Inspirational and Disability – Cliche, Demeaning, or Fact?

4 players on basketball court in wheelchairs
Image from Pixabay

Inspirational! In particular inspirational and disability (and in particularly brain injury). Who would think it could be so complicated!

 

While “inspirational” is a word I am a bit fond of using I have discovered it is easy to misuse, and readily becomes demeaning.

 

I was showing a friend the work of Cheryl Green and co. in Seattle on the site “Who Am I To Stop It”:

“Who Am I To Stop It” is a non-inspirational documentary film on artists with brain injury. We focus on quiet observation of the featured artists. The film explores the roles that art plays in people’s lives for finding peace, peace of mind, connecting to their pre-injury lives, and connecting to community.”

“Why non-inspirational? What’s wrong with inspirational?” I was asked by my friend.

At the time I thought I gave a fairly credible summary of why NOT inspirational. Talking about valuing a person’s achievements and roles. Of not finding a person inspirational just because they live with a disability.

 

What’s Wrong with Being Inspirational?

For further clarity I watched the comedian, advocate, social commentator Stella Young in her TED talk “I’m Not your Inspiration Thank you Very Much” (also with an alternative title I much prefer “Inspiration Porn and the Objectification of Disability”).

As I watched I thought – Yup I understand! Use “inspiration” about genuine achievement not just because a person has a disability.

 

 

It’s that little voice inside that sometimes says “But I do think that’s inspirational” that I need to sort out. The voice that popped up as I read about a mother gaining her degree following a Stroke.

Dawn Faizey Webster has “locked in syndrome” following the stroke, and as she describes is able to use her brain but with no physical movement apart from her eyes. Dawn spent 3 weeks sitting exams by blinking her way through the alphabet. As I read I thought – “That is inspirational”. More clarity and understanding about the subtleties needed!

What’s In a Word?

A lot!

As supporters of people with brain injury, it is important to give careful thought to our attitudes. The words, behaviours and actions we use can have a significant influence on others.

We all know of words that are obviously inappropriate, demeaning, hurtful and segregating – “Retard” “Spastic” as examples.

There are other words that change with time, or become outdated. “Mental retardation” we now more commonly refer to as a person having an intellectual disability. Head injury we now more commonly refer to as brain injury, so as to more accurately describe the injury that occurs.

Then there are words and descriptions that are more subtly demeaning, often harder to spot in ourselves and others. It is these can help us learn heaps as we examine our own thoughts and attitudes.

Hidden disability after brain injury. Divers underwater with boat above
Image by Chris Scott

For many years I had used the term “hidden disability” without much thought. Thinking it was a great term to describe the outcomes of brain injury that you do not physically see. I learned much from the discussion about the impact of the term after an article I wrote “But You Look Good: Hidden disability after Brain Injury”

Inspiration is one of these words, a word that can have an unforeseen impact.  s.e. smith in an article “Disabled people are not your inspiration talks about the impact of using inspiration and disability together:

“People who insist that we’re so inspiring are turning us into objects, not people. There’s no room for disability rights, disability pride or even basic respect in this framework.”

Inspiration and Disability

Today I make my struggle public in the hope that sharing can promote further discussion and exploration.

Your thoughts are very welcome. Please share in the Comments below.

Some comments and resources that helped in my search for more understanding included:

Jess Wilson in an article “My Daughter’s Disability Does Not Make Her Inspirational”  lists reasons why her daughter is inspirational. not one of them is because she has Autism. This includes:

“Brooke is not inspiring because she is autistic. She is inspiring because she lives her life in a way that commands respect and demands acceptance.

She is inspiring because she lives her truth. Because she grabs this life by the balls and makes it her own.”

s.e. smith in the article “Disabled people are not your inspiration challenges being described as “inspirational” because you have a disability:

“As uncomfortable as it seems to make people to have their attitudes and beliefs challenged, ideas like “disabled people are inspiring” contribute to the way we’re treated by society at large. And we’re not going to achieve equality without confronting those ideas, deconstructing them and hopefully encouraging people to move beyond them.”

At the end of the article s.e. smith records a number of Tweets on the subject. For me one in particular brought both humour and more understanding into this discussion:

“@corinneduyvis: I live an exceptionally average life. Calling me ‘inspiring’ is setting the bar very, very low.”

One of my often quoted sources, Maria Popova, at one of my favourite places Brainpickings.org,  in the article The Best-Kept Secret of Clichés: How to Upgrade Our Uses and Abolish Our Abuses of Language writes about a book by Orin Hargraves “It’s Been Said Before”. Nothing to do with inspiration and disability, yet it set me thinking about overused terms, the ease of cliches.

Have inspiration and disability together become a cliché,  making it so easy to use unthinkingly?

