Breaking Barriers: Kaylee Bays’ Triumph for Disability Representation on So You Think You Can Dance
In the realm of performing arts, individuals with disabilities often encounter barriers to showcasing their talents. Kaylee Bays, a dancer hailing from Los Angeles who performs on wheels, etched her name in history as the first wheelchair user on So You Think You Can Dance. Her poignant and deeply passionate jazz solo, set to Pink’s […]
Accessible Adventures in TTRPGs with Sara Thompson
Movies. TV shows. Holiday commercials, even. For the first time in history, the integration of disabled bodies in popular culture is more pronounced than ever. And what better place to add in disabled representation than in fantasy TTRPGs, where anything can happen? This is what designer Sara Thompson (she/they) sought to do with their design of […]
Sia Dismisses Backlash Over New Film, Proving Again As to Why Misrepre sentation of Disabled People Is So Harmful
Once again, disabled people face being portrayed inaccurately in a movie by an abled actor. Sia, an Australian singer-songwriter, is directing a movie titled Music, about a woman who must care for her nonverbal autistic half-sister with the help of their neighbor. The trailer was released on November 19th and was the target of a […]
The Cripped-Up Horror of Halloween Movies
What do Split, Phantom of the Opera, A Quiet Place, and Bird Box have in common? All four movies utilize disability as a means to create thrill and horror. But do they all do disability justice? CW: This article contains descriptions of murder, gore, trauma, and suicide within dramatic film. Split (2016) is a horror movie featuring a villain […]
Smile for the Camera: Unraveling Misconceptions Within the Fashion World
We feel normal until someone decides that we must know their version of the truth. It is incredibly hard to gain self-esteem when the world decides that you cannot possibly be comfortable in yourself. In the disabled community, scars are not new, rare, or shocking by any means but that doesn’t stop able bodied people […]
Finding the Beauty Within my Own Flesh and Bones
Like so many in our generation, I have dealt with my fair share of body positivity issues. Frankly, it sucks. But that doesn’t stop anyone from inadvertently aiding and embedding impossible ideals of beauty. Most often my insecurity lies within the scars on my legs. Little lines that I have never seen myself without. […]
Comic Books and PTSD: a Quest for Representation
A few weeks ago, I had my day made by a comic book. I had been browsing my local comic shop when I came across a superhero comic in the teen section. I don’t read many superhero stories, and I had never read a DC young adult book before, but I decided to give it […]
15 Cripped-Up Characters That Deserved Better Representation
Inspired by our recent roast of the newest adaptation of “Come As You Are,” here are 15 Disabled Characters That Should Have Been Played by Disabled Actors. Warning – this article comments on plots containing suicide, abuse, and disabled slurs. #15: Sean Penn as Sam Dawson in I Am Sam To start us off, we […]
“Come As You Are” – But Only If You’re Cripping Up
A quadriplegic, a wheelchair user, and a blind man are walking down the road when a cop pulls up next to them. Finding them alone on a busy highway, the cop calls it in: “Yeah, I’ve got two handicapped guys – “ “Actually,” the quadriplegic corrects, “it’s ‘person with disabilities.’” The cop gives the ragtag […]
‘Wicked’ Attempts to Inspire the Golden Rule in Viewers – But Instead, Only Inspires Ableism
Image illustrated by staff artist, Ellie Darby-Prangnell Envision this scenario in the eyes of an able-bodied individual. The house (which is the seating area, for you non-theatre nerds) is filled with hundreds of ecstatic theatre-goers ready to see the critically acclaimed musical, “Wicked.” Hundreds of people of every age are at the edge of their […]