The Genius Cripple trope is pronounced in representations of disability in popular media and is generally grounded in the idea of a mind-body dichotomy. The notion of the mind-body dichotomy assumes that the mind and body are distinct from one another. This dichotomy is traced back to the philosopher Descartes, who suggested a distinction between … Continue reading
Throughout this series, I hope to bring to light some of the tropes around disability in order to (1) improve the representation of disabled people and (2) provide writing tips for those of you who want to include disabled people in your stories. Today’s lesson is about The Crippled Sidekick. This is a common trope of disability, … Continue reading
Note: I use the word “crip” about myself as a way of reclaiming the language that has been used to oppress disabled people. As a queer person, I learned about the process of coming out at age 16. The first person I came out to was my mother. It was an incredibly challenging and emotional … Continue reading
I am a fan. A lot of us disabled people are fans. We are already socially ostracised, so many of us don’t fear being stared at or judged. At the time of writing this post, I had just spent the weekend at Fan Expo Canada, a venue that I have attended for several years, to … Continue reading
I am a disabled author, editor, and academic. I grew up wanting to see people like myself in my fiction—people with disabilities. All I ever encountered were tropes about disabled people. We could be the wise mentor who dies, the inspirational hero who is rewarded with a magical cure, about the person who triumphs over … Continue reading
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