarely mentioned, or else is an afterthought. Why?

The answer is simple-visibility.

We grow to understand what surrounds us, and pop culture-the media we consume by watching, listening and reading, influences our thoughts day by day, even hour by hour. We laugh with our favorite actors, curl up with novels by our favorite authors, and listen to music by our favorite musicians. Later, we regurgitate that knowledge by quoting movies, singing in the shower, or raving about a new book to a friend over drinks.

Now here is where it gets interesting. The messages our brain receives while we engage with that media shapes what we believe to be normal. Our brains are wired to use the information we consume to interpret the world around us. As an example, the person who watches non-stop criminal documentary movies, listens to constant podcasts about human trafficking, and binge reads conspiracy theories will constantly be on the watch for any shady goings-on and their paranoia level will skyrocket.

Compare that individual to someone who only watches Disney cartoons and reads light-hearted fairytales. Do you think there will be a difference in the way they interpret the world and everyone around them?

But wait, wait, wait – what on earth do crime podcasts and fairytales have to do with disability inclusion??

If we have never been exposed to disabilities, we have been trained to see it as something unusual, undesirable, or not normal. The more often we make friends with individuals with disabilities, read about characters with disabilities, and watch movies/ TV shows featuring actors with disabilities, the more we see it. The more we see it, the more we understand it. The more we understand it, the more we accept it.

This is why disability inclusion is so much more than a trend or fad to buy into because it is popular. Disability rights are human rights, and we all simply want to be understood. The most important factor in being understood is having an accurate representation of disabilities.

So how do we achieve this?

The first step is education. We must teach others the truth about a disability, and not feed the myths that pop culture often perpetuates. An example would be how individuals with visual impairments are portrayed. Though more than 93% of the blind population has some sight, they are almost always shown as seeing only black and being so in tune with nature that they can sense everything around them.

As most of the general population receives only this message, they bring the assumption that “blind people only see black” into their every day beliefs, because that is all they see.

This is why we advocate so strongly for those with personal experience (who want to) to speak up about what is and is not accurate. Help the world understand, because understanding is the gateway to acceptance and true inclusion.

Many thanks to Mary for a brilliant post about disability inclusion and why it is essential to have accurate disability representation in pop culture.

This brings us to the end of GeekDis 2022. I will be back next September with more content focusing on disability representation. Until then look out for discussions about disability, chronic illness and book reviews featuring disability representation on Just Geeking By. The GeekDis Twitter account will remain active throughout the year to share news about disability representation in pop culture so if that interests you please give it a follow!