Tag: real life

By Diana Morgan

It’s Disability Pride Month, and now more than ever, it’s important for disability representation in literature and media.

Disability Pride Month celebrates the landmark passing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (AMA) in July 1990. The AMA has been essential in protecting the rights of people with disabilities, ensuring access to jobs, transportation, and more. It has helped create a culture of pride and visibility in disability communities all over the country.

One place where this visibility is important is through our stories. Disability representation in media is often overlooked when talking about marginalized communities. It is often portrayed in stereotypes or exaggerations. Disabled characters frequently serve to support a non-disabled person or as inspiration for the audience. Frequently in science fiction and fantasy, magic or superpowers “cure” the disability, reinforcing the idea that being able-bodied is the only goal – that living with disability is shameful, or only something to be overcome.

There’s a long history of shame and concealment when it comes to disabled people. In the late 19^th and much of the 20^th centuries, many cities had “Ugly Laws” that targeted disabled people, making it hard for them to appear in public. You could be fined, arrested, and even institutionalized if you were found to be too unpleasant or distressing. These laws were based on eugenics and creating an “ideal society.” Freak shows and carnivals often exploited them for profit, putting them on display for entertainment.

Many of those laws weren’t officially repealed until well into the 1970s. This is why legislation like the AMA and policies like DEI that protect the disabled and other marginalized communities and break stigmas are so important.

I am a disabled author with ADHD and autism, and I often include characters with similar experiences to my own. I’ve also spent time learning about representation and trying to help other writers as a sensitivity reader and speaker. I am not an expert on every disability, but I feel representation in media and fiction is important to the disabled community.

Early disability representation was often villains, angry over being disfigured, or victims who needed to be pitied and rescued. Much of this came from the fear and misunderstanding caused by stigma from things like the Ugly Laws.

Representation has improved over the decades. Characters like Geordi LaForge on Star Trek: The Next Generation, Daredevil, and Professor Xavier in Marvel comics have led the way for more disability representation and better visibility for the community.

More recently, characters like Nessarose in the Wicked movie, played by Marrissa Bode, a wheelchair user, brought even more authenticity to the character. On Broadway, the Wicked musical just cast Jenna Bainbridge, another actress who is an ambulatory wheelchair user, to play the role on stage for the first time.

Supporting disabled writers and actors is how we continue to break the stigmas around disability. Letting disabled writers tell their stories and be involved in media is the best way to ensure that we continue to have authentic representation that breaks stigma and normalizes disabled people being a part of society.

Disability is not a monolith. There are many different types of disability. It can be physical, neurological, or developmental, cognitive, or intellectual, or a combination of factors. Not all disabilities are visible, and not all conditions disable every person in the same way. People can also have multiple disabilities that impair them in multiple ways. Some people are born with disabilities, but others acquire them from accidents, disease, or chronic conditions.

Disability is the only marginalized community that anyone can join at any time. Everyone is one accident, one sickness, one twist of genetics away from being disabled.

Even within a single disability, things are often on a spectrum. Autism affects each person in very different ways. We are not all Sheldon Cooper or the Good Doctor—many of us struggle in very real ways. Very few blind people see total darkness—many have some visual acuity. Same with D/deaf people. They may have some ability to hear within a certain range. Some people use adaptive aids like cochlear implants, and some use sign language. Some wheelchair users are ambulatory and able to walk short distances, while others have little to no ability to walk.

Remember, disabled characters are not just their disability—they are real people with real interests. Matt Murdock/Daredevil is blind, but he is also a lawyer with friends and family and real problems. He’s also a superhero with extrasensory powers that allow him to fight and help him navigate the world without his sight. He’s a full character.

Be careful about having technology, magic, or superpowers that “cure” your character’s disability. Daredevil’s powers don’t restore his sight, but they do help him fight and navigate the world without it, and many blind people find that problematic.

When Daredevil was first created in 1964, many cities still had ugly laws on the books, and disability representation was often in the form of villains seeking revenge for their “disfigurement” or victims meant to be pitied or rescued. Daredevil was something different. He was a hero. Matt Murdock wasn’t a victim or a pitiable invalid. He was a lawyer, and he was charming and funny. He had a best friend and a girlfriend. It was rare to see a disabled character fitting into normal society. He was far from a perfect representation of a blind person’s experience, but it was still something many audiences had never seen before.

More recent versions, including the recent Netflix and Disney+ TV shows, have tried to make improvements in representations. Charlie Cox, who plays Matt, worked with blind people to learn how to move and work as a blind person. It’s still not perfect, but there are a lot of moments where he uses adaptive aids like screen readers or reading braille. The other characters describe things to him. Ultimately, they are showcasing one person’s experience with blindness in a fictional setting.

