{"id":3820,"date":"2016-07-22T09:00:23","date_gmt":"2016-07-22T13:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/disabilityinkidlit.com\/?p=3820"},"modified":"2020-12-08T08:37:23","modified_gmt":"2020-12-08T08:37:23","slug":"navigating-criticism-and-discussions-of-disability-representation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/disabilityinkidlit.com\/test\/2016\/07\/22\/navigating-criticism-and-discussions-of-disability-representation\/","title":{"rendered":"Navigating Criticism and Discussions of Disability Representation"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00adFor authors just learning about disability representation, it can be intimidating to watch the conversations taking place: from articles on websites like Disability in Kidlit, to disappointed reviews, to disabled people on Twitter talking scathingly among themselves. When you\u2019re genuinely trying to learn, it can be terrifying to see how much writers appear to be doing wrong, and all the impossibly nuanced rules of what does and doesn\u2019t seem to be okay. It may even feel like people are setting up arbitrary hurdles to jump, and will lash out at the smallest mistake despite what else the book may do right, and despite how sincerely the author wants<\/em> to do right.<\/p>\n

There are plenty of articles out there about why you should try writing disabled (and otherwise marginalized) characters despite the risk of criticism. For disabled\u00a0people, seeing yourself respectfully represented in fiction when you\u2019re normally ignored, stereotyped, or misrepresented, can be incredibly empowering; normalizing these portrayals can also impact non-disabled people\u2019s perceptions of disability, which is very important, especially in children\u2019s literature given that\u00a0children and teenagers are still forming their view of the world.<\/p>\n

Representation matters.<\/p>\n

That does not make it easy, however. In fact, it\u2019s damn hard<\/em>, and that\u2019s what I want to talk about in this article. If you feel daunted and conflicted, that\u2019s okay; writing disability respectfully can be genuinely difficult.<\/p>\n

Consider my own situation. I\u2019m disabled. I have a lot of disabled friends. I’ve written frustrated reviews. I\u2019ve been scathing on Twitter. I\u2019ve written more books with disabled protagonists than without. I get asked about writing disability or consulting on disabled characters all the time.<\/p>\n

And honestly? I have a hell of a difficult time writing about disability, whether it\u2019s my own or not.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve written about an autistic character stimming, while I was at that very moment stimming at the computer, <\/em>and I still wasn\u2019t sure how to put into words how it feels or why I do it.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve written about a character with spina bifida performing music<\/a>, and I worried I was treading into inspiration porn territory.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve written about a character whose disability isn\u2019t a huge part of the story<\/a>, and I felt as though I was ignoring it<\/a>; I\u2019ve written about a character whose disability is a huge part of the story<\/a>, and I felt like I was making that aspect all there was to the character.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve written about an autistic character with little problem recognizing expressions, and I felt as though I was picking and choosing convenient aspects of her disability, even though I <\/em>don\u2019t have problems recognizing expressions, either.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve written about internalized ableism, and I worried I was perpetuating ableism.<\/p>\n

With every new story I write, I worry if I\u2019m being preachy, or ableist, or incorrect, or if I\u2019m succumbing to this trope or that. It\u2019s hard <\/em>to get it right, especially as there is no one right way to do so. There is no list of rules. People on this website don\u2019t always agree with each other, either. Some people mind disability cures<\/a>, while others aren\u2019t as bothered<\/a>. Some people dislike magical disability tropes<\/a>\u00a0almost by default while\u00a0others praise well-handled ones<\/a>. Some people love a book<\/a>;\u00a0others don\u2019t<\/a>.<\/p>\n

None of the people whose articles I just linked to is wrong. Disabled people are not a monolith \u2014 we all have our own experiences and preferences that influence our reading, and as a result, there\u2019s not a single trope, stereotype, or term<\/a>\u00a0that every single person agrees on.<\/p>\n

Tropes are not always bad<\/a>, either. Even the tropes that are <\/em>typically bad can be handled well, depending on the approach. For example, authors may be trying to flesh out a stereotype. They may be aware they\u2019re skirting close to trope or stereotype, but have taken steps to minimize the implications, rendering it harmless. They may be trying to deconstruct, criticize, or lampshade the trope.<\/p>\n

And when a book does fall into a potentially problematic trope<\/a>\u00a0or uses terms that make readers recoil<\/a>, it doesn\u2019t mean the book is without redeeming qualities; both those links go to rave reviews.<\/p>\n

It doesn\u2019t mean disabled teenagers might not hug the book to their chest and whisper, finally, finally, finally<\/em>.<\/p>\n

When we discuss tropes and stereotypes, we\u2019re not saying that they\u2019re wrong by default, that the books are terribly written and without value, or that the authors are awful ableist bastards. If it were that easy, we wouldn\u2019t need to read or review any books \u2014 we would memorize a checklist, deduct points based off that, and be done with it.<\/p>\n

Instead, it\u2019s always going to be about execution, about nuance, about context. It will always be subjective.<\/p>\n

However.<\/p>\n

Just because disability representation is often a complicated, nuanced conversation and there is no automatic right and wrong does not mean it\u2019s pointless to have \u2014 or listen to \u2014 the conversation in the first place. Representation has been proven to affect many people\u2019s knowledge of and opinions on a topic, and many disabled people do <\/em>agree with each other about\u00a0these issues.<\/p>\n

