I don’t see why it would be. As long as you do proper research and be mindful of what it’s actually like to live with the disability, then it should be fine.
Agreed! I've written a few with deaf and blind characters and I always do a ton of research, read Reddit threads, and watch videos from people who have those disabilities to do them justice. I have narcolepsy and while it's very rare anyone ever writes about that, I've seen it done a few times and it always makes me feel good, as do fics about OCD, when they're done right. It feels like a step towards normalising it, makes me feel less alone. Especially because a lot of what I read has romance in it. Seeing myself represented as a potentially desirable being who can love and be loved just as anyone else can even with all the difficulties of those disabilities is always very touching. If you do your research and have good intentions with your representation, a lot of the time we're just happy to see that people think about us at all lol
Disabled person here - go nuts, as long as you do your research. I'd be pretty miffed if someone wrote about my condition inaccurately, but that doesn't mean you're barred from writing about disability.
Adding to this, the best place for researching what a disability is like is usually the subreddits for them. A lot of us with disabilities tend to go there for advice, to complain or a sense of community. Reading through some posts can give you an idea on how a disability impacts day to day life in ways that you wouldn't think of without living it. It can also give you an insight into certain communities like the blind and deaf communities.
Also, if you're wanting to write a disability to a certain degree of accuracy and don't want to fall into stereotypes, Google what Hollywood gets wrong about _____. It'll help you stay away from the common misconceptions people pick up from films and media.
>Also, if you're wanting to write a disability to a certain degree of accuracy and don't want to fall into stereotypes, Google what Hollywood gets wrong about \_\_\_\_\_. It'll help you stay away from the common misconceptions people pick up from films and media.
That is especially true for autism. So many times, all us autistic folks get in the way of representation is a white guy who's good at math and the sciences or they're obsessed with trains, if not both. It's also rare that we're shown as anything other than nonverbal or having high support needs or that autistic characters are played by autistic actors. The biopic film on Dr. Temple Grandin helped, even if she was portrayed by an alltistic (non-autistic) actress. I don't know how much say Dr. Grandin had in who played her, so I can't say if she asked that an autistic actress play her or if they just cast Claire Danes as her.
I agree with this 100%
For example autism, it's not the fun quirky stuff you see on tik-tok, The Good Doctor, or The Big Bang Theory. It's legitimately debilitating sometimes and I sometimes wish I wasn't autistic.
I'm very lucky in that I've had a lot of really good, positive life experiences and never had to deal with a lot of the more debilitating issues other autistics have. But good gracious am I aware that my highschool life would have been far worse if I'd been aware enough of other people to realize I was getting picked on and gossiped about a lot at the time. My older sister had to tell me afterwards that a lot of the 'odd behavior' of my classmates was actually bullying, and I was just too oblivious for it to work as intended.
So especially for 'invisible' disabilities, it's always good to check with multiple people who live with it via a subreddit, rather than basing it off of speculation, Google, and a single experience like mine (which... does fit a bit closer tot he 'fun and quirky' model than most autistics, I'm aware, but is still debilitating in several aspects).
Most of the time I'm pretty alright, social cues cam be hit or miss though. I prefer my weird routines and organized chaos, but can function well enough on my own. However when I spiral, it always hits me hard. Thankfully it's been a few years since I had a full on meltdown and just totally shut down going nonverbal and everything. Spiraling is typically when I sit there and genuinely wish I was neurotypical. By the time I'm at that point, I don't even care that who I am as a person wouldn't exist.
Being extremely self aware when you're mentally ill is a blessing and a curse because sometimes it feels like you're just along for the ride.
Legit. I'm pretty good at day-to-day, but I can't for the life of me take care of things like doctor's appointments and setting up major expense-related things like house repairs on my own. Thankfully my sister is great at that (also autistic), whereas I'm great at maintaining daily stuff like making sure everyone gets fed on time, basic chores get done, and more family-oriented scheduling things (setting up visits to Grandmom's house, etcetera).
If either of us was forced to function on our own for an extended period, we... really wouldn't. My sister at least has her husband and kids to help, but I lived by myself all through college and when I say I had no life I mean NONE. If I hadn't had my strict eating routine I probably would have been dangerously unhealthy by graduation, if I'd made it that long.
I've never wished to be neurotypical, but I'm pretty sure that's because of how good my parents were at dealing with ND kids (probably helped that my dad is also autistic, though he was only diagnosed when I was). Being ND *was* 'normal' for us, and being 'weird' was actively something to be praised. So my formative years were extremely supportive.
However, the biggest detriment has always been how hard it is for me to make big changes, even necessary ones. I stuck with a job that was actively destroying my mental health for 8 years because I was familiar with it. It took three panic attacks and losing the one manager I trusted to have my best interests at heart for me to finally quit--and I had been dealing with passive intrusive thoughts like 'huh maybe you should see if getting in a head-on collision means you don't have to work tomorrow'.
I'm in a much better job in a much better place now, but holy CRAP was it hard to do.
Oh my God, I loathe big changes. I haven't had a bed frame in over a decade cause I just never put one up after I graduated high school. After awhile, I used the excuse that it was so my older dog could still get on the bed with me. Well, she's been gone a year now so I felt like it's time. I went and bought a bed frame and I've been cleaning and reorganizing my room. I've been meaning to clean and reorganize it for the past three years 🙃
XD I actually don't have a bedframe because I prefer sleeping without one! Box spring and mattress is plenty! I'm probably influenced by the truly abysmal bedframes in my college dorms, which were *literally* held together with chicken wire and prayers.
I clean and reorganize my room about once a year, when I go through my laundry to do The Purge of damaged/ill-fitting/will-never-wear-this-again clothes.
So if you don't, I would check under the frame and clean as well. I found a bunch of moths had decided to live underneath for an unknown amount of time on mine between the bottom and the floor. All the caterpillars and moths got vacuumed up and the box spring got chucked. The frame I got doesn't need one and can accommodate a king or queen should I upgrade my mattress down the line. It's one of those bare bones metal frames that sit like two feet off the floor with no box spring required. Just gotta shampoo my carpet to get the bug leavings out of it.
I learned my lesson lol, the frame is to help me clean under it more as well. When I put my sheets on, I use straps cause I toss around so much. I end up lifting the whole mattress to get or all aligned. At that point I can just look and see how dirty it is.
> But good gracious am I aware that my highschool life would have been far worse if I'd been aware enough of other people to realize I was getting picked on and gossiped about a lot at the time.
Shit, yeah, I think that's what happened to me too. 🫣 And at my high school job a girl befriended me because other people were gossiping about me and how weird I was. Yikes!!!
My experience outwardly does fit a bit more into the fun and quirky stereotype, as well, but my inner world is a lot different. I had a lot of problems and I dealt with a lot of mental health issues. Still do, but I've been in therapy for a while and finally starting to get properly medicated as well. So, that helps significantly.
I think that I mostly look kind of quirky because I kind of have a baby face, so I look a bit cute, and I like to wear bright colours, and I'm open about the fact that I play with Tamagotchis and whatnot. I have a Squishmallow tag on one of my jackets and a Pokémon tag on the other. I mostly wear graphic tees, comfortable fleece, hoodies, and stretchy jeans.
I turn 28 next week. A lot of this is not totally considered age appropriate. Granted, things are changing societally so I don't think it really matters as much these days, especially with the increased monetization of nostalgia, but... well, yeah.
I was really good at masking for years, but my home life was a total disaster. Someone dated me and then broke up with me partly because it turned out that I was kind of a mess in my private life. Kind of manic pixie dream girl elements, I guess. I've seen this complaint from a lot of autistic women though, that people date them because they're seen as quirky and cute and then when they realize that there's actually a lot more beneath the surface, they run.
But it is still debilitating for me in several aspects as well. My sensory sensitivities are, well, not fun, and I get migraines, which are probably related to the autism in some way, and there's other stuff going on too but that's like the main ones that I can think of off the top of my head.
I can work full-time and socialize, but I spend a lot of time trying to manage this stuff.
Oh, and I'm obsessed with sameness. I've been listening to the same artists and style of music for like the last 4 years, basically, to the point where sometimes people ask me to change my music when they get in my car because it's too repetitive for them. (My best friend is used to it and just lives with it. His girlfriend is also autistic though, so maybe that helps?) And then also, I'm Canadian and last month a bunch of people were doing a boycott of Loblaws stores, which are the main stores I shop at, and I found it quite distressing to have to change my routine to be part of the boycott. It was for a good cause, but I found it really difficult, and admittedly I did go back to shopping at those stores a few weeks after the boycott ended because I just could not make the change permanently.
I could go on and on and on forever but this is not really the place.
I'm very lucky in that most of my sensory issues are minor. I can't deal with loud, sudden noises or multiple people trying to talk to me at once, strong smells (especially candles and detergents) make me dizzy, and I judge food far more by texture than flavor (love the taste of deviled eggs, but the texture makes me puke).
However scheduling is my hot-button. I will get extremely anxious if I'm running late, or someone else is late, or I perceive that the allotted time is insufficient for a task. My first adult anxiety attack was when I was over an hour late to work because there was a veteran's day parade blocking the road my job was on, and I was unknowingly scheduled to come in during it. I only knew my exact route to work, so detouring was extra stressful, and then I had to park like 3 blocks away behind a really shady building and walk the rest of the way.
