#diklSFF: A Conversation About Disability in Science Fiction and Fantasy
We recap the highlights of our #diklSFF Twitter chat, including a link to the full Storify.
Browsing: Discussions
Post listing
Discussion: Magical Disabilities
When we talk about disability and sci-fi/fantasy, the first thing many will think of is the magical disability trope. But what does this trope entail and imply? And how can you subvert it?
Discussion: Fictional Disabilities
In science-fiction and fantasy, you invariably run into fictional disabilities and allegories. Do these “count” as disability? What makes them work successfully in a book?
Discussion: Romanticizing Mental Illness
Romanticization is a common element of mental illness narratives, including many in the YA category; what kind of message does that send?
Discussion: Stigmatizing Treatment of Mental Illness in Fiction
Many characters who may be mentally ill reject treatment out of hand, considering therapy a waste of time and suspecting medication will turn them into a zombie. Why are these narratives so popular? What are the alternatives?
Discussion: The Challenges of Writing About Mental Illness
Writing about characters with mental illness can be challenging in various ways. How do you accurately convey a character’s state of mind, without compromising on clarity or excitement? How do you show a character’s skewed perceptions of the world?
Review: Say What You Will by Cammie McGovern
Although the book was fun and interesting in places, the disability aspect was very much a freak-show presentation of disability and the disabled experience.
Discussion: Intersectionality and Disability
Diversity in children’s literature is often represented as an either/or, without intersectionality; characters can either be autistic or gay, for example, or a wheelchair user or Black, but rarely both. Why is that?
Discussion: Warning Flags and Turn-Offs
Clichés, ableist language … what kinds of words, phrases, or situations used in book or character descriptions send up warning flags for our contributors?
Discussion: If We Could Tell an Author One Thing …
If our contributors could tell an author writing a character with their disability one thing–besides “do your research”–what would it be?