GSS2117 Blog - Natalie Doman

 Blog 1: Inspiration porn and my experience with disability


January 22, 2025


 

The presentation of individuals with disabilities as inspirational purely or mostly due to their handicap is known as "inspiration porn." This frequently entails showcasing the accomplishments or everyday activities of handicapped people in a way that implies these actions are remarkable just because they are carried out by a person with a disability. Disability rights activist Stella Young popularized the term after criticizing the practice for failing to acknowledge the entire humanity and diversity of disabled persons and instead turning them to objects of inspiration for others without disabilities. Watching Stella Young in her ted talk showed me that people shouldn't be coming up to her saying you're brave. Hearing that makes me feel bad because I see Stella as a normal person just like me. Stella is her own person that has a life different from others but doesn’t mean she will give up.


My experience on disability is when I was a child I grew up watching south park.Timmy Burch is a character from the animated TV show "South Park." He has a disability that affects his motor skills and speech, which means he uses a wheelchair and communicates primarily by saying his name and a few other words. Despite his disability, Timmy is portrayed as a confident and independent character who is well-liked by his peers. The show often uses humor to address and challenge stereotypes about disability through Timmy's character. Timmy is still a good kid in the show even though he is disabled he always has a smile on his face. Timmy's friends don't make fun of him. They see him as a normal person just like them. The one episode I can remember is when Timmy joined a band and went on stage and sang his name. The band didn't sing, they just played the instruments while Timmy sang. The fans were cheering him on. My thought about this episode is that Timmy is going out of his way to feel confident. The fans were just cheering him on and no one was laughing at him. To me this episode was just for Timmy to feel good about himself in own body and showing the people what he is capable of doing. Timmy is a character that has different life experiences but never gave up on trying new things. Timmy is one of the characters I like in the show. He has an impact on the show.




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