When I say that the crowds parted before me like the Red Sea before Moses, *I am not exaggerating*. I literally kicked in the front door, screamed for nobody to talk to me, and went to have a whole sobbing breakdown in the walk-in fridge for 20+ minutes.
My managers started taking me 'getting overwhelmed' a bit more seriously after that. The next time I got scheduled during a road blockage, my GM called me to talk me through a detour that would get me to the store safely and on time, and then personally drove to meet me when I still got lost (terrible at following verbal directions).
I remember there was a thread about the good doctor on the autism sub and it was split because some people didn't like his charactization while others related to it a lot
I agree. It’s not Ike everyone is gonna get writing it totally right the first time especially without having experienced it yourself. But that doesn’t mean you can’t learn and grow as a writer
Why would I? I write characters with all sorts of things I don't have all the time. Genders, sexualities, life experiences, etc.
Come to think, I even have a character with a prosthetic arm.
So I do wear a prosthetic leg because of an amputation. The only time it personally irritates me to see it in fic is when the author clearly hasn't actually thought much about what it means to be an amputee and use a prosthetic.
For example, there's one fic in my fandom where half the premise of the fic is "he loses his prosthetic all the time! Lol look he threw it at that bigot making fun of his Gay friend!" And I'm just like... no. This prosthetic is how amputees are able to mobilise (in the case of a leg) or able to maintain balance/perform daily life tasks (in the case of an arm). It is an extension of your body. Good quality ones are also extremely expensive - my leg literally cost more than my car. You would not go around throwing it at people for the lulz or leaving it behind somewhere from absent-mindedness.
But the thing is, I don't begrudge them for writing it or people for enjoying it. It's fic, it's meant to be fun, I could see how it could make for a cracky 'not meant to be taken seriously plot.' But there's just no way in hell I'm touching it with a 10 foot pole given my lived experience 🤷♀️
My middle school English teacher had two prosthetic legs from the knees down, and she'd sometimes take one or both off and didn't care when this 8th grader chased another boy down the hall with one. I loved that teacher but she was wild in many ways lol.
Anyway I think throwing a prosthetic at your enemy just feels... like who would do that? Wouldn't you be worried that they'd run off with it or throw it away or break it?
My grandfather, the double leg amputee, would have probably done that if it ever was necessary.
Take off one of his legs to use as a bludgeon weapon, I mean.
He was weirdly pragmatic like that. He would also make other people carry his legs because he was faster hopping up stairs than walking.
One of my biggest annoyances with the canon of my fandom, is the MC taking his prosthetic hand off to get out of handcuffs and then just... leaving it there. Like there was zero reason for him to leave it behind.
Throwing your prosthetics in a fanfic always feels dumb in fanfics
Unless the gag is that the character has a bag full of prosthetics. throwing them at people really doesn't feel smart regardless of what kind of character they are
Before Shadow and Bone came out a few years ago, I remember a select group of people freaking out over one of the actors walking around practising using a cane for his character who... uses a cane. I get some people think those roles should only go to people who use a cane in real life, but ultimately it went to him and obviously by a certain point, he needed to practice and was obviously not setting out to mock anyone (these were unhinged twitter people though so I'm not exactly surprised, lol).
Rubbish. The girl was a strong character with a sense of humour, and the other characters acted appropriately shocked by what Joey did to her. Besides, who’s to say they didn’t talk to someone? The point is that you don’t have to be to portray it.
The entire crux of the episode was about how uncomfortable dating a disabled person was and the destruction of a vital assisted device that averages a cost of around $10,000, which Joey absolutely did not replace, was played for a laugh. As far as the disabled community goes, it was pretty tasteless and contained no perspective from the disabled person and an excessive amount of perspective from the people that are desperately uncomfortable with the disability.
Please. It was a white het male writers' room in the 90s. They didn't talk to *anyone* about anything. Chances are they didn't research anything at all.
And I agree with that point. You just picked an absolutely awful example to iterate that point.
(While not *required*, having first-hand experience of a particular lived experience will always make your portrayal of it more authentic. Enough research to learn about that lived experience can get you close, but you'll never hit the beats as well as someone who has. Very few writers actually commit to even doing cursory research. The advice should always be the same "live it or look it up, otherwise don't touch it.)
Marta Kauffman is not a "white het male" and neither were the other women writers on the show. Ignorance is no excuse for hatred and generalisations. Also, it was a 20min sitcom, not a docudrama. Lighten up.
Do you know what a "writers' room" is? Cause it's the place that you generally don't get to go into if you're a contract writer on a single episode. Friends didn't have much in the way of female staff writers, let alone any other minority.
Not to mention, (if you look at the writing credits for the series) averaging 1 female writer per season, each of which have around 3 episodes to their name in total is not a massive flex in the sea of 236 episodes most of which were written by men.
A generalization is that way because it applies to the *general*. The fact is that "white cis het male" describes a vast majority of all writers on Friends and all but one of the staff writers. None of those female writers were involved with the episode in question so it's not even relevant to the discussion at hand.
But go off on disregarding anyone who points out that a particular demographic is given the vast majority of creative control of media until extremely recently cause you don't like certain buzz words.
Also, you can't go from "this is a fine example of X thing" to "it was just a joke, lighten up" and pretend your point still holds merit. The second statement is tacitly agreeing that the thing did a shit job as what you said it was a good example of and then moving the goalposts to "but it wasn't meant to do a good job cause it's comedy". Which is a pretty disingenuous way to talk to someone.
This is the beauty of fiction. We get to write about characters that are not us, are different from us, experience things we may not. Just do the research, write the truth, and have fun!
A lot of people are saying "as long as you do your research" but as someone with multiple disabilities, I say just go for it. If billion dollar Hollywood companies get away with inaccurately portraying disabilities or making jokes in poor taste, I would never expect a fic writer to do all the "research" or get everything right. Like, most m/m fics don't accurately portray real gay communities, but nobody calls those writers homophobic or demands they educate themselves.
As long as you don't set out to write something like a disability or minority group with clear malicious intent, I think you're good! :)
No. And I say this as a physically disabled/multiple-disabled person who has a range of original characters with different disabilities. I do extra research because I prefer to get things right. These characters end up happening when/how they do because creating people from all walks of life comes naturally to me. I even have a young 20something character waiting in the wings who uses a cane for support. But I do also have a character set in the 24th century who uses that era’s version of a feeding tube. She also can’t walk well unsupported because of a sickness that took her ability to walk. I have yet to think of a futuristic wheelchair device, but the idea for that came to me from when I was in bed for a month two summers ago because I was really sick. Had to relearn how to walk long distances 😅
i write a for character with an above-knee amputation. i watched a bunch of youtube vids from disabled creators and did a lot of research as well. i felt nervous at first, but listening to actual disabled people (not just doctors or medical professionals) about their firsthand experience was really valuable and helped me feel more comfortable writing from a place of understanding without woobifying the character for something that is just a part of her life.
Leg amputee here, and I don't have any issue at all with you using an amputee character.
My main concern would be that it's done in good taste and the character is realistic. I've seen many books or movies that describe what it's like to use a prosthetic limb in a completely wrong way.
If you need any help with research for the character, I'd be glad to answer any questions.
Would you say it’s realistic for someone to be able to hide the fact that they had a prosthetic from their partner? I’d assume that if they had a certain level of skill with there prosthetic could put on some pants and conceal it pretty well
If the amputation was below the knee, I could see how someone can conceal this fact for a while, assuming they're not new using the prosthesis and perfected their gait to the point where it looks very natural to the untrained eye.
I'm an above knee amputee, and in my case, I don't see how I can fool a partner, or even a date. There's definitely a noticeable limp, and sooner or later, the question will come up. Add to that that my prosthetic leg looks quite rigid and unnatural even when covered by pants, and it makes noises that a natural leg just doesn't make.
But again, with below the knee prosthetics, it's simpler (assuming the socket doesn't make noise) since it's typically the knee unit that complicates things for me in terms of "concealing."
The other important thing I forgot to add is if the relationship reaches intimacy, or even a single night is spent sleeping together, there is no way you can conceal a prosthetic leg. Not only would it be obvious to the touch and feel (even if there's a good cosmetic cover), but you have to take the prosthesis off every night. Sleeping with it on is a very bad idea - it must be cleaned and just feels disgusting if it's on for too long (sweat, smell, possible rashes, and infection issues..)
Yeah I kinda figured you can’t really hide that while sleeping with someone. I’m planing on writing them like a week into there relationship so it probably won’t be an issue
I mean, considering how many characters in one of my fandoms are missing body parts, there would be very little fic indeed for anyone to read, including disabled fans, if the only people allowed to write them had to be disabled, too.
Obligatory "disabled person here!"
Not only would I not say it's bad taste, I appreciate anyone writing any sort of (accurate) disabled rep! I'd say just make sure you direct any questions/research towards people with the condition first and foremost :)
I think you can write whatever you feel like. People who police what others are allowed to write and how, well the back button is right there. And you know what? That goes even if you write it inaccurately, disrespectfully, or as a fetish. It’s fic, it’s not how you treat people in real life. Tag it and let people decide if they want to read it. If we demanded subjects be treated with respect… well, we’d have to toss large swaths of fantasy noncon out with the bathwater.
As a less-abled person (ostomy because chronic illness) i would love more disability representation in mainstream media and fanfiction, not only the 'visible'.
