characters with disabilities

gettingby said:

How do you guys handle writing about characters with disabilities? I have a story where one of my characters suffered significant brain damage in an accident. He now needs cared for basically all the time. I want to be sensitive to this topic and treat it in an appropriate way. But I'm worried about it. My story is absurdist fiction which has me questioning the appropriateness of my character's condition. I in no way make fun of him and the seriousness of such an injury, but the story is a little out there. He is also not the main character. This story is not his story. Am I overthinking this? What are some signs to look for to make sure how I written this character won't offend anyone?

Click to expand...

The way I see it, there is always someone who will be offended by something. Handicaps and injuries are just a part of life and there are those people who will make fun and those who will feel sympathy to those who are suffering. Your characters should reflect the reality that you see around you. No one is entirely good or evil, but found somewhere in-between. If you worry about offending someone, then I think your work may suffer the fate of becoming bland and sterile.

Even if you're not writing MG/YA, I suggest checking out this blog for both good and bad examples of handling disability in fiction.

You are always going to offend someone. So don't worry about it.

JHFC said:

You are always going to offend someone. So don't worry about it.

Click to expand...

That is not a reason not to worry about it.

A good writer should still strive to be as accurate and respectful as possible.

Anything less is irresponsible.

JHFC said:

You are always going to offend someone. So don't worry about it.

Click to expand...

I'm not sure that this is good advice. Yes, of course you will always offend someone. But as long as you've done the research and handled such a topic like this with compassion, then at least you can know you did your best and brush off nay-sayers with confidence. I mean, to just give an example, I have epilepsy. When I read something and I know for a fact it isn't possible with epilepsy, or even something that is possible and isn't presented correctly. Well, then I get sort of put out to put it mildly.

JHFC said:

You are always going to offend someone. So don't worry about it.

Click to expand...

Certainly, but I know I wouldn't want to offend someone for the wrong reasons--aka, portraying something or someone inaccurately or in a trite, cliched way.

There really aren't many stories with protagonists who have disabilities, so getting it completely wrong or coming off as negative or cruel will have a much larger impact that it would with a protagonist who has lots of representation in literature. This doesn't mean that the author should avoid writing it, or that they shouldn't be aware that some people won't like it, regardless. But it also doesn't mean they shouldn't be asking these questions and doing their homework.

You know what I noticed. The people who get offended by things are typically not the person on the receiving end. It's healthy people who are offended because someone made a joke about [insert disability here]. And many times, the person who deals with that [insert disability here] shrugs off the joke or laughs with the joker.

Meeting people with the disability you're writing about can help. For example, when I was researching seizures I found people with their blogs on Youtube and they'd talk about their days living with epilepsy and even post videos of them in a seizure.

If you're worried about being sensitive to the disability then I'm sure you're handling it fine. It's the people who write and don't take into consideration the feelings of others that get into trouble. I had a friend with a mild form of autism, and he's a musical genius! There's always something positive among the negative. Just make sure you show both sides of the disability. Don't focus only on the bad, show the good, too.

As Quentin said, YouTube is a great resource for learning about disabilities. An amazing number of people have posted videos showing how they manage various conditions. I also second Kuwi's recommendation to check out Disability in Kidlit.

Talking to someone with the disability you're writing about is ideal, but if that's not possible, I'd recommend looking for memoirs written by people with that disability (or in your case, possibly caregivers). Online support groups are another great resource for real-life information.

I think one area where a lot of writers fall down is in showing secondary characters with disabilities only as a burden or source of conflict for the main characters. Remember that your character, even if he has very limited physical abilities, is still a person with an internal life. Show that, and you should be fine.

There's noting wrong with coming across as offensive or insulting, if what you say is the truth. There is something wrong about being offensive and insulting, if it comes from bias and inaccuracy.

That said, not everyone from any given group agrees of everything, or even on some of the most basic things. I don't write about groups, I write about individuals, and if I find just one individual who is a certain way, or functions a certain way, or acts a certain way, with a given condition, I write that individual as he is, whatever others in that group might say about it.

gettingby said:

How do you guys handle writing about characters with disabilities?

My story is absurdist fiction which has me questioning the appropriateness of my character's condition.

What are some signs to look for to make sure how I written this character won't offend anyone?

Click to expand...

I don't think I have anything to offer specific to writing absurdist fiction. I do think that it's good to do what you can to not come off as insensitive or offensive. But also, it's good to keep in mind that some people may get offended despite your best efforts to not offend. Consider the word "disabled." When I've heard people use it, they're not trying to be offensive--they're concerned for people who have disabilities. But when I attended a workshop on working with people who have diabilities, I leared that the word "disabled" is offensive to some. "Differently abled" is the preferred term. And the word "hadicapped"? That's way offensive to some. The presenter of the workshop said that term dates back to when people with disabilities couldn't find work, and begging was their only way of attaining money. While begging, a disabled person would stick out his cap so people could put money in it. They'd have to be quick at doing so, or "handy with the cap" to get their donation before people walked by them. So, "handicapped" became a derogatory term for people with disabilities.

beckethm said:

I think one area where a lot of writers fall down is in showing secondary characters with disabilities only as a burden or source of conflict for the main characters. Remember that your character, even if he has very limited physical abilities, is still a person with an internal life. Show that, and you should be fine.

Click to expand...

Definitely agreed. As long as the character is a character and not a prop you're getting a good amount of the way there.

