Once, disability was simply a descriptor, but over time, disabled people have created a community and a culture under this banner, allowing our creative identities to thrive. Unfortunately, the film industry has a long history of ignoring or misrepresenting this rich diversity of life experiences.
Category: Journalism
Survivors of sexual violence are spending £50,000 on recovery. Why is no one talking about the economic impact of abuse?
With Nikita Hand winning a landmark civil case against Conor McGregor for sexual assault, for which he must pay £210,000 in compensation, women everywhere felt a glimmer of hope for holding men accountable for their actions. But does that money account for her trauma? Is it even possible to attach a number to the cost incurred by sexual violence?
Assisted dying is a women’s issue. So why are we being left out of the debate?
Given that one poll revealed 74% of the British public is in favour of legalising it, the vote isn’t unwarranted, but as the debate dominates talk shows and fills column inches, there’s one view neglected from the discussion: that assisted suicide is a women’s issue.
I’m a survivor of childhood sexual abuse – stop using my trauma as a political football
I’ve spent my life watching society ignore childhood sexual abuse (CSA) or use it as a political football to flick the responsibility from one party to another.
The sex tech industry could better serve disabled people, and it must
Historically, disabled people have often been overlooked or misunderstood regarding their sexual needs and desires. This long-standing neglect continues to impact their ability to fully explore and enjoy their sexuality today.
I Have Had PTSD Retriggered And It’s Very Real
Watching Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s explanation of how the Capitol riots impacted her mental well-being and compounded the trauma of a previous sexual assault felt like watching my own life on replay. Not because the Capitol riots personally affected me, but because I am a survivor of multiple traumas and I understand exactly how it feels to have PTSD retriggered.
In response to her raw testimony, many have cast doubts on the validity of Ocasio-Cortez’s retriggered trauma, some even disbelieving her experience of sexual assault outright. Despite what some people may think, retriggered complex post-traumatic stress disorder is very real and sadly not uncommon.
All the Light We Cannot See shows disabled actors are crucial for disabled roles
Filmmakers often attempt to tell disabled stories, but few cast disabled actors in disabled roles.
Thankfully, Netflix’s adaptation of the globally renowned novel All the Light We Cannot See rejected that tired option by conducting a worldwide search to find visually impaired actors for the lead role of Marie-Laure Leblanc – and it paid off, big time.
Ginny and Georgia season 2 addresses key unresolved issue
From teenage sex to unhealthy parent-child dynamics, Ginny & Georgia is a smorgasbord of challenging topics that are seldom depicted sympathetically on-screen.
The Netflix series centres the mother-daughter dynamic between the titular Ginny (Antonia Gentry) and Georgia (Brianne Howey), depicting its high points and moments of great emotional upheaval, one of which is Ginny’s self-harming.
Disability Pride Month: Why disabled actors still need to get more chances
Representations of disability in the film industry have a long and storied history of being wrong.
It’s undeniable that improving disability inclusion within the industry, including hiring more disabled writers and producers, would enhance the accuracy of portrayals of disability on screen.
How Good Omens season 2 swerved ignorant tropes with its disabled angels
Good Omens’ second season nailed disability representation without tokenising a community that rarely gets depicted on screen.
Too many representations of disabled people stray into the objectively bad or dangerously prejudiced categories of filmmaking. Narratives position disabled people as burdens, inspirations, or mistakes of biology that must be fixed. Visual storytelling relies too much on tropes and neglects to explore the full spectrum of disabled lives.