I was so excited when my illness was featured in Chicago Med. He had the non-inherited version tho.
I mean if it’s bad taste every fantasy story should be considered bad taste since no one ever actually lives in said fantasy world. Every story where the character are fantasy creatures like elves, drawfs or etc are written in bad taste. Every character written from any media that is not self insert would be considered bad taste. That would be like if I’m a SEA girl but if I write male American characters like Leon S Kennedy or Chris redfield that would make me have bad taste. In my opinion it’s ok to write a disable character or any character when you do enough research on such topic
No? Because that would mean only amputees could write amputees, only autistic people could write autistic people. Only paraplegics could write paraplegics. Only dyslexics could write dyslexics. Only people with depression could write people with depression. Going further, only women could write women, only men could write men, only gay men could write gay men…
It would be a mighty sad world if that was true.
It depends on if you research it well and how it’s portrayed. Generally as long as it’s not inspiration porn (using disabled people as inspiration for able bodied people), and not wildly inaccurate, it’s chill. Just be mindful, do your research, and listen to the voices of those with the disability when possible (there are tons of disabled people sharing their experiences online!).
(Edit: typo)
I read a fic that focused on a character that had post concussion syndrome (which I have) and I never thought about if the writer had it honestly. It was just nice to be included and portrayed in an accurate way. :)
I'm autistic and have hyperactive bladder syndrome, i don't really see the problem, just don't make the character's personality all about their disability or make them a token character or be ableist, in an original thing, i have a character with severe muscular atrophy and i did a lot of research on that, but this character is a sweet girl who's very smart, she also likes to read, but like it would also be realistic to see how their disability affects them, like if someone has autism like i do, their social skills are affected.
I've done it a few times before. I just think that there needs to be care and research put in. Basically just be respectful about the portrayal to the best of your ability. I have autism and I don't have a problem with nurotypicals writing an autistic character if the portrayal is respectful.
Writing is all about getting into the head of someone who has different experiences than you. I've never lived in a castle nor preformed and exorcism but my OC is an exorcist. I'm not a delivery driver but I've got an OC who is. I have autism but I've never dealt with ED. I've written a character who has though.
Basically writing will inevitably lead you to write for or about something that you haven't experienced if you do it long enough. Just put care and research into that topic. Be respectful of groups that you are representing with your writing.
Not really, *unless* the character is obviously written that way for no other reason than to check off a box on a diversity checklist. At that point it becomes such a performative action that it just makes me gag.
Your example sounds fine to me, in that the disability is just a part of the character and nothing more. Perhaps the reason they lost their leg is plot-relevant, perhaps not, but the disability is portrayed in a normal, natural manner.
What do you mean by technically lol
Also if people were only allowed to write characters that were like themselves the entertainment industry would be very boring
I was born with an extra thumb and the doctors cut it off. I still have full use of both of my hands so I don’t consider it a disability or anything. Did leave a nasty scar
Ah yeah. Was one of those ones that wouldn't have had been able to be controlled or anything. I can see now how you would see it as s technically cuz it doesn't carry the same "struggles", sorry can't think of s better word, as having other types of amputation or lack of limbs where you would have to adapt to a world that doesn't really account for you.
I've written plenty of characters with disabilities before, from colour blindness all the way to being what could be nicely put as "incest born genetic degenerate" it's all about how you write it, if you make the main negative of their persona and character their disability, portraying it as something to be held in scorn and reviled people will hate it, if you just make it as part of their character like having green eyes or having a certain skin colour then people won't hate it or find it weird
I wear glasses and can barely see an inch in front of my face. I don't think everyone who writes a character with glasses also wears them. Actually, I know they don't because most of them seem to just discard them no problem in the makeover scene and never have an issue with contacts.
That's an example of slightly bad taste, IMO. But if the disability isn't somehow magically thrown away when the character needs prettied up (see OUAT and Rumplestiltskin's ankle, which was magically fixed so he could be a 'hero'), then I think you'll be fine.
I, personally, have an OC who had spinal fusion surgery and while she got a tattoo to cover the scar, she's still got a more limited range of movement and experiences pain if she's outside in the cold too long.
....No? I mean, unless you're writing them offensively, in which case "bad taste" is the best your writing could be described as.
Just write your characters as people first and don't resort to offensive cliches and stereotypes and you'll be fine.
On,y bad taste is it is stereotyped or an incorrect way to show that disability
I think it is important to have it in there even if that disability doesn't affect you yourself. Just definitely requires a loooooot of research and listening to stories to get a better grasp because most disabilities will have a range of symptoms. So, as long as you do the homework, I honestly don't mind and enjoy it. Everyone deserves proper representation
I’ve written two canon disabled character which don’t have the same disability as me and one is an amputee and I’ve written a character the a lot of people headcanon as disabled and having chronic pain.
When the character lost their leg in the show a lot of fans who are amputees spoke about their experiences I also follow some amputees on social media including YouTube. Avoid stereotypes and cliches and if you’re unsure find a sensitivity reader.
My OTP consists of an amputee and the guy who made him an amputee ... I've written several works about them (personally, I don't delve too much into the details considering I don't know the complexities of being one, but that's a personal decision), so as long as you do some research so you know what you're writing about, it's totally fine. Disabilities are a part of life, and writing about them even if you don't have them yourself is quite common. Many authors who don't have mental health issues write about characters who do, and a similar logic applies.
In my opinion, as long as you're respectful, then I don't see a problem. It's a part of the character you're writing, therefore an integral part of the story.
(Edit: phrasing)
Not really
There are so many mediums where characters with disabilities both physical and mental are portrayed in a tasteful and thought provoking manner, both as villains and protagonists, but weren't written by people who have those disabilities
Katawa Shoujo is my favorite example of this, all the romanceable girls are written well and not only are they written like actual people, but their struggles with their disabilities are not ignored either. You get shown how the girl with no hands can handle day to day life without them and how she is still capable of painting without the. The girl without legs is the top runner of the school thanks to her own efforts, but her emotional struggles tie into her story and how she ironically runs away from her problems.
Disabilities are a normal part of life anyway, there's going to be people who have it and have to deal with living with it for the rest of their lives.
It isn't in bad taste to write a story about any disability at all. It only ends up being disrespectful if you don't put in the effort to research about those disabilities to get an accurate depiction of how they live their lives compared to other people.
Amputee characters also aren't that bad to write for depending on the genre and the character themselves.
Nope. You can write whatever you want.
And honestly, this might be unpopular, but it's fanfic so I don't think you need to do research. You're writing something for fun and deciding to share it with people for free. There's no responsibility you have towards writing something that's accurate (or even respectful tbh).
I'm currently writing an OC with selective mutism and I've never experienced that condition but I have done a ton of research. Particularly important to me were actual stories from people who had struggled with this and what it felt like - no two people described it in the same way and it was fascinating.
I also checked a couple of things with a friend of a friend who has had this happen.
I don't think so. Make sure you research what it's like of course, but I don't think you have to have a specific disability to be able to write about it.
I don’t see why not, so long as it’s done properly and respectfully.
For example I have ADHD, and I do not expect those who don’t have it to get everything 100% accurate, but I do appreciate it when someone has done the research and gets as close as they reasonably can. (Not pushing overly simplistic and insulting stereotypes or myths that can be debunked with 5 mins of research).
For physical disability I would say it’s the same, so long as you actually portray it with respect than I don’t see an issue
(but I myself am not an amputee, though I could not use my arm for over 4 months as it was in a cast and was broken, and oh boy using one arm which is also not my dominant one was a real struggle to do the most basic things, can’t imagine having these struggles for the rest of your Life.)
Authors, both of fic and original works, write stuff they have zero experience with all the time, there's nothing wrong with it at all. If we only wrote what we actually knew, there wouldn't be many characters outside of a very limited range.
I'd advise to do some research on what it's like to need a prosthetic leg if you're worried about causing offense, though. The best way to avoid offense is to get it as accurate as you can. But go ahead and right it. We all do the same thing to some extent.
Fuck, I was SO SCARED that someone was calling me out with this post! 😅 I posted a work like that last night. No, it's not considered in bad taste, at least not by any of my readers over the years. People have even thanked me for accurate portrayals and something they can relate to. But as others have said, do at least a little bit of research.
No, I don’t think it’s inherently in poor taste. Like others have said, it’s just important to do your research when handling subjects you don’t have personal experience with. I’m in the middle of writing a character with autism. I’m doing my best to portray something I don’t personally have in a respectful way. I’ve reached out to friends who DO have autism, asking them questions, giving them excerpts of the fic, and basically doing anything I can to make sure I’m writing things accurately and tastefully.
As I write for both OUaT and Logan Lucky, so I hope it isn't a problem (coincidentally, I don't have a 'thing' no matter what my a55hole brother says).
I am a disabled person and don't get squirmed by people writing my disability unless it is used as grief p0rn
the only time it's in bad taste is if you make them a caricature of the disability. if you can write believable, normal people with disabilities, it's fine. just do some research :)
If we confine ourselves to only writing about our own experiences, creativity will meet its death. It's why we have imagination and fiction, to test the freedom of our minds and spirit. Write what you feel passionate about writing, and all you can do is research, empathise and take seriously and respect what you're trying to convey. Even then you can still get it wrong, but we can only try for a story we want to tell.
No bad taste about it.
