Inspiration porn

Inspiration porn is the portrayal of people with disabilities as inspirational solely or in part on the basis of their disability.[1] The term was coined in 2012 by disability rights activist Stella Young in an editorial in Australian Broadcasting Corporation's webzine Ramp Up[2] and further explored in her TEDx Talk. She rejected the idea that disabled people's otherwise ordinary activities should be considered extraordinary solely because of disability.[1]

Examples of inspiration porn often involve a photo of a child with a disability taking part in an ordinary activity, with captions like "your excuse is invalid" or "before you quit, try".[1]

Criticism

Criticisms of inspiration porn include that it "others" people who experience disability, that it portrays disability as a burden (as opposed to focusing on the societal obstacles that people who experience disability face), and that reducing people who experience disability to inspirations dehumanizes them,[3][4] and makes them exceptionalist examples.[5]

The 2016 TV show Speechless explored the concept in an episode where it explains inspiration porn as "portrayal of people with disabilities as one-dimensional saints who only exist to warm the hearts and open the minds of able-bodied people."[6]

See also

Academic
  • Ben Whitburn (2015). "Attending to the Potholes of Disability Scholarship". In Tim Corcoran; Julie White; Ben Whitburn (eds.). Disability Studies. Sense Publishers. pp. 215–224. ISBN 9789463001991.
  • Katie Ellis Gerard Goggin (1 February 2015). "Disability Media Participation: Opportunities, Obstacles and Politics". Media International Australia. 154 (1): 78–88. doi:10.1177/1329878X1515400111.
  • Rakowitz, Rebecca (1 December 2016). "Inspiration porn: A look at the objectification of the disabled community". University of Alabama. Archived from the original on 5 March 2018. Retrieved 22 December 2016.

Mainstream media

References
  1. Ellis, Katie; Kent, Mike (10 November 2016). "Confirming normalcy. 'Inspiration porn' and the construction of the disabled subject?". Disability and Social Media: Global Perspectives. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-317-15028-2.
  2. Young, Stella (3 July 2012). "We're not here for your inspiration - The Drum (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)". Abc.net.au. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
  3. Rakowitz, Rebecca. "Inspiration porn: A look at the objectification of the disabled community | The Crimson White". The Crimson White. University of Alabama. Archived from the original on 5 March 2018. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
  4. Mitchell, Kate (17 July 2017). "On Inspiration Porn". Huffington Post. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
  5. Henningham, Nikki (2014). "8. 'Part of the human condition': Women in the Australian disability rights movement". In Damousi, Joy; Rubenstein, Kim; Tomsic, Mary (eds.). Diversity in Leadership: Australian women, past and present. ANU Press. pp. 149–166. ISBN 9781925021707. JSTOR j.ctt13wwvj5.11.
  6. "'Speechless' Just Schooled Everyone On Disability 'Inspiration Porn'". The Huffington Post. 16 January 2017. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
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