This is why it’s essential to listen to people with disabilities about their experiences. Ask disabled people about their experiences – hire a sensitivity or authenticity reader if you can. Sensitivity readers are people who belong to the marginalized community you’re writing about and usually have experience with writing and editing. They can read your work and consult with you on how to navigate problems and make your story more authentic.

Things are happening in our country that make the fate of many disabled people’s lives uncertain. Attacks on DEI, healthcare, and the rising stigma around things like autism and mental health have made it harder for disabled people to get help. Now more than ever, Disability Pride is important. Sharing our stories and being represented is one way we can fight this and protect our rights and our ability to live and work in a world that isn’t always built for us.

I will continue to include disabled people in my stories and share my own experiences. For information about neurodivergent disabilities and ways to be more inclusive of disabilities in your writing, you can see my resources page at DianaMorganAuthor.com.

DIANA MORGAN is a superhero by day, writer by night. Okay, not really, but when she’s not writing books, she’s a librarian at a local library, which is kind of a superhero. Her superpowers include always knowing what kids like to read, being able to read more than 10 books at one time, and the ability to eat more pizza than anyone.

Diana has always loved science fiction and fantasy.  She grew up watching Quantum Leap, Power Rangers and Star Wars. She can’t remember a time when she wasn’t making up stories.

She was a geek before being a geek was cool, and she loves hanging out with other geeks and sharing her love of all things space and magic and books.

By Alexander Brown

While art is primarily for the artist, it can be a Trojan horse for the audience. Although works produced for commerce can still evoke emotion in the consumer, nothing is as raw as an artist who creates to reflect the horrors of society. As the general public suffers under an administration that only cares for its own well-being, and an audience that screams that the smallest fraction of diversity in entertainment is “woke,” wokeness in art has existed since the dawn of time. Yet, the general public has refused to acknowledge its existence.

To give a popular reference that the majority should be familiar with, there is Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. This gothic classic deeply resonates with classism, feminism, race, and even queer culture. Consider Frankenstein’s “monster,” who began as docile and only wanted love and acceptance. But rather than having gained that, he was literally feared for no other reason than his identity. Sound familiar?

Another fine example is Toni Morrison’s Beloved. This Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece, which takes place shortly after the American Civil War, explores the horrors of slavery and racism through a paranormal lens. And since the ghost serves as a vehicle to remind us of a traumatic past, what better way to focus on these subjects than to present it as a ghost story? To show the impact of this novel, even in 2021, Republicans tried to use it under the guise of propaganda to justify their prejudice against the critical race theory.

Another fine example is Bret Easton Ellis’s American Psycho. This splatterpunk classic reflects the horrors of the 1980s, where the monster of Corporate America was projected onto the ruthless antagonist, Patrick Bateman. In this shocker, not only did he murder those who were his competition, but he brutalized women, minorities, and those who were underprivileged for an extensive amount of page time. Meanwhile, he continued to financially thrive in a society of Reaganomics. What better way to humanize Corporate America by giving it the traits of a sociopathic narcissist?

Other great examples can be seen in the work of Octavia Butler and her series known as the Xenogenesis trilogy, which focuses on colonization. Then there’s Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, which warns against totalitarianism.  Also, we have Poppy Z. Brite’s Exquisite Corpse, which explores the suffering of those in LGBTQ+ community when they are shunned.

Something all of these books have in common, aside from being outstanding literature, is they are all Trojan horses that comment on society in one form or another. For the most part, the general public has accepted them as a form of entertainment and nothing more. Yet, if one were to look harder, they would see that these pieces, and many others, have acted as a protest against a world where movements are few and far between. The reason why one has to look hard for these subjects is that a good artist knows how to show and not tell. In other words, they present without proselytizing or pandering.

If done right, art can be a protest; the artist a protester and documentarian. A source that can act as a creative liver.  One that processes vital subjects into a format so its consumers can develop a deeper level of sympathy for those who are different from themselves, or empathy for those who feel alone in their struggles.

To create good art, not only should it entertain, but it should also evoke emotion, whether that emotion be positive or negative.  The only way to do that is to produce unforgettable characters in a concept that reflects our own reality. Regardless of what medium one chooses to express themselves in, what better time than now, 2025, to create something that reflects the external horrors of everyday life? Don’t be afraid to be woke with your art; use it as a protest, even if the end result is just as nihilistic as the ending of a Bachman book.

ALEXANDER S. BROWN is a Mississippi author whose first book, Traumatized, was published in 2008 and later re-released by Pro Se Publications. Brown is co-editors/coordinator of the Southern Haunts anthology series published by Seventh Star Press. His horror novel, Syrenthia Falls, was published by Dark Oak Press. His short story collection The Night the Jack O’ Lantern Went Out, published by Pro Se Press, reached bestseller status in three literary categories on Amazon.com upon release.   Brown is the author of multiple young-adult steampunk stories found in the Dreams of Steam anthologies, Capes and Clockwork anthologies, and Clockwork Spells and Magical Bells. His more extreme works can be found in the anthology Luna’s Children, published by Dark Oak Press; Reel Dark, published by Seventh Star Press; and State of Horror: Louisiana Vol. 1, published by Charon Coin Press. Brown is also an actor and producer in the short film The Acquired Taste, inspired by a story in Traumatized and directed by Chuck Jett.