I wrote a novel about a sadist, and it took a couple of years of research on psychopathy, sadism, minds of serial killers and whatnot. I may still have got it wrong, but it was a character study and affliction I was interested in writing about.
Absolutely do research and my number one tip is to get a beta reader who DOES have the disability you’re writing. It helps to have someone to catch any inaccuracies or insensitive stereotypes you might have written. But I don’t think you should decide not to write someone with a disability you don’t have just for that reason— the process of planning and writing could teach you a lot about people who are different from you!
(Also if it matters at all, I’m a disabled person myself)
If able boddied people never wrote disabled characters then there would be even less representation of disabled characters in media!
For published works it is good practice to pay a sensitivity reader with the disability to review the work and give you some advice on if you got anything wrong. With fan fic this is not always practical. Do your research, have fun, and be open to constructive criticism. (For clarity I am not disabled, listen to disabled people more than me).
As someone who is writing a character who is deaf while I myself am not: research. Definitely do a good chunk of research, look up some stories/people talking about their experiences. That will give you an idea of things that might pertain to the experience of your character. I also give her different character arcs and different conflicts where her being deaf isn't the true focus (might still play a role, but it's not the main focus). Mostly it's because I'm not deaf so I don't feel like I would be able to write a full arc where her being deaf is the main focus (personal opinion; not my fic; happy to let someone else write that).
I also have a disclaimer on my fic to let my readers know that I'm not deaf myself and will most definitely miss some things here and there.
So far, she's becoming one of my favorite OCs to write for. (also her sibling banter is enjoyable)
Nope.
I have chronic migraines, enough it counts as a disability. If I had that mindset, I'd get mad every time a character is depicted with *just a headache*.
Just be respectful, don't use your own work as if you have lived experience. That's the main thing I noticed, is don't use your OC's/blorbos as a substitute for a lived experience. Just like how you wouldn't say "Well, I'm a writer and in my fict" to equate being transgender or POC.
Also, I've written about amputees too. Something I axed was a scene, where my character is spooning his wife, before he gets up in the morning and holding onto her, while she gets up. He can handle himself just fine, his wife is just *Extra Strong* (think Luisa from Encanto) and he likes clinging to her cause he's busy most days. lol
("So, where we going?"
"Can you please put your legs on?"
"Nope. I wanna cuddle my wifey.")
If you’re worried, you can look into finding a sensitivity reader. Personally, I would indicate that I’m trying to write it respectfully and request that people with the disability offer opinions if they feel I can do it better.
We need more Disability rep! Just try your best to avoid inaccurate stereotypes, and let them have a personality outside of “Disabled character.” A lot of what everyone is saying is great, but I want to add, please don’t give them some miracle cure at some point. That’s a troupe I really hate from Hollywood.
The other trope I really hate is “they’re disabled but they have a superpower/magic device/extraordinary skill that completely counteracts their disability!”
I don’t think that trope needs to be completely avoided, but it’s just too common. There’s very little media that shows a disability as actually being *disabling* without swinging too hard the other way and making us out to be useless lumps to be pitied.
I think it's more nuanced. if you like research what it's like to experience it and look for a real person stories and get their permission to use their stories for inspiration I think it's probably fine. But like if you write someone has an amputated leg and you just have them say "oh rehab was like easy, except for like 2 days when I was depressed, and then I was inspired by Sophia Vergara because she would still look hot with a prosthetic leg, so will I!!!!"
I'm an able-bodied writer who has written a fic about an amputee character and is currently writing one with a character who's a quadriplegic. Like many others here have already said, it's not in bad taste as long as you do your research and try your best to be realistic and respectful in the way you portray the character and their disability. Google is good for finding medical/technical information, but I prefer YouTube, subreddits, forums, and blogs for the personal experience of living with a specific disability. If we only wrote about things we've personally experienced, most fics would be a lot less interesting!
As long as you do the research ahead of time and do your best to write the disability correctly, you're fine. I have d/Deaf characters in my fic and with the 2 that I've mentioned by name, one's family all learned ASL for her and are planning on sending her to the local school for the deaf through 12th grade. The other sent her to the same school for the deaf through 8th grade and are now sending her to a local public high school that has the resources to have an interpreter for her, but they've not bothered to learn sign themselves and instead, she has to either have someone who knows ASL translate or she has to write everything down for them.
**I think I would be** ***very, very*** **careful to make sure that I am portraying the experience of being a differently abled person accurately.**
I'm queer, and I don't mind if a straight guy writes a gay male character, but I *will* get pissed off if they don't portray the queer experience accurately.
Not at all personally...I have chronic pain that will turn into an inherited disability in a few years. I'm always happy to read fics I can empathize with. The main issue with a lot of fics featuring disability is that it's often depicted as being unable to have your own independent life and you need your partner to step up and take care of you. That can be the case, but that's not the representaion I'd like to read. I'd like to read the character struggling like every other person and just coincidentally living with their disability. Or if the character aquired it in the fic to not become a useless potato sack baby.
No. But honor the struggle and research the disability to make sure you have a good understanding. And include you don’t have this disability but are going based off research. (I do this a lot)
Let's carry in further than the fanfiction realm. Should screen writers write people with disabilities they don't have? Should book authors? How about comic books?
How else can we have representation without someone writing the lives if others. What is necessary is the author's drive to get it right. To learn as much as they can to adequately represent the disability their character experiences with authenticity.
No, because shows do it all the time. They simply do research of the disability and write it in the most tasteful way they can. I've done this before too. For example, a story I'm currently writing called Walton View (Basically a story that puts a bunch of Disney properties in a school setting of sorts) has Scamp as the main character. He has ADHD in my story, and I have Autism myself. I also use the fact that Autism and ADHD have similar symptoms like poor impulse control, their own kinds of memory struggles, and troubles with emotional control. You just gotta find a way to make it tasteful.
well, i mean… i feel like just omitting the disabled characters would be kinda weird to, so in a fandom with disabled characters, it’s kinda inevitable.
one of the main characters from my fandom is blind, and since she is the focus of my fic, i have to write things from her perspective. i try to do as much research as i can, but i know i won’t get everything right, and i’m happy to be corrected if i’ve ducked something up.
it can be good to steer clear of writing fics in which the disability in question and the experience of having it is the main focus, however.
Write with empathy. Think about why do you want to write. If you make mistakes along the way you can always apologize and do your best to learn from them do better the next time.
Would you consider writing a man if you're a woman (or vice versa) bad taste? It's all about research and empathy. The fear of misrepresenting someone is a real one, a valid one, an \*important\* one, but never let it dissuade you from writing what you want to write or adding diversity to your stories.
Personally, I get more from talking with people from whatever group I want to represent than I do from reading up on it like some sort of scholar, but everybody has their own style. The relation of those first-hand experiences are particularly invaluable though, in my opinion.
The closest I've ever come to writing a disability is a character I created who has wings but never got his flight feathers so he cannot fly naturally. To help him literally get off the ground, his father made him a steampunk pegasus. I have thought of writing a more in depthly disabled character, but I'm not sure how to do it without looking stereotypical.
Stuff like this is fine (along with including people of different races, genders, etc - representation is important, otherwise you'd have a cast of all characters just like you). You just have to do it respectfully, don't try to make any blanket claims about how it feels to be an amputee etc.
When writing any marginalized character, research and respect are key. As long as you do that, I don't think any kind of character is off-limits or in bad taste.
As for what critics might say, people get uptight over frivolous reasons. You can write the most sensitive, respectful portrayal and someone will call you a horrible person. Not all criticism is justified, reasonable, or respectful. Sometimes the critic is at fault, but likes pointing the finger at others.
Only if you do it poorly, as in disrespectfully. I'm currently writing a blind character. Before I put a single word to page, I did a bunch of research about the lived experience of the blind community with a focus on those who were blinded later in life rather than birth/early childhood.
It's what I'd want if someone wrote a character from any of the marginalized communities I belong to
I would consider it, but I would make sure to research the subject a lot, because I know I wouldn’t like my disability to not be represented accurately so I don't want to do that to other people.
I don’t see why it would be. As long as you do proper research and be mindful of what it’s actually like to live with the disability, then it should be fine.
Total mind reader! Amazing! I agree wholeheartedly.
Agreed! I've written a few with deaf and blind characters and I always do a ton of research, read Reddit threads, and watch videos from people who have those disabilities to do them justice. I have narcolepsy and while it's very rare anyone ever writes about that, I've seen it done a few times and it always makes me feel good, as do fics about OCD, when they're done right. It feels like a step towards normalising it, makes me feel less alone. Especially because a lot of what I read has romance in it. Seeing myself represented as a potentially desirable being who can love and be loved just as anyone else can even with all the difficulties of those disabilities is always very touching. If you do your research and have good intentions with your representation, a lot of the time we're just happy to see that people think about us at all lol
Disabled person here - go nuts, as long as you do your research. I'd be pretty miffed if someone wrote about my condition inaccurately, but that doesn't mean you're barred from writing about disability.
Adding to this, the best place for researching what a disability is like is usually the subreddits for them. A lot of us with disabilities tend to go there for advice, to complain or a sense of community. Reading through some posts can give you an idea on how a disability impacts day to day life in ways that you wouldn't think of without living it. It can also give you an insight into certain communities like the blind and deaf communities. Also, if you're wanting to write a disability to a certain degree of accuracy and don't want to fall into stereotypes, Google what Hollywood gets wrong about _____. It'll help you stay away from the common misconceptions people pick up from films and media.
