“WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN “INSPIRATION PORN AND BEING INSPIRATIONAL ”

“We are a society that treats people with disabilities with condescension and pity, not dignity and respect.” ― Stella Young

The term “Inspiration Porn” was first coined by Disability Rights Advocate, Stella Young in 2012. The meaning of the term basically means the objectification of one group of people to benefit another group of people. Young rejected the idea that disabled people's otherwise ordinary activities should be considered extraordinary solely on the basis of disability.

“Inspiration Porn” is quite different from “being inspirational”. As a young girl girl, I was quite inspired by three people, whom like myself have Cerebral Palsy. All three people had the most severe form of Cerebral Palsy and relied on others for most of daily living needs. Yet, they were all gifted with brilliant minds and attended University to receive their Masters’ Degree. Two of these people became formative advocates within the disability field and the other person became a Special Education Teacher at a prominent Special School in Brisbane.

The reason way I found these people to be “inspirational”, is not because they had a disability or the fact that they were just going to University in itself, thousands of people go to University in Australia each year. It was the sheer determination and tenacity it took them to complete their Masters’ Degrees, despite many obstacles.

It was the late 1970s’ -early 1980s, we didn’t have the transport infrastructure we have today (although It is still not that great!!) there was very limited attendant care- the term “Support Worker’ was barely known and assistive technology as it is today, was still far into the future .

Due to the fact that these three people could not use their hands in any capacity, they would complete their assignments using typewriters with head pointers-a plastic halo with a steel pointer attached-so the person could type by moving their head around, hitting the keys with the steel pointer. It would take considerable time just to write one paragraph.

So, to go back to Stella Young’s rejection of the idea, that disabled people's otherwise ordinary activities should be considered extraordinary solely on the basis of disability, I did not find the fact that these three people were going to University as being “inspirational”, this is an ordinary activity that people do every day. I found the way in which these people handled the challenges presented to them at University, as “inspirational”.

The ‘pride’ and ‘inspiration’ that comes from Inspiration Porn is often drawn from a foundation that expects disabled people to be unsuccessful, unhappy, dependent—with Inspiration Porn trying to show brief moments of breaking out of the bounds of this foundation of attitudes, stereotypes, and beliefs.

Let me be clear about the intent of inspiration porn; it's there so that non-disabled people can put their worries into perspective. So they can go, "Oh well if that kid who doesn't have any legs can smile while he's having an awesome time, I should never, EVER feel bad about my life". It's there so that non-disabled people can look at us and think "well, it could be worse... I could be that person".

In this way, these modified images exceptionalise and objectify those of us they claim to represent. It's no coincidence that these genuinely adorable disabled kids in these images are never named: it doesn't matter what their names are, they're just there as objects of inspiration.

But using these images as feel-good tools, as "inspiration", is based on an assumption that the people in them have terrible lives, and that it takes some extra kind of pluck or courage to live them.

Inspiration Porn often ignores institutional barriers to access, and implies that because one person was able to "overcome" their disability or be graciously assisted by an able-bodied person or people, anyone should be able to do the same.

These posts trade on pity for disabled people, not empowerment, often openly infantilizing them by praising them in the same language one might use for a child, rather than an adult trying to live their lives.

I can't help but wonder whether the source of this strange assumption that living our lives takes some particular kind of courage is the news media, an incredibly powerful tool in shaping the way we think about disability. Most journalists seem utterly incapable of writing talking about a person with a disability without using phrases like "overcoming disability", "brave", "suffers from", "defying the odds", "wheelchair bound" or, my personal favourite, "inspirational".

If we even begin to question the way we're labelled, we slide immediately to the other end of the scale and become "bitter" and "ungrateful". We fail to be what people expect.

Inspiration porn shames people with disabilities. It says that if we fail to be happy, to smile and to live lives that make those around us feel good, it's because we're not trying hard enough. Our attitude is just not positive enough. It's our fault. Not to mention what it means for people whose disabilities are not visible, like people with chronic or mental illness, who often battle the assumption that it's all about attitude. And we're not allowed to be angry and upset, because then we'd be "bad" disabled people. We wouldn't be doing our very best to "overcome" our disabilities.

Before you see another ‘disabled success story’—ask yourself—who is sharing the story, and why is the story being shared in the first place?