By Diana Morgan

October is ADHD awareness month and as a writer with ADHD, I’d love to help bring more awareness to how we portray ADHD and other neurodivergent conditions in writing and media.  If you’re plugged into any social media lately you’ve probably run into at least one creator whose content revolves around ADHD or autism. It’s a hot topic, thanks to new diagnostic standards and the special community that forms on social media platforms.

Neurodivergent identity has been stigmatized for a long time. Autism, ADHD, bipolar, and other brain differences were hidden or avoided, leaving people with shame and nowhere to look for representation.

But things have changed. From Sheldon Cooper in Big Bang Theory to Abed Nadir in Community, more and more characters are showing up and giving the neurodivergent community the representation it needs.

Authors like Helen Hoang and Talia Hibbert, who are both autistic, have started including autistic characters in their romance novels showing the complexities disability gives to a relationship. In sci-fi authors like Ada Hoffman and Corrine Duyvis are exploring how science and disability rights can affect the future in new ways.

In my Lost Colony series, I have two neurodivergent characters. Jacob Moorland has AudHD (ADHD and autism combined) and in the upcoming sequel, there will be a new character names Henry with autism.

It’s exciting new territory for those of us who grew up in a world where our conditions were often shamed. I was diagnosed as a child and grew up in the 90s when ADHD hadn’t been studied in girls. Growing up, I rarely saw characters with ADHD in the media and when I did, they were highly exaggerated or stereotypical. Boys who were “walking disasters,” running wild and being destructive; non-verbal girls who could only repeat songs they heard on the radio. It gave an inaccurate idea of what ADHD and autism can look like and further stigmatized our differences.

Like any good representation, progress is slow, and mistakes are made, but we must keep trying to improve. If you’re a writer who is interested in writing better, more realistic neurodivergent characters, here are a few tips to get you started.

This is also a good time to say that I am not a medical professional, I’m just a writer who’d lived their whole life with ADHD (diagnosed at 5 years old), raised an autistic ADHD child, and spent a lot of time with the neurodivergent community learning about being an advocate. I’m still learning, but one thing I do know about is writing, and I want to help other writers.

• Neurodivergent is NOT just autism and ADHD. It’s also bipolar disorder, Tourette’s, Down’s Syndrome, dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, borderline personality disorder, and a host of other brain differences.
• Be mindful of what terms you use. A lot of things have changed about how autism and ADHD are diagnosed over the last few decades, as such so have the terms used to describe people with those diagnoses. Terms like ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) and Asperger’s are outdated and in some ways offensive. Depending on your story’s setting and time period, you need to be mindful about what terms you use.
• This also goes for slang. Like any community, a few slang terms have cropped up in recent years. Words like “neurospicy” and “the ‘tsim” have gotten popular, but people are divided on how they feel about them. Some people think neurospicy is fun and empowering. Others find it infantilizing and demeaning.
• Autism/ADHD/disability is a superpower or they have a superpower that “cures” the disability. This is disrespectful at best and can be offensive if done badly. Disability doesn’t need a cure or magic powers, it needs acceptance.
• Neurodivergent is not a monolith. Even people who have the same diagnosis will have vastly different presentations and symptoms. Many neurodivergent conditions are also co-morbid. ADHD and autism frequently appear together, they are also often accompanied by dyslexia, dyspraxia, anxiety, and depression.

Good representation takes time and a willingness to learn, but we can all do more to help neurodivergent representation improve. If you are interested in including more characters with autism, ADHD, or other disabilities, do your research, listen to advocates with those disabilities, and whenever possible hire a sensitivity reader.

If you’re interested in more ADHD content and resources, check out the resources page on my website dianamorganauthor.com, or find me on any of my socials @dianamorganauthor

Keep writing and I’ll see you among the stars.

DIANA MORGAN is a superhero by day, writer by night. Okay, not really, but when she’s not writing books, she’s a librarian at a local library, which is kind of a superhero. Her superpowers include always knowing what kids like to read, being able to read more than 10 books at one time, and the ability to eat more pizza than anyone.

Diana has always loved science fiction and fantasy.  She grew up watching Quantum Leap, Power Rangers and Star Wars. She can’t remember a time when she wasn’t making up stories.

She was a geek before being a geek was cool, and she loves hanging out with other geeks and sharing her love of all things space and magic and books.