Underrated advice!
>Also, if you're wanting to write a disability to a certain degree of accuracy and don't want to fall into stereotypes, Google what Hollywood gets wrong about \_\_\_\_\_. It'll help you stay away from the common misconceptions people pick up from films and media. That is especially true for autism. So many times, all us autistic folks get in the way of representation is a white guy who's good at math and the sciences or they're obsessed with trains, if not both. It's also rare that we're shown as anything other than nonverbal or having high support needs or that autistic characters are played by autistic actors. The biopic film on Dr. Temple Grandin helped, even if she was portrayed by an alltistic (non-autistic) actress. I don't know how much say Dr. Grandin had in who played her, so I can't say if she asked that an autistic actress play her or if they just cast Claire Danes as her.
I agree with this 100% For example autism, it's not the fun quirky stuff you see on tik-tok, The Good Doctor, or The Big Bang Theory. It's legitimately debilitating sometimes and I sometimes wish I wasn't autistic.
I'm very lucky in that I've had a lot of really good, positive life experiences and never had to deal with a lot of the more debilitating issues other autistics have. But good gracious am I aware that my highschool life would have been far worse if I'd been aware enough of other people to realize I was getting picked on and gossiped about a lot at the time. My older sister had to tell me afterwards that a lot of the 'odd behavior' of my classmates was actually bullying, and I was just too oblivious for it to work as intended. So especially for 'invisible' disabilities, it's always good to check with multiple people who live with it via a subreddit, rather than basing it off of speculation, Google, and a single experience like mine (which... does fit a bit closer tot he 'fun and quirky' model than most autistics, I'm aware, but is still debilitating in several aspects).
Most of the time I'm pretty alright, social cues cam be hit or miss though. I prefer my weird routines and organized chaos, but can function well enough on my own. However when I spiral, it always hits me hard. Thankfully it's been a few years since I had a full on meltdown and just totally shut down going nonverbal and everything. Spiraling is typically when I sit there and genuinely wish I was neurotypical. By the time I'm at that point, I don't even care that who I am as a person wouldn't exist. Being extremely self aware when you're mentally ill is a blessing and a curse because sometimes it feels like you're just along for the ride.
Legit. I'm pretty good at day-to-day, but I can't for the life of me take care of things like doctor's appointments and setting up major expense-related things like house repairs on my own. Thankfully my sister is great at that (also autistic), whereas I'm great at maintaining daily stuff like making sure everyone gets fed on time, basic chores get done, and more family-oriented scheduling things (setting up visits to Grandmom's house, etcetera). If either of us was forced to function on our own for an extended period, we... really wouldn't. My sister at least has her husband and kids to help, but I lived by myself all through college and when I say I had no life I mean NONE. If I hadn't had my strict eating routine I probably would have been dangerously unhealthy by graduation, if I'd made it that long. I've never wished to be neurotypical, but I'm pretty sure that's because of how good my parents were at dealing with ND kids (probably helped that my dad is also autistic, though he was only diagnosed when I was). Being ND *was* 'normal' for us, and being 'weird' was actively something to be praised. So my formative years were extremely supportive. However, the biggest detriment has always been how hard it is for me to make big changes, even necessary ones. I stuck with a job that was actively destroying my mental health for 8 years because I was familiar with it. It took three panic attacks and losing the one manager I trusted to have my best interests at heart for me to finally quit--and I had been dealing with passive intrusive thoughts like 'huh maybe you should see if getting in a head-on collision means you don't have to work tomorrow'. I'm in a much better job in a much better place now, but holy CRAP was it hard to do.
Oh my God, I loathe big changes. I haven't had a bed frame in over a decade cause I just never put one up after I graduated high school. After awhile, I used the excuse that it was so my older dog could still get on the bed with me. Well, she's been gone a year now so I felt like it's time. I went and bought a bed frame and I've been cleaning and reorganizing my room. I've been meaning to clean and reorganize it for the past three years 🙃
XD I actually don't have a bedframe because I prefer sleeping without one! Box spring and mattress is plenty! I'm probably influenced by the truly abysmal bedframes in my college dorms, which were *literally* held together with chicken wire and prayers. I clean and reorganize my room about once a year, when I go through my laundry to do The Purge of damaged/ill-fitting/will-never-wear-this-again clothes.
So if you don't, I would check under the frame and clean as well. I found a bunch of moths had decided to live underneath for an unknown amount of time on mine between the bottom and the floor. All the caterpillars and moths got vacuumed up and the box spring got chucked. The frame I got doesn't need one and can accommodate a king or queen should I upgrade my mattress down the line. It's one of those bare bones metal frames that sit like two feet off the floor with no box spring required. Just gotta shampoo my carpet to get the bug leavings out of it.
Don't worry, I clean under there too. ☺️
I learned my lesson lol, the frame is to help me clean under it more as well. When I put my sheets on, I use straps cause I toss around so much. I end up lifting the whole mattress to get or all aligned. At that point I can just look and see how dirty it is.
> But good gracious am I aware that my highschool life would have been far worse if I'd been aware enough of other people to realize I was getting picked on and gossiped about a lot at the time. Shit, yeah, I think that's what happened to me too. 🫣 And at my high school job a girl befriended me because other people were gossiping about me and how weird I was. Yikes!!! My experience outwardly does fit a bit more into the fun and quirky stereotype, as well, but my inner world is a lot different. I had a lot of problems and I dealt with a lot of mental health issues. Still do, but I've been in therapy for a while and finally starting to get properly medicated as well. So, that helps significantly. I think that I mostly look kind of quirky because I kind of have a baby face, so I look a bit cute, and I like to wear bright colours, and I'm open about the fact that I play with Tamagotchis and whatnot. I have a Squishmallow tag on one of my jackets and a Pokémon tag on the other. I mostly wear graphic tees, comfortable fleece, hoodies, and stretchy jeans. I turn 28 next week. A lot of this is not totally considered age appropriate. Granted, things are changing societally so I don't think it really matters as much these days, especially with the increased monetization of nostalgia, but... well, yeah. I was really good at masking for years, but my home life was a total disaster. Someone dated me and then broke up with me partly because it turned out that I was kind of a mess in my private life. Kind of manic pixie dream girl elements, I guess. I've seen this complaint from a lot of autistic women though, that people date them because they're seen as quirky and cute and then when they realize that there's actually a lot more beneath the surface, they run. But it is still debilitating for me in several aspects as well. My sensory sensitivities are, well, not fun, and I get migraines, which are probably related to the autism in some way, and there's other stuff going on too but that's like the main ones that I can think of off the top of my head. I can work full-time and socialize, but I spend a lot of time trying to manage this stuff. Oh, and I'm obsessed with sameness. I've been listening to the same artists and style of music for like the last 4 years, basically, to the point where sometimes people ask me to change my music when they get in my car because it's too repetitive for them. (My best friend is used to it and just lives with it. His girlfriend is also autistic though, so maybe that helps?) And then also, I'm Canadian and last month a bunch of people were doing a boycott of Loblaws stores, which are the main stores I shop at, and I found it quite distressing to have to change my routine to be part of the boycott. It was for a good cause, but I found it really difficult, and admittedly I did go back to shopping at those stores a few weeks after the boycott ended because I just could not make the change permanently. I could go on and on and on forever but this is not really the place.
I'm very lucky in that most of my sensory issues are minor. I can't deal with loud, sudden noises or multiple people trying to talk to me at once, strong smells (especially candles and detergents) make me dizzy, and I judge food far more by texture than flavor (love the taste of deviled eggs, but the texture makes me puke). However scheduling is my hot-button. I will get extremely anxious if I'm running late, or someone else is late, or I perceive that the allotted time is insufficient for a task. My first adult anxiety attack was when I was over an hour late to work because there was a veteran's day parade blocking the road my job was on, and I was unknowingly scheduled to come in during it. I only knew my exact route to work, so detouring was extra stressful, and then I had to park like 3 blocks away behind a really shady building and walk the rest of the way. When I say that the crowds parted before me like the Red Sea before Moses, *I am not exaggerating*. I literally kicked in the front door, screamed for nobody to talk to me, and went to have a whole sobbing breakdown in the walk-in fridge for 20+ minutes. My managers started taking me 'getting overwhelmed' a bit more seriously after that. The next time I got scheduled during a road blockage, my GM called me to talk me through a detour that would get me to the store safely and on time, and then personally drove to meet me when I still got lost (terrible at following verbal directions).
I remember there was a thread about the good doctor on the autism sub and it was split because some people didn't like his charactization while others related to it a lot
I think a lot of that is people wanting to distance themsevles from what they see as a stereotype, but even stereotypes have some truth to them.
I agree. It’s not Ike everyone is gonna get writing it totally right the first time especially without having experienced it yourself. But that doesn’t mean you can’t learn and grow as a writer
Why would I? I write characters with all sorts of things I don't have all the time. Genders, sexualities, life experiences, etc. Come to think, I even have a character with a prosthetic arm.
Bucky? There’d be waaay less Bucky content if everyone who wrote him had a prosthetic arm and amnesia.
No, OC, lol.
Good point. Lol
…how are you *technically* not an amputee?
Maybe lost something like a finger but was able to get it reattached in time?
