This image is, for me, one that epitomizes the 21st century concept of “slacktivism.” I don’t want to say that it’s specific to my generation, as it certainly is not; rather, it is specific to those communities—generations, populations, classes, communities—for whom the Internet holds a presence. This particular image is one of many of its kind circulating on Facebook: images and trends meant as a way to demonstrate awareness and support of a disease, disability, or disorder. Sometimes it’s about finding a cure (like the pinkwashing of literally everything during Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October), while other times—as in this case—it’s in promotion of regarding those who have said disease/disability/disorder with love and affection.

I recently stumbled across a series of images that depicted Jes Sachse, a 25-year old college student with Freeman-Sheldon Syndrome, in her own recreation of the provocative American Apparel adveritsements that are seen pasted all over newspapers, billboards, and the Internet. More often than not, these ads display young, able-bodied, attractive young people in sexy poses and scenarios while they sport minimal amounts of American Apparel merchandise. Sachse took these images into her own hands and created her own ad campaign: American Able. The American Able ads feature Sachse in the typical scenes that one would find in your everyday American Apparel ad while she displays her disability. Sachse's ads show us that those with disabilities are still sexual beings and can instill desire.

Reading both Rosemarie Garland Thompson's and Eli Clare's descriptions of how disability is represented in the media, I couldn't help but think of an episode of the 1980s show The Facts of Life. For full disclosure, the episode (titled "Introducing Cousin Geri") is the only episode of The Facts of Life that I've seen. I happened upon it last summer when purusing the internet – I followed a link about positive portrayals of disability. The episode is about a group of girls at a boarding school who come from a range of backgrounds and learn important lessons in their interactions with one another.

In this image we can see three people, presumably men, competing in a race. They are all wearing shirts and tie, so they are not professional runners, but office workers. I’m not sure if they are compering for an interview, or a promotion, and I’m not sure if that matters. The point of the metaphor is to dat that the man in the wheelchair cannot jump over the hurdles like his colleagues can. The hurdle represents discrimination. What we don’t see in the picture is what happened before the three men reached the hurdle. First, I think it should be highlighted that the man in the wheelchair was participating in the race in the first place!

As a part of the work I've been doing with the club I'm president of here on campus, EnAble, I've been trying to compile a list of fictional characters with disabilities. On the whole, I've been trying to focus on positive characters, but in some cases that has proven difficult. It's incredibly disturbing as to how many characters with disabilities are portrayed as somehow villainous. One of the few works I've found where most disabled characters are either portrayed more positively or in a very nuanced manner is the manga/anime series Fullmetal Alchemist.

I chose the photo that I found this summer while reading a Huffington Post article. The article was about an Italian photographer, Olivier Fermariello,  who was quoted saying " I see disability as a mirror for society, Most of us belong to the 99% of people who do not fit in the standards of manipulated beauty". The people with disablities were pictured within their sexual fantasy. Fermariello's quote really resonated with me. The majority of people feel that they are not beautiful enough compared to the standards made by society and so this shared between able and disabled bodies alike.

In 1967, I entered the Colonial School District, a public education system in Montgomery County Pennsylvania.  I lived in Conshohocken, which at the time was the low-income region of the district.  In my elementary school, I knew I had less than most of my classmates; yet overall, it really didn’t matter.  The possession of material items was the exception and not the rule.  In fact, the few girls who always wore a new and pretty dress where the minority (in my school district, girls had to wear dresses every day as a part of the school dress code).  Overall, as a white girl who lived in the suburbs, my access to education was unimpeded and my understanding of my poverty level obscure. 

I am white. I am middle class. I live in the United States. I have parents who care about me and about my education. In short, I am privileged.

The image I chose to use was a frame from an Archie Comic focusing on the character of Moose (or “Big Moose,” as he is often called). From the inception of Archie Comics, in the early 1940s, Moose was portrayed as large, dumb, and essentially good for nothing except for beating up anyone who came within a few feet of his girlfriend, Midge. I remember beginning to read Archie Comics when I was around 10, and not thinking much of the character. It wasn’t until several years after that when I read somewhere that the authors of the comics had chosen to attribute his intellectual difficulties to dyslexia.