This article is based on Xian Horn’s talk at A11yNYC .
Xian’s presentation talks about the do’s and don’ts of disability representation in the media. Her first tip is to stay humble and don’t assume that you know better than someone who has lived experience of disability.
Xian shared a story about when she met someone who used the term, “differently abled,” and when Xian explained why she did not use the term herself, the stranger responded that a Paralympian on Instagram uses it all the time, so it’s OK to use.
While Xian appreciates that everyone makes their own choices about language, she found it frustrating that someone outside of the community was telling her what was acceptable language, rather than being more curious about the nuances of her own language choices.
Xian explains that language can differ even within the disability community, especially between generations and there will be people in different places in their disability journey. If you hear the “H” word, it’s usually people over the age of 50. The term “special needs” is heard a lot from parents and educators, but disability advocates and adults tend not to like it because everybody has special needs.
There will always be somebody who doesn’t feel represented, that’s why you have conversations. People ask, “What do I say?” “What words do I use?” Xian advises they ask the person in front of them. For the most part, if you’re looking at that person in front of you as an equal, you probably will get things more correct than making assumptions.
The Economist Cover
Xian shows the cover of The Economist magazine. It has a photo of a walker with the Presidential Seal on the front of the walker. The headline says, “Why Biden must withdraw.”
This made quite a splash, even among people who are not disability advocates because there’s an ageism component to this. There were a lot of concerns about Biden’s mental acuity. Obviously, a lot of times walkers are associated with age, but not necessarily.
People had strong reactions to the cover that many unfollowed The Economist. They saw it as a sign of ableism and ageism.
Here’s another aspect to this. Many have the idea that there’s something iconic about the wheelchair and a walker that connotes disability. Xian said one of the most famous art schools in New York City asked if she would appear in a wheelchair, and Xian uses a wheelchair occasionally, but she isn’t a wheelchair user.
The art school wanted a shot of her doing a 360 wheelie, which is very dangerous. They were so focused on this visual of the wheelchair. There have been times in Xian’s life when she almost felt like she wasn’t disabled enough for media even though she has a very apparent disability. Since there is an iconic aspect to this visual a lot of press and a lot of media find it easier to kind of convey disability through these more obvious tropes.
Glee: Artie Dances
Xian shows a clip from season 2 episode 1 of “Glee.” The character Artie, who uses a wheelchair, is played by actor Kevin McHale who doesn’t use a wheelchair. This is a fantasy sequence. He has a crush on somebody. And he’s imagining dancing with her. Many of the attendees sign and groan.
Everyone’s cheering and happy and it’s very upbeat when he’s dancing. Then his face becomes sad and the tone of the scene as well as the camera angle changes, implying that he dislikes being in a wheelchair and desires to “break free” when he dances.
Xian thinks they put it in for a few reasons. One may be to justify hiring someone without a disability to play Artie. The idea that somebody in a wheelchair would have to desire to dance, or when he’s thinking about his crush, the only way that he can woo her is out of the wheelchair. Xian says this was offensive.
Nike Ads
The next clip shows Justin Gallegos. He was the first runner with cerebral palsy to get a contract with Nike. They decided to film surprising him with the announcement. During the clip, the audio says, “He suffers from cerebral palsy.” Justin is very overcome with emotion during the announcement.
Xian says, “Suffers from” is loaded language that should be avoided. Nike got called out for using the term. Justin is a runner, he’s fast. Everything about this ad is slow and kind of weepy. After this, Nike had other ads with Justin that had a different energy.
In another ad narrated by actor Willem Dafoe played a lot during the Olympics and Paralympics. The athletes are doing their movements playing their sport. The ad with the powerful music showed Nike’s swag factor. The ad showed mostly able-bodied athletes. They showed a disabled athlete near the end.
However, some audience members felt it was still unbalanced in the representation of disabled athletes and non-disabled athletes. Despite the number of athletes with disabilities featured, Xian explains that this was a better example of Nike staying consistent with their brand while also not patronizing their athletes with disabilities.
Xian questions why we only see ads with this level of inclusion every four years during the Olympics and Paralympics and not every day.
Microsoft and Google Ads
Microsoft had an ad for its adaptive controller that consisted of comments from the kids and their parents. One of the key moments is when the father of the child with a disability says when he plays games, he’s not different. But what’s wrong with being different?
While this had good moments, Xian felt it should’ve only had comments from the kids and not the parents. However, she acknowledged that the people most likely buying the controller are the parents, guardians, and adult family members. Video game ads tend to be fast, competitive, and exciting. This one from Microsoft was more on the cute side. Why not make this one follow the style that other video game ads do?
Google had an ad with a CODA, a child of deaf adults. He talks about his parents being born deaf. The ad shows him communicating with his parents in different ways and ensuring they don’t miss a moment with their first grandchild. It was a touching ad that worked.
Overcoming Fear of Talking about Disabilities
Companies and individuals have a fear of doing or saying the wrong thing when interacting with disabled people. They’re afraid they’ll get canceled, sued, or disparaged. This issue isn’t going to be solved quickly.
Xian shares resources to help people think about these things. If everyone approaches this with the attitude of learning, then it’ll lead to opening dialogue and better representation of disability in media and therefore more positive feelings and culture around disability.
Resources
Links from Xian’s presentation
Video Highlights
- Opening
- The Economist cover
- Glee
- Nike
- Microsoft and Google ads
- Overcoming fear of talking about disabilities
Watch the Presentation
Bio
Xian Horn (moderator and host) is a teacher, speaker, beauty advocate, Forbes contributor, and the founder and Executive Director of Give Beauty Wings. As someone with Cerebral Palsy, she advocates for the empowerment of disability in every medium, such as representation in media, film, tech, fashion, beauty, employment, finance, and more.
Xian has judged hackathons for AT&T, Fordham, NYU, and is passionate to see more awareness of existing assistive tech. She has worked with and advised cultural institutions like Parsons, Cooper Hewitt, Brooklyn Botanical, and brands like Target, Zappos, EY, Equitable, Estée Lauder, and more to support deeper corporate and cultural inclusion.
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