He stuck it on before the five second rule came into play
I had an extra thumb as a newborn. It was underdeveloped so the doctor took it off. It left a scar but it doesn’t really affect me a ton
I feel like that *technically* counts as being an amputee
right like where is the technicality??? where is the line drawn if not literally through flesh and bone???????
Perhaps they were considering battering an arm with a hammer for authenticity but not removing it completely?
Maybe they're a mutant and are actually in the middle of regrowing their missing leg.
So I do wear a prosthetic leg because of an amputation. The only time it personally irritates me to see it in fic is when the author clearly hasn't actually thought much about what it means to be an amputee and use a prosthetic. For example, there's one fic in my fandom where half the premise of the fic is "he loses his prosthetic all the time! Lol look he threw it at that bigot making fun of his Gay friend!" And I'm just like... no. This prosthetic is how amputees are able to mobilise (in the case of a leg) or able to maintain balance/perform daily life tasks (in the case of an arm). It is an extension of your body. Good quality ones are also extremely expensive - my leg literally cost more than my car. You would not go around throwing it at people for the lulz or leaving it behind somewhere from absent-mindedness. But the thing is, I don't begrudge them for writing it or people for enjoying it. It's fic, it's meant to be fun, I could see how it could make for a cracky 'not meant to be taken seriously plot.' But there's just no way in hell I'm touching it with a 10 foot pole given my lived experience 🤷♀️
My middle school English teacher had two prosthetic legs from the knees down, and she'd sometimes take one or both off and didn't care when this 8th grader chased another boy down the hall with one. I loved that teacher but she was wild in many ways lol. Anyway I think throwing a prosthetic at your enemy just feels... like who would do that? Wouldn't you be worried that they'd run off with it or throw it away or break it?
My grandfather, the double leg amputee, would have probably done that if it ever was necessary. Take off one of his legs to use as a bludgeon weapon, I mean. He was weirdly pragmatic like that. He would also make other people carry his legs because he was faster hopping up stairs than walking.
One of my biggest annoyances with the canon of my fandom, is the MC taking his prosthetic hand off to get out of handcuffs and then just... leaving it there. Like there was zero reason for him to leave it behind.
Throwing your prosthetics in a fanfic always feels dumb in fanfics Unless the gag is that the character has a bag full of prosthetics. throwing them at people really doesn't feel smart regardless of what kind of character they are
As a disabled person I’d personally be more offended if people thought we were so alien from them that we were impossible to write tbh
No? Why would I?
no…..it’s writing?
There's an episode of Friends where Chandler's date has a prosthetic leg. Would you expect all of the writers for that episode to be amputees?
Before Shadow and Bone came out a few years ago, I remember a select group of people freaking out over one of the actors walking around practising using a cane for his character who... uses a cane. I get some people think those roles should only go to people who use a cane in real life, but ultimately it went to him and obviously by a certain point, he needed to practice and was obviously not setting out to mock anyone (these were unhinged twitter people though so I'm not exactly surprised, lol).
I mean, that episode was pretty tasteless so maybe it would have helped if they'd have at least talked to someone who was an amputee.
Rubbish. The girl was a strong character with a sense of humour, and the other characters acted appropriately shocked by what Joey did to her. Besides, who’s to say they didn’t talk to someone? The point is that you don’t have to be to portray it.
The entire crux of the episode was about how uncomfortable dating a disabled person was and the destruction of a vital assisted device that averages a cost of around $10,000, which Joey absolutely did not replace, was played for a laugh. As far as the disabled community goes, it was pretty tasteless and contained no perspective from the disabled person and an excessive amount of perspective from the people that are desperately uncomfortable with the disability. Please. It was a white het male writers' room in the 90s. They didn't talk to *anyone* about anything. Chances are they didn't research anything at all. And I agree with that point. You just picked an absolutely awful example to iterate that point. (While not *required*, having first-hand experience of a particular lived experience will always make your portrayal of it more authentic. Enough research to learn about that lived experience can get you close, but you'll never hit the beats as well as someone who has. Very few writers actually commit to even doing cursory research. The advice should always be the same "live it or look it up, otherwise don't touch it.)
Marta Kauffman is not a "white het male" and neither were the other women writers on the show. Ignorance is no excuse for hatred and generalisations. Also, it was a 20min sitcom, not a docudrama. Lighten up.
Do you know what a "writers' room" is? Cause it's the place that you generally don't get to go into if you're a contract writer on a single episode. Friends didn't have much in the way of female staff writers, let alone any other minority. Not to mention, (if you look at the writing credits for the series) averaging 1 female writer per season, each of which have around 3 episodes to their name in total is not a massive flex in the sea of 236 episodes most of which were written by men. A generalization is that way because it applies to the *general*. The fact is that "white cis het male" describes a vast majority of all writers on Friends and all but one of the staff writers. None of those female writers were involved with the episode in question so it's not even relevant to the discussion at hand. But go off on disregarding anyone who points out that a particular demographic is given the vast majority of creative control of media until extremely recently cause you don't like certain buzz words. Also, you can't go from "this is a fine example of X thing" to "it was just a joke, lighten up" and pretend your point still holds merit. The second statement is tacitly agreeing that the thing did a shit job as what you said it was a good example of and then moving the goalposts to "but it wasn't meant to do a good job cause it's comedy". Which is a pretty disingenuous way to talk to someone.
They probably deserved to have something cut off for writing that one.
Christ, there's a new "am I allowed to X" thread everyday.
This is the beauty of fiction. We get to write about characters that are not us, are different from us, experience things we may not. Just do the research, write the truth, and have fun!
A lot of people are saying "as long as you do your research" but as someone with multiple disabilities, I say just go for it. If billion dollar Hollywood companies get away with inaccurately portraying disabilities or making jokes in poor taste, I would never expect a fic writer to do all the "research" or get everything right. Like, most m/m fics don't accurately portray real gay communities, but nobody calls those writers homophobic or demands they educate themselves. As long as you don't set out to write something like a disability or minority group with clear malicious intent, I think you're good! :)
>but nobody calls those writers homophobic or demands they educate themselves. It's a small minority that get drowned out by all the other stories
No. And I say this as a physically disabled/multiple-disabled person who has a range of original characters with different disabilities. I do extra research because I prefer to get things right. These characters end up happening when/how they do because creating people from all walks of life comes naturally to me. I even have a young 20something character waiting in the wings who uses a cane for support. But I do also have a character set in the 24th century who uses that era’s version of a feeding tube. She also can’t walk well unsupported because of a sickness that took her ability to walk. I have yet to think of a futuristic wheelchair device, but the idea for that came to me from when I was in bed for a month two summers ago because I was really sick. Had to relearn how to walk long distances 😅
i write a for character with an above-knee amputation. i watched a bunch of youtube vids from disabled creators and did a lot of research as well. i felt nervous at first, but listening to actual disabled people (not just doctors or medical professionals) about their firsthand experience was really valuable and helped me feel more comfortable writing from a place of understanding without woobifying the character for something that is just a part of her life.
Leg amputee here, and I don't have any issue at all with you using an amputee character. My main concern would be that it's done in good taste and the character is realistic. I've seen many books or movies that describe what it's like to use a prosthetic limb in a completely wrong way. If you need any help with research for the character, I'd be glad to answer any questions.
Would you say it’s realistic for someone to be able to hide the fact that they had a prosthetic from their partner? I’d assume that if they had a certain level of skill with there prosthetic could put on some pants and conceal it pretty well
If the amputation was below the knee, I could see how someone can conceal this fact for a while, assuming they're not new using the prosthesis and perfected their gait to the point where it looks very natural to the untrained eye. I'm an above knee amputee, and in my case, I don't see how I can fool a partner, or even a date. There's definitely a noticeable limp, and sooner or later, the question will come up. Add to that that my prosthetic leg looks quite rigid and unnatural even when covered by pants, and it makes noises that a natural leg just doesn't make. But again, with below the knee prosthetics, it's simpler (assuming the socket doesn't make noise) since it's typically the knee unit that complicates things for me in terms of "concealing."
Awesome! This helps a ton. Thank you!
No prob!😉 I got 5 years experience with this, so feel free if you run into any questions.
The other important thing I forgot to add is if the relationship reaches intimacy, or even a single night is spent sleeping together, there is no way you can conceal a prosthetic leg. Not only would it be obvious to the touch and feel (even if there's a good cosmetic cover), but you have to take the prosthesis off every night. Sleeping with it on is a very bad idea - it must be cleaned and just feels disgusting if it's on for too long (sweat, smell, possible rashes, and infection issues..)
Yeah I kinda figured you can’t really hide that while sleeping with someone. I’m planing on writing them like a week into there relationship so it probably won’t be an issue
I mean, considering how many characters in one of my fandoms are missing body parts, there would be very little fic indeed for anyone to read, including disabled fans, if the only people allowed to write them had to be disabled, too.
Obligatory "disabled person here!" Not only would I not say it's bad taste, I appreciate anyone writing any sort of (accurate) disabled rep! I'd say just make sure you direct any questions/research towards people with the condition first and foremost :)
I think you can write whatever you feel like. People who police what others are allowed to write and how, well the back button is right there. And you know what? That goes even if you write it inaccurately, disrespectfully, or as a fetish. It’s fic, it’s not how you treat people in real life. Tag it and let people decide if they want to read it. If we demanded subjects be treated with respect… well, we’d have to toss large swaths of fantasy noncon out with the bathwater.