Even if an author handled a trope well, even if it was based on a real-life person or event, or even if disabled teens love a book, the story might still be contributing to a certain harmful narrative of disability. A single chapter, a single paragraph, a single line can perpetuate these damaging narratives. No matter how spectacular a book may be, isn\u2019t it worth highlighting and discussing even minor\u00a0pitfalls, so that authors can honestly ask themselves about whether a particular element is essential to their work? To see whether there\u2019s an alternative that doesn\u2019t <\/em>perpetuate harm, while keeping their book\u2019s integrity?<\/p>\n

The more people genuinely listen to multiple opinions instead of becoming defensive, the more they will understand the underlying roots of the criticism, no matter how petty that criticism may seem on the surface. It’s important to try to understand why <\/em>disabled people might recoil from seeing a particular\u00a0story element. Understand what kind of message it sends; understand the wider context; understand the history; understand the real-world effects; understand the personal hurt.<\/p>\n

When we devote thousands of words to seemingly minor elements of a book, that\u2019s what we\u2019re trying to help people grasp. It\u2019s not about pointing at a dubious line and going \u201cha! found one!!\u201d Instead, we\u2019re going over it in detail so that authors can understand and be conscious of potential implications, and recognize it in their future works.<\/p>\n

\u201cSure,\u201d people may say, \u201cbut thoughtful, well-argued reviews are completely different from all the snarking on Twitter! People will pull out a single line and suddenly the entire book is worthless in their eyes! Why would I risk that?\u201d<\/p>\n

Often, we see authors trying to keep track of the conversations and eventually being so daunted by the complexities that they throw up their hands and go, \u201cDamned if you do, damned if you don\u2019t.\u201d Some have this reaction because they feel resentful and see the conversations as nitpicking and looking for problems. Some have this reaction because they are\u00a0fearful of their books being criticized or bashed. Some have this reaction because they\u2019re concerned their book may do more harm than good.<\/p>\n

When people\u00a0snipe on Twitter, it\u2019s borne from years of frustration. Context matters. Representation affects our lives and others\u2019, and when you see something hurtful a thousand times over yet it\u2019s praised by those who don\u2019t understand the history, it becomes wearying. It may feel like the people snarking, reviewing, criticizing, or nitpicking are the ones setting hurdles for authors to jump when it comes to writing about disability. Consider, instead, that what makes writing about disability so difficult is lifetimes of ableism and damaging misrepresentation.<\/p>\n

Non-disabled people created the history, context, and stereotypes; disabled people are simply pointing them out.<\/p>\n

Please don\u2019t feel resentful toward or fearful of those trying to make the literary world a safer place for themselves and other vulnerable readers.<\/p>\n

Please don\u2019t dismiss and ignore important conversations because they\u2019re not phrased kindly enough \u2014 people need to be able to let off steam after being hurt and marginalized yet again, and historically, “asking nicely” has rarely been successful.<\/p>\n

Please don\u2019t pick and choose the opinions you prefer, using one disabled person\u2019s comments as a shield against another\u2019s criticism.<\/p>\n

Please don\u2019t think that since you can\u2019t please everyone, you might as well just go with your first instinct.<\/p>\n

Instead, please try to listen as best as you can.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re not saying, Follow our arbitrary rules or be scorned.<\/em><\/p>\n

What we are <\/em>saying is this: Hey, we\u2019re really familiar with how disability is represented and the kind of effects that can have on people when they\u2019re exposed to something over and over again. This element of this book reinforces one of those common narratives. Let\u2019s take a closer look.<\/em><\/p>\n

We\u2019re asking authors to be conscious.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s complicated, yes, and frustrating when every single thing you write runs into one trope or another. It\u2019s okay and understandable to feel daunted \u2014 but please don\u2019t let that feeling stop you from writing about disability, or from listening to those talking about it.<\/p>\n

And consider this: if you\u2019re writing your book and struggling with the implications of a character choice or the trope-y aspect of a scene, that means you\u2019re aware. You\u2019re conscious. You want to do better.<\/p>\n

Those are awesome, glorious <\/em>things, and they\u2019re half the battle.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t be discouraged.<\/p>\n

We want you to succeed. Truly and honestly.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Writing disability respectfully can be difficult, especially in the midst of large, seemingly contradictory conversations about representation. How should frustrated or concerned authors approach this?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3824,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_generate-full-width-content":"","kt_blocks_editor_width":""},"categories":[57],"tags":[300],"genre":[],"age_category":[],"disability":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/disabilityinkidlit.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3820"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/disabilityinkidlit.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/disabilityinkidlit.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disabilityinkidlit.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disabilityinkidlit.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3820"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/disabilityinkidlit.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3820\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6966,"href":"https:\/\/disabilityinkidlit.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3820\/revisions\/6966"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disabilityinkidlit.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3824"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/disabilityinkidlit.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3820"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disabilityinkidlit.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3820"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disabilityinkidlit.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3820"},{"taxonomy":"genre","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disabilityinkidlit.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/genre?post=3820"},{"taxonomy":"age_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disabilityinkidlit.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/age_category?post=3820"},{"taxonomy":"disability","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disabilityinkidlit.com\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/disability?post=3820"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}