Gerber Baby? Meh. Show me real change

More on the cuteness porn front:

If a company is going to slap a cute picture of a child with Down syndrome on a bottle, it's fair to ask them how they plan to use the publicity and resulting profits to build a more inclusive company. If Down syndrome organizations and celebrities are going to tout this advertisement as a significant first step toward more widespread acceptance, it's fair to ask them what second step they envision. Advertising is just as important as any other form of representation. Wherever they are images of people, there should be images of all kinds of people from across the beautiful diversity of the human species. If Gerber's brand identity requires a different phenotype of baby every year, I'm glad Down syndrome is in the mix. But what's next? When is coasting on a feel-good wave of publicity about a conventionally cute child not enough? I don't want a revolutionary new corporate move; when it comes to disability and inclusion, I want a revolution.

Adventures in Inspiration Porn

We are not here for your inspiration. These crappy videos dehumanize Disabled people. If you are about to post this shit, think about why you’re doing it and don’t do it. https://t.co/JajDHCGhIx

— WMWDisabilityCaucus (@WMWDisability) November 27, 2017

I see it's time to refer back to the This Mess rules.

1. Don't take pictures of disabled strangers without their consent.
2. Don't share the pictures you shouldn't have taken to the internet without their consent. Their story is not your story to do with as you see fit.

As always, inspiration porn uses the experience of a disabled person to evoke feelings in the viewer, usually by praising the heroism of an abled person. If one were going to report on this story, the correct journalist practice would be to inquire about the lack of support structures leaving vulnerable people at the mercy of the kindness of strangers. But first - get consent. Ask disabled people if they want their lives shared.

AND ALL YOU FACEBOOK TYPES WITH YOUR CAMERAS: Respect disabled people's privacy. Be a better human.

Inspiration Porn Watch: Mom Gets Degree, Disabled Son Erased

We need to talk about the way that 100% of the coverage of this story is about mom's heroism not her son FINISHING SCHOOL DESPITE ABLEISM. https://t.co/RjY37Y3il1

— David M. Perry (@Lollardfish) May 24, 2017

A classic piece of inspiration porn. A disabled young man wants to go to school. The school has no way to help him, so his mom takes him to every class. School rewards her with her own degree, and that story overshadows the following.

• 1) Mom was required to help the son instead of him having appropriate accommodations provided for him.
• 2) The son finished school and it was HIS BIG DAY.

But now everyone is just talking about the great mom.

Inspiration porn buries analysis of ableist societal structures under a mountain of awwwwwwww.

Restaurant Photos without Consent ... again

There's a photo of an employee feeding a disabled woman in an Illinois IHOP which means it's time to resurrect two favorite How Did We Get Into This Mess? rules:

1. Don't take pictures of disabled strangers without their consent.
2. Don't share the pictures you shouldn't have taken to the internet without their consent. Their story is not your story to do with as you see fit.

Latest culprit: Keshia Dotson, who snapped a picture and is happily reaping the attention, as stories percolate around local news, always looking for an inspirational angle. I once wrote about a similar incident:

In objectifying this woman, as writer and disability activist Emily Ladau points out in a piece for the Center for Disability Rights, the stories all ignore the woman’s personal agency. “The woman is not helpless. She specifically requested assistance with eating,” Ladau writes. “She advocated for what she needed. The employee’s assistance was simply a kind acknowledgment of her request. [The comments] regarding the man are all to the effect of “bless his heart,” “what a hero,” “such a saint.”

One reporter led his piece on the Qdoba story with, “Faith in humanity, restored.” 

Real support

Then there are the legal and policy questions. Why is Qdoba not accessible to disabled patrons in the first place? No one should have to wait outside a door to be let in. And shouldn’t Kentucky provide appropriate community-based supports for this individual so a disabled woman can lead a more independent life rather than rely on the kindness of strangers?

Here I think the answers aren't that complicated. T. here seems to be a relationship between this husband and wife and the server in question. That's lovely. Ask for consent before posting.

------------------------------

I spoke to Dotson over FB messenger:

Me: did you ask their permission before taking the photo?

Keshia
I did not, I honestly didn't even think about it. I just wanted to forward it to corporate so the server would be recognized for his customer service skills, I never dreamed that it would go viral like it did.

David
After it went viral, did you reach out to the disabled person if they wanted people to see them being fed? Or to the server?

Keshia
I have not spoken to either, no.

David
A lot of disabled people are criticizing you for violating this woman's privacy. I wonder if you have any thoughts about that? Would you want such an intimate vulnerable moment shared without your consent?

Keshia
No harm was meant, it was a gesture intended with the up most innocence. But I have to get back to work, thank you for your interest in the story.

David
Right. But those disabled people would like you to take that picture down or get consent to share it.

-------------------------------

The picture is still up.

Once again: Do not take pictures of disabled people without consent. Do not share pictures you shouldn't have taken on social media without consent.

Disability and Media: Inspiration Matters

Here's a nice story about Craig Blackburn, a man with Down syndrome who plays Santa. It could so easily veer fully onto the Inspiration Porn side of the disability news spectrum (it's not an either/or), and the title does go that way. "Metairie man with Down syndrome spreads cheer now and throughout the year" suggests that the story will be about how people feel about the man, rather than centering him.

But that's not what we get:

•  Blackburn gets to speak for himself. The whole story is not about how others feel about him. "Blackburn said his goals are simple: "To impact the lives of others by advocating for issues that will result in better lives for individuals with special needs. Success is not measured by competing with others, but by each individual living life to their greatest potential.""
• He speaks about his achievements: "I met all the requirements, never failed a class nor did I have to repeat a