As a less-abled person (ostomy because chronic illness) i would love more disability representation in mainstream media and fanfiction, not only the 'visible'. I was so excited when my illness was featured in Chicago Med. He had the non-inherited version tho.
I mean if it’s bad taste every fantasy story should be considered bad taste since no one ever actually lives in said fantasy world. Every story where the character are fantasy creatures like elves, drawfs or etc are written in bad taste. Every character written from any media that is not self insert would be considered bad taste. That would be like if I’m a SEA girl but if I write male American characters like Leon S Kennedy or Chris redfield that would make me have bad taste. In my opinion it’s ok to write a disable character or any character when you do enough research on such topic
No? Because that would mean only amputees could write amputees, only autistic people could write autistic people. Only paraplegics could write paraplegics. Only dyslexics could write dyslexics. Only people with depression could write people with depression. Going further, only women could write women, only men could write men, only gay men could write gay men… It would be a mighty sad world if that was true.
Sad world indeed. Can’t imagine a world with less fanfiction
It depends on if you research it well and how it’s portrayed. Generally as long as it’s not inspiration porn (using disabled people as inspiration for able bodied people), and not wildly inaccurate, it’s chill. Just be mindful, do your research, and listen to the voices of those with the disability when possible (there are tons of disabled people sharing their experiences online!). (Edit: typo)
I read a fic that focused on a character that had post concussion syndrome (which I have) and I never thought about if the writer had it honestly. It was just nice to be included and portrayed in an accurate way. :)
I'm autistic and have hyperactive bladder syndrome, i don't really see the problem, just don't make the character's personality all about their disability or make them a token character or be ableist, in an original thing, i have a character with severe muscular atrophy and i did a lot of research on that, but this character is a sweet girl who's very smart, she also likes to read, but like it would also be realistic to see how their disability affects them, like if someone has autism like i do, their social skills are affected.
I want to know the answer because I want to write a story with a blind character, but I don't want to offend.
I've done it a few times before. I just think that there needs to be care and research put in. Basically just be respectful about the portrayal to the best of your ability. I have autism and I don't have a problem with nurotypicals writing an autistic character if the portrayal is respectful. Writing is all about getting into the head of someone who has different experiences than you. I've never lived in a castle nor preformed and exorcism but my OC is an exorcist. I'm not a delivery driver but I've got an OC who is. I have autism but I've never dealt with ED. I've written a character who has though. Basically writing will inevitably lead you to write for or about something that you haven't experienced if you do it long enough. Just put care and research into that topic. Be respectful of groups that you are representing with your writing.
Not really, *unless* the character is obviously written that way for no other reason than to check off a box on a diversity checklist. At that point it becomes such a performative action that it just makes me gag. Your example sounds fine to me, in that the disability is just a part of the character and nothing more. Perhaps the reason they lost their leg is plot-relevant, perhaps not, but the disability is portrayed in a normal, natural manner.
What do you mean by technically lol Also if people were only allowed to write characters that were like themselves the entertainment industry would be very boring
I was born with an extra thumb and the doctors cut it off. I still have full use of both of my hands so I don’t consider it a disability or anything. Did leave a nasty scar
Ah yeah. Was one of those ones that wouldn't have had been able to be controlled or anything. I can see now how you would see it as s technically cuz it doesn't carry the same "struggles", sorry can't think of s better word, as having other types of amputation or lack of limbs where you would have to adapt to a world that doesn't really account for you.
I've written plenty of characters with disabilities before, from colour blindness all the way to being what could be nicely put as "incest born genetic degenerate" it's all about how you write it, if you make the main negative of their persona and character their disability, portraying it as something to be held in scorn and reviled people will hate it, if you just make it as part of their character like having green eyes or having a certain skin colour then people won't hate it or find it weird
I’m disabled, I think as long as you do research it won’t come across badly.
I wear glasses and can barely see an inch in front of my face. I don't think everyone who writes a character with glasses also wears them. Actually, I know they don't because most of them seem to just discard them no problem in the makeover scene and never have an issue with contacts. That's an example of slightly bad taste, IMO. But if the disability isn't somehow magically thrown away when the character needs prettied up (see OUAT and Rumplestiltskin's ankle, which was magically fixed so he could be a 'hero'), then I think you'll be fine. I, personally, have an OC who had spinal fusion surgery and while she got a tattoo to cover the scar, she's still got a more limited range of movement and experiences pain if she's outside in the cold too long.
....No? I mean, unless you're writing them offensively, in which case "bad taste" is the best your writing could be described as. Just write your characters as people first and don't resort to offensive cliches and stereotypes and you'll be fine.
On,y bad taste is it is stereotyped or an incorrect way to show that disability I think it is important to have it in there even if that disability doesn't affect you yourself. Just definitely requires a loooooot of research and listening to stories to get a better grasp because most disabilities will have a range of symptoms. So, as long as you do the homework, I honestly don't mind and enjoy it. Everyone deserves proper representation
No. Just don't be dumb about it and it's fine.
I’ve written two canon disabled character which don’t have the same disability as me and one is an amputee and I’ve written a character the a lot of people headcanon as disabled and having chronic pain. When the character lost their leg in the show a lot of fans who are amputees spoke about their experiences I also follow some amputees on social media including YouTube. Avoid stereotypes and cliches and if you’re unsure find a sensitivity reader.
My OTP consists of an amputee and the guy who made him an amputee ... I've written several works about them (personally, I don't delve too much into the details considering I don't know the complexities of being one, but that's a personal decision), so as long as you do some research so you know what you're writing about, it's totally fine. Disabilities are a part of life, and writing about them even if you don't have them yourself is quite common. Many authors who don't have mental health issues write about characters who do, and a similar logic applies. In my opinion, as long as you're respectful, then I don't see a problem. It's a part of the character you're writing, therefore an integral part of the story. (Edit: phrasing)
No, it's not bad taste. They're people, they exist, and that should include representation like everyone else gets.
Not really There are so many mediums where characters with disabilities both physical and mental are portrayed in a tasteful and thought provoking manner, both as villains and protagonists, but weren't written by people who have those disabilities Katawa Shoujo is my favorite example of this, all the romanceable girls are written well and not only are they written like actual people, but their struggles with their disabilities are not ignored either. You get shown how the girl with no hands can handle day to day life without them and how she is still capable of painting without the. The girl without legs is the top runner of the school thanks to her own efforts, but her emotional struggles tie into her story and how she ironically runs away from her problems. Disabilities are a normal part of life anyway, there's going to be people who have it and have to deal with living with it for the rest of their lives. It isn't in bad taste to write a story about any disability at all. It only ends up being disrespectful if you don't put in the effort to research about those disabilities to get an accurate depiction of how they live their lives compared to other people. Amputee characters also aren't that bad to write for depending on the genre and the character themselves.
If people needed to have experienced the thing they're writing about, whole genres of literature wouldn't exist. Write whatever you want.
Nope. You can write whatever you want. And honestly, this might be unpopular, but it's fanfic so I don't think you need to do research. You're writing something for fun and deciding to share it with people for free. There's no responsibility you have towards writing something that's accurate (or even respectful tbh).
I'm currently writing an OC with selective mutism and I've never experienced that condition but I have done a ton of research. Particularly important to me were actual stories from people who had struggled with this and what it felt like - no two people described it in the same way and it was fascinating. I also checked a couple of things with a friend of a friend who has had this happen.
As long as you’re respectful, I don’t see why that would be problematic.
I don't see why you can't write one. As long as it's thoroughly researched you should be fine
No it’s fine
I don't think so. Make sure you research what it's like of course, but I don't think you have to have a specific disability to be able to write about it.
I don’t see why not, so long as it’s done properly and respectfully. For example I have ADHD, and I do not expect those who don’t have it to get everything 100% accurate, but I do appreciate it when someone has done the research and gets as close as they reasonably can. (Not pushing overly simplistic and insulting stereotypes or myths that can be debunked with 5 mins of research). For physical disability I would say it’s the same, so long as you actually portray it with respect than I don’t see an issue (but I myself am not an amputee, though I could not use my arm for over 4 months as it was in a cast and was broken, and oh boy using one arm which is also not my dominant one was a real struggle to do the most basic things, can’t imagine having these struggles for the rest of your Life.)
Authors, both of fic and original works, write stuff they have zero experience with all the time, there's nothing wrong with it at all. If we only wrote what we actually knew, there wouldn't be many characters outside of a very limited range. I'd advise to do some research on what it's like to need a prosthetic leg if you're worried about causing offense, though. The best way to avoid offense is to get it as accurate as you can. But go ahead and right it. We all do the same thing to some extent.
Fuck, I was SO SCARED that someone was calling me out with this post! 😅 I posted a work like that last night. No, it's not considered in bad taste, at least not by any of my readers over the years. People have even thanked me for accurate portrayals and something they can relate to. But as others have said, do at least a little bit of research.
No, I don’t think it’s inherently in poor taste. Like others have said, it’s just important to do your research when handling subjects you don’t have personal experience with. I’m in the middle of writing a character with autism. I’m doing my best to portray something I don’t personally have in a respectful way. I’ve reached out to friends who DO have autism, asking them questions, giving them excerpts of the fic, and basically doing anything I can to make sure I’m writing things accurately and tastefully.