Or maybe it is because we have become used to hyperbole, overstatement, exaggeration and use it anywhere and everywhere. Have you heard of football players being described as “inspirational” for running on the field? Hmmmm not to my un-football world they are not.

 

“Inspiration and Disability” What Can You Do?

outline of 2 heads sharing ideas
Image from Pixabay

I found a quote from Orin Hargreaves in “It’s Been Said Before”  that lead me to think about possible strategies, not only for writing, but for actions, attitudes and behaviour :

“It takes only a little more time, but considerably more effort, to write mindfully than it does to write mindlessly. You have to engage your intellect and examine the requirements of what you mean to express, and the words available to do it for you. But writing mindfully can be developed to become a habit with some effort, just as writing mindlessly becomes a habit with no effort.”

While not specifically talking about inspiration and disability, the quote lead me to the following strategies:

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  • Whatever we come across – words, actions, attitudes, behaviours, particularly our own, we could put ‘considerably more effort’ into examining each, mindfully.
  • This will assist us to understand why, and to resist clichéd behaviour and language that can demean, segregate or marginalise others.
  • It will encourage us to continue to turn our attitudes inside out and examine why we hold them and whether we should continue to hold them.

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Jess Thom in the article I’m not here to inspire, I’m here to make people laugh explains an advantage of using humour:

“Humour is an incredible way of encouraging people to think differently about something,” she says. But she knows that she is first and foremost a performer – changing attitudes is secondary.

Examining and changing attitudes that demean or segregate others is a vital, and I reckon, a lifelong task. Humour in the right way, at the right time, can help that process. So to finish I encourage you to watch the video clip in the article I’m not here to inspire, I’m here to make people laugh 

And Finally

What do I find inspirational? When I thought about this in relation to three of the people I mention above I realise it is what they do that I find inspiring:

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  • I find Stella Young’s fearless public advocacy and commentary, with her often comedic delivery inspirational.
  • I find Cheryl Green’s ability to share a message through multiple media sources, including: film-making, pod casting, blogging, providing interviews, and delivering a radio show inspirational.
  • I find Dawn Faizey Webster’s ability to set a goal and see it through, whatever the obstacles, inspirational.

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Please, please share your discussion and comments about any part of this article below.

 

 

 

 

This Post Has 9 Comments

  1. Alison Smith

    Thanks Melanie, love this article. I’ve used the Stella Young clip with my Cert IV disability students…. Gets them thinking!
    Alison

    1. Melanie Atkins

      Researching and writing this article certainly got me thinking. Thought and learned a lot. It is good to know it is also getting students who are new on the path thinking as well. Thanks so much for the feedback. Melanie

  2. Cheryl Green

    I’m honored beyond words at you including me and my work on a piece that challenges inspiration porn. This is a huge compliment. It’s very rare in the brain injury world to challenge the inspiration story line. While it is wonderful to be excited when people with brain injury regain skills or get back into life, what message do we give to people with brain injury who we dismiss as uninspiring? (Because, let’s be honest. There are only certain brain injury stories that people refer to as inspiring.) One of my many, many other problems with inspiration in this way is that it takes ALL the focus off society, ableism, structural and attitudinal barriers, and beliefs that people with disabilities are inferior to non-disabled, or “regular,” people. It puts the responsibility for disabled people making other people feel better about their own lot in life by achieving more than we thought they should be able to given their perceived short-comings. It’s all very subtle stuff how it plays out. You addressed it with grace and eloquence. A decidedly non-eloquent argument that I filmed is here: http://youtu.be/_huLUFeH_is

    1. Melanie Atkins

      My learning on this has been huge I hope others find the same. Thankyou so much for adding to and continuing the discussion. I am now about to watch your “non eloquent” argument for continuing enlightenment.

    2. Sandra

      I enjoyed your thoughts Cheryl. I too strongly dislike the way the word is thrown around. It is used often because people don’t know what else to say due to lack of knowledge or care factor. Or lack of the ability to articulate – it’s easy to say. I use a wheelchair and when people call me inspirational I just think ‘Hey I’m just getting on in this life like everyone else’. Or perhaps those who use the word ‘inspirational’ use it to those who have a disability because those with a disability are not threatening to them. Maybe it’s reserved just for we ‘special’ people! I certainly rarely hear non disabled people giving other non disabled people e.g. colleagues, siblings, friends such accolades. Why is that? Do they feel the colleague will get a big head, or a promotion? Is there sibling rivalry that prevents such complements? Why don’t we tell friends how amazing they are for going back to uni, moving out of home, going overseas? Who says the challenges are any less for those without a disability? Good article Mel. You rock you inspirational woman;)

      1. Melanie Atkins

        Thankyou Sandra and everyone else who has fed my learning brain on this.

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