On Writing Disability
Wednesday, April 2nd, 2014 09:57 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
amarie24I asked this a few days ago at Ana's, but I could really use some help here. Thanks a lot!
Trigger Warning: Disability, Possible Erasure of Disability, & Ableism Language, Abuse etc.
I’m about to talk about the Batman mythos and I will do my absolute best to be as thorough as possible for anyone that’s not familiar with Batsy Boy’s universe.
Alas, I have fallen in love with the Batkids, better known outside the fandom as Batman’s sidekicks (i.e, all the Batgirls, Robins, etc.). And one of his sidekicks that I have fallen in love with is often called the Forgotten Batgirl. Her name is Cassandra Cain.
To share briefly about Cassie’s history, she was conceived, born, and raised only to be an assassin. Her abusive-ass father (David Cain, a BAMF villain assassin in the DC comics universe) raised/trained her to read people’s body language perfectly. In order to do this, he raised her without talking, reading, writing, etc. So Cassie knew (and still does) when someone was sleepy or going to throw a punch or going to drop kick, etc. She could read it with pinpoint accuracy and respond accordingly. Perfect assassin.
Then, she ran away from Daddy Dearest after her first killing at the age of eight. And she is mute and illiterate. Throughout her series, we see that she has terrible difficulty with learning to read, write, and talk, though she is capable of doing so. And because she is mute, I (and a lot of other Cassandra Cain fans) took her for disabled. Learning disabled, specifically.
But then I happened upon this blog that stated that Cassie is not disabled: she simply speaks another language-body language. You can read it here.
The blogger in question makes a compelling argument that Cassie simply knows and understands another language and that language is body language. I have no confusion with the blogger stating that Cass isn’t stupid: I am in complete agreement with that. Calling anyone stupid-especially if they’re (possibly?) disabled-is shitty as all fucking get out.
Yet at the same time…if we say that Cassie, who is mute and illiterate and has difficulty learning, is not disabled, then…neither is Barbara Gordon (the first Batgirl, and Cassie’s mentor/mother figure). Because Barbara Gordon was shot in the spine by the Joker and paralyzed. And now, she is permanently paralyzed from the waist down and is in a wheelchair. Yet, are we not supposed to say that she is disabled? Are we supposed to say that she simply has a different method of movements (via wheelchair)? Isn’t that disability erasure?
But…I want to write Cassie. I love that she’s Asian. I love that she has difficulties. I love that she’s Bruce Wayne’s (Batsy Boy’s) only (adopted) daughter. I love it. I already have about…three different fanfictions for her planned in my head. But I haven’t yet started writing or even drafting/outlining because I want to make absolutely certain that I am not erasing her disability and that I am checking my own able-bodied privilege.
My overall question is this: how do we distinguish between characters that…may have difficulties, but may not be disabled and characters that are absolutely disabled? How do we keep from erasing disability?
Trigger Warning: Disability, Possible Erasure of Disability, & Ableism Language, Abuse etc.
I’m about to talk about the Batman mythos and I will do my absolute best to be as thorough as possible for anyone that’s not familiar with Batsy Boy’s universe.
Alas, I have fallen in love with the Batkids, better known outside the fandom as Batman’s sidekicks (i.e, all the Batgirls, Robins, etc.). And one of his sidekicks that I have fallen in love with is often called the Forgotten Batgirl. Her name is Cassandra Cain.
To share briefly about Cassie’s history, she was conceived, born, and raised only to be an assassin. Her abusive-ass father (David Cain, a BAMF villain assassin in the DC comics universe) raised/trained her to read people’s body language perfectly. In order to do this, he raised her without talking, reading, writing, etc. So Cassie knew (and still does) when someone was sleepy or going to throw a punch or going to drop kick, etc. She could read it with pinpoint accuracy and respond accordingly. Perfect assassin.
Then, she ran away from Daddy Dearest after her first killing at the age of eight. And she is mute and illiterate. Throughout her series, we see that she has terrible difficulty with learning to read, write, and talk, though she is capable of doing so. And because she is mute, I (and a lot of other Cassandra Cain fans) took her for disabled. Learning disabled, specifically.
But then I happened upon this blog that stated that Cassie is not disabled: she simply speaks another language-body language. You can read it here.
The blogger in question makes a compelling argument that Cassie simply knows and understands another language and that language is body language. I have no confusion with the blogger stating that Cass isn’t stupid: I am in complete agreement with that. Calling anyone stupid-especially if they’re (possibly?) disabled-is shitty as all fucking get out.
Yet at the same time…if we say that Cassie, who is mute and illiterate and has difficulty learning, is not disabled, then…neither is Barbara Gordon (the first Batgirl, and Cassie’s mentor/mother figure). Because Barbara Gordon was shot in the spine by the Joker and paralyzed. And now, she is permanently paralyzed from the waist down and is in a wheelchair. Yet, are we not supposed to say that she is disabled? Are we supposed to say that she simply has a different method of movements (via wheelchair)? Isn’t that disability erasure?
But…I want to write Cassie. I love that she’s Asian. I love that she has difficulties. I love that she’s Bruce Wayne’s (Batsy Boy’s) only (adopted) daughter. I love it. I already have about…three different fanfictions for her planned in my head. But I haven’t yet started writing or even drafting/outlining because I want to make absolutely certain that I am not erasing her disability and that I am checking my own able-bodied privilege.
My overall question is this: how do we distinguish between characters that…may have difficulties, but may not be disabled and characters that are absolutely disabled? How do we keep from erasing disability?
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Date: 2014-04-04 01:34 pm (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2014-04-06 05:29 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-04-06 06:58 am (UTC)It makes people extremely uncomfortable, yes. Of course. But I've always felt that we're supposed to have conversations especially when we're uncomfortable.
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Date: 2014-04-06 05:52 pm (UTC)They've recast Annie as a black girl? That is a good idea, especially if it can make for some real discomfort about all the privilege on display.
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Date: 2014-04-06 10:10 pm (UTC)And yes! Annie is a black child! I just put a new post up there to help spread the word! :D :D
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Date: 2014-04-06 11:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-04-07 01:53 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-04-07 02:00 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-04-07 07:09 am (UTC)