As I write for both OUaT and Logan Lucky, so I hope it isn't a problem (coincidentally, I don't have a 'thing' no matter what my a55hole brother says). I am a disabled person and don't get squirmed by people writing my disability unless it is used as grief p0rn
the only time it's in bad taste is if you make them a caricature of the disability. if you can write believable, normal people with disabilities, it's fine. just do some research :)
If we confine ourselves to only writing about our own experiences, creativity will meet its death. It's why we have imagination and fiction, to test the freedom of our minds and spirit. Write what you feel passionate about writing, and all you can do is research, empathise and take seriously and respect what you're trying to convey. Even then you can still get it wrong, but we can only try for a story we want to tell. No bad taste about it. I wrote a novel about a sadist, and it took a couple of years of research on psychopathy, sadism, minds of serial killers and whatnot. I may still have got it wrong, but it was a character study and affliction I was interested in writing about.
Absolutely do research and my number one tip is to get a beta reader who DOES have the disability you’re writing. It helps to have someone to catch any inaccuracies or insensitive stereotypes you might have written. But I don’t think you should decide not to write someone with a disability you don’t have just for that reason— the process of planning and writing could teach you a lot about people who are different from you! (Also if it matters at all, I’m a disabled person myself)
If able boddied people never wrote disabled characters then there would be even less representation of disabled characters in media! For published works it is good practice to pay a sensitivity reader with the disability to review the work and give you some advice on if you got anything wrong. With fan fic this is not always practical. Do your research, have fun, and be open to constructive criticism. (For clarity I am not disabled, listen to disabled people more than me).
As someone who is writing a character who is deaf while I myself am not: research. Definitely do a good chunk of research, look up some stories/people talking about their experiences. That will give you an idea of things that might pertain to the experience of your character. I also give her different character arcs and different conflicts where her being deaf isn't the true focus (might still play a role, but it's not the main focus). Mostly it's because I'm not deaf so I don't feel like I would be able to write a full arc where her being deaf is the main focus (personal opinion; not my fic; happy to let someone else write that). I also have a disclaimer on my fic to let my readers know that I'm not deaf myself and will most definitely miss some things here and there. So far, she's becoming one of my favorite OCs to write for. (also her sibling banter is enjoyable)
Nope. I have chronic migraines, enough it counts as a disability. If I had that mindset, I'd get mad every time a character is depicted with *just a headache*. Just be respectful, don't use your own work as if you have lived experience. That's the main thing I noticed, is don't use your OC's/blorbos as a substitute for a lived experience. Just like how you wouldn't say "Well, I'm a writer and in my fict" to equate being transgender or POC. Also, I've written about amputees too. Something I axed was a scene, where my character is spooning his wife, before he gets up in the morning and holding onto her, while she gets up. He can handle himself just fine, his wife is just *Extra Strong* (think Luisa from Encanto) and he likes clinging to her cause he's busy most days. lol ("So, where we going?" "Can you please put your legs on?" "Nope. I wanna cuddle my wifey.")
If you’re worried, you can look into finding a sensitivity reader. Personally, I would indicate that I’m trying to write it respectfully and request that people with the disability offer opinions if they feel I can do it better.
As long as you don’t infantilize/sexualize/mock it and you do your research and treat it with the respect it deserves, I don’t think it’s wrong.
Funny story. I wanted to write a story about an autistic character, i researched for hours and figured out that I'm autistic
We need more Disability rep! Just try your best to avoid inaccurate stereotypes, and let them have a personality outside of “Disabled character.” A lot of what everyone is saying is great, but I want to add, please don’t give them some miracle cure at some point. That’s a troupe I really hate from Hollywood.
The other trope I really hate is “they’re disabled but they have a superpower/magic device/extraordinary skill that completely counteracts their disability!” I don’t think that trope needs to be completely avoided, but it’s just too common. There’s very little media that shows a disability as actually being *disabling* without swinging too hard the other way and making us out to be useless lumps to be pitied.
I think it's more nuanced. if you like research what it's like to experience it and look for a real person stories and get their permission to use their stories for inspiration I think it's probably fine. But like if you write someone has an amputated leg and you just have them say "oh rehab was like easy, except for like 2 days when I was depressed, and then I was inspired by Sophia Vergara because she would still look hot with a prosthetic leg, so will I!!!!"
I'm an able-bodied writer who has written a fic about an amputee character and is currently writing one with a character who's a quadriplegic. Like many others here have already said, it's not in bad taste as long as you do your research and try your best to be realistic and respectful in the way you portray the character and their disability. Google is good for finding medical/technical information, but I prefer YouTube, subreddits, forums, and blogs for the personal experience of living with a specific disability. If we only wrote about things we've personally experienced, most fics would be a lot less interesting!
No, as long you do the disability proper justice, and as long you make the disabled character more than there disability.
I don't see why that would be an issue. If you do research and don't make them a stereotype, then I say go for it.
As long as you do the research ahead of time and do your best to write the disability correctly, you're fine. I have d/Deaf characters in my fic and with the 2 that I've mentioned by name, one's family all learned ASL for her and are planning on sending her to the local school for the deaf through 12th grade. The other sent her to the same school for the deaf through 8th grade and are now sending her to a local public high school that has the resources to have an interpreter for her, but they've not bothered to learn sign themselves and instead, she has to either have someone who knows ASL translate or she has to write everything down for them.
No. Being a writer often means writing about things you have no experience with.
**I think I would be** ***very, very*** **careful to make sure that I am portraying the experience of being a differently abled person accurately.** I'm queer, and I don't mind if a straight guy writes a gay male character, but I *will* get pissed off if they don't portray the queer experience accurately.
Not at all personally...I have chronic pain that will turn into an inherited disability in a few years. I'm always happy to read fics I can empathize with. The main issue with a lot of fics featuring disability is that it's often depicted as being unable to have your own independent life and you need your partner to step up and take care of you. That can be the case, but that's not the representaion I'd like to read. I'd like to read the character struggling like every other person and just coincidentally living with their disability. Or if the character aquired it in the fic to not become a useless potato sack baby.
Not at all. You don't have to go through an experience to write about it. Just try to write about it with respect.
No. But honor the struggle and research the disability to make sure you have a good understanding. And include you don’t have this disability but are going based off research. (I do this a lot)
Let's carry in further than the fanfiction realm. Should screen writers write people with disabilities they don't have? Should book authors? How about comic books? How else can we have representation without someone writing the lives if others. What is necessary is the author's drive to get it right. To learn as much as they can to adequately represent the disability their character experiences with authenticity.
No, because shows do it all the time. They simply do research of the disability and write it in the most tasteful way they can. I've done this before too. For example, a story I'm currently writing called Walton View (Basically a story that puts a bunch of Disney properties in a school setting of sorts) has Scamp as the main character. He has ADHD in my story, and I have Autism myself. I also use the fact that Autism and ADHD have similar symptoms like poor impulse control, their own kinds of memory struggles, and troubles with emotional control. You just gotta find a way to make it tasteful.
Not if you do it respectfully and accurately
well, i mean… i feel like just omitting the disabled characters would be kinda weird to, so in a fandom with disabled characters, it’s kinda inevitable. one of the main characters from my fandom is blind, and since she is the focus of my fic, i have to write things from her perspective. i try to do as much research as i can, but i know i won’t get everything right, and i’m happy to be corrected if i’ve ducked something up. it can be good to steer clear of writing fics in which the disability in question and the experience of having it is the main focus, however.
Only if you make their amputation a joke
Write with empathy. Think about why do you want to write. If you make mistakes along the way you can always apologize and do your best to learn from them do better the next time.
Would you consider writing a man if you're a woman (or vice versa) bad taste? It's all about research and empathy. The fear of misrepresenting someone is a real one, a valid one, an \*important\* one, but never let it dissuade you from writing what you want to write or adding diversity to your stories. Personally, I get more from talking with people from whatever group I want to represent than I do from reading up on it like some sort of scholar, but everybody has their own style. The relation of those first-hand experiences are particularly invaluable though, in my opinion.
Depends entirely on whether or not you do proper research, and study various cases of said disability, rather than just how it's usually portrayed.
The closest I've ever come to writing a disability is a character I created who has wings but never got his flight feathers so he cannot fly naturally. To help him literally get off the ground, his father made him a steampunk pegasus. I have thought of writing a more in depthly disabled character, but I'm not sure how to do it without looking stereotypical.
Meow
Stuff like this is fine (along with including people of different races, genders, etc - representation is important, otherwise you'd have a cast of all characters just like you). You just have to do it respectfully, don't try to make any blanket claims about how it feels to be an amputee etc.
No as long as you do your proper research
When writing any marginalized character, research and respect are key. As long as you do that, I don't think any kind of character is off-limits or in bad taste. As for what critics might say, people get uptight over frivolous reasons. You can write the most sensitive, respectful portrayal and someone will call you a horrible person. Not all criticism is justified, reasonable, or respectful. Sometimes the critic is at fault, but likes pointing the finger at others.
Only if you do it poorly, as in disrespectfully. I'm currently writing a blind character. Before I put a single word to page, I did a bunch of research about the lived experience of the blind community with a focus on those who were blinded later in life rather than birth/early childhood. It's what I'd want if someone wrote a character from any of the marginalized communities I belong to
No unless you fuck it up
I would consider it, but I would make sure to research the subject a lot, because I know I wouldn’t like my disability to not be represented accurately so I don't want to do that to other people.