Also, I think having a severely disabled character would make a lot of sense in absurdist fiction, assuming I'm using the right definition. It's something that often happens with no rhyme or reason. If anything offers a view into the pointlessness of human existence...

kuwisdelu said:

That is not a reason not to worry about it.

A good writer should still strive to be as accurate and respectful as possible.

Anything less is irresponsible.

Click to expand...

And nothing in the OP indicates that he or she is being ridiculous. Obviously you don't want to be needlessly offensive (although you have a right to be, just a publishers have a right to ignore you), but I think most of the time the people making threads like this are getting all twisted up about offending someone by their depiction.

And I'm telling them that they will. The comments in this thread more or less prove that, because a couple of you are already ready to go over the mere suggestion of offending.

So, let me clarify (because I thought it was unnecessary to, but apparently isn't) that assuming you are writing a story or novel or whatever worth reading and not Klan literature, you are going to offend someone even with an otherwise respectful portrayal of [insert race/sex/gender/disability]. There will also be loads of people you don't offend, but shouting "I'm not offended!" doesn't have the same ring to it. So, again, assuming that you are not in fact Hitler reincarnated and aren't hard at work at Mein Kampf 2: The Quickening, just write what you write and don't worry about the small number of people who will take offense.

JHFC said:

And nothing in the OP indicates that he or she is being ridiculous. Obviously you don't want to be needlessly offensive (although you have a right to be, just a publishers have a right to ignore you), but I think most of the time the people making threads like this are getting all twisted up about offending someone by their depiction.

And I'm telling them that they will. The comments in this thread more or less prove that, because a couple of you are already ready to go over the mere suggestion of offending.

Click to expand...

I don't think offensive or not is the important part.

I think being accurate and respectful is more important than not being offensive.

And I think giving resources to empower people do just that is more helpful than saying not to worry about it at all.

At some point, you do have to make your peace with the fact that some people will never like what you wrote no matter what. But that comes after making your best effort to make your work the best it can be.

kuwisdelu said:

I don't think offensive or not is the important part.

I think being accurate and respectful is more important than not being offensive.

Click to expand...

Maybe my confusion is that I don't see how these are separate.

Do you think you can be accurate and respectful and offensive?

ArtsyAmy said:

And the word "hadicapped"? That's way offensive to some. The presenter of the workshop said that term dates back to when people with disabilities couldn't find work, and begging was their only way of attaining money. While begging, a disabled person would stick out his cap so people could put money in it. They'd have to be quick at doing so, or "handy with the cap" to get their donation before people walked by them. So, "handicapped" became a derogatory term for people with disabilities.

Click to expand...

(Derail)
I tend to get suspicious about etymology stories like this. I Googled "history of handicapped" and got this Snopes link: http://www.snopes.com/language/offense/handicap.asp
(/derail)

Not at all busting on ArtsyAmy. Just trying to head off any furtherance of a legend.

Edit: BTW, this is a helpful thread. Turns out I'm going to need some of the info.

gettingby said:

I'm not sure there is always something positive about a traumatic brain injury. And for the purposes of my story, there is certainly nothing positive about it. There are not two sides to this as far as I can see. And my story really isn't about his condition. But his presence in my story is important.

The reason I am questioning this is because it is absurdist fiction. But I'm not trying to educate people about brain injuries.

Click to expand...

I don't think absurdism is your problem it's the lack of a positive side to it. Sure some people can never see a positive side to having their life destroyed but most people do pick themselves up and find someway to carve a life out for themselves.

Maybe a better question is what is your character's purpose in the story? Is he just there because... or does he enrich the story in some way

JHFC said:

And nothing in the OP indicates that he or she is being ridiculous. Obviously you don't want to be needlessly offensive (although you have a right to be, just a publishers have a right to ignore you), but I think most of the time the people making threads like this are getting all twisted up about offending someone by their depiction.

And I'm telling them that they will. The comments in this thread more or less prove that, because a couple of you are already ready to go over the mere suggestion of offending.

Click to expand...

No one is ready to go or even thinking of shouting at the OP for the meer suggestion that they may cause offense, you are unequivocally making that up to bolster your argument. And you know what, speaking as someone who actually has a so called disability. I find such mannner of argument bolstering ridiculous.

ArtsyAmy said:

The presenter of the workshop said that term dates back to when people with disabilities couldn't find work, and begging was their only way of attaining money. While begging, a disabled person would stick out his cap so people could put money in it. They'd have to be quick at doing so, or "handy with the cap" to get their donation before people walked by them. So, "handicapped" became a derogatory term for people with disabilities.

Click to expand...

I always thought it was a term that to became popular in the 70s, when the first access and rights laws were being adopted. It was considered a polite term for a while, though it's since fallen out of use.

I don't think there's a way to approach this that won't bother someone. I was floored to learn that most people with disabilities don't want cures, but to be accepted as they are and to live in a world that is more adapted to people with their abilities. I'm pretty sure that if I lost my vision, hearing or ability to walk, I'd still want to have them back, even though I'd move forward too. But the thing is, I don't know. My hunch is people are different, and the best you can do is present a character in a way that seems authentic to him or her and the situation they are in.

And research what it's like to live with this issue in the story setting in question.

JHFC said:

Maybe my confusion is that I don't see how these are separate.

Do you think you can be accurate and respectful and offensive?

Click to expand...

You yourself said you're always going to offend someone.

It stands to reason that means you'll offend someone even if you're accurate and respectful, no?

But that doesn't mean it's pointless to be accurate and respectful.

It's simply being a good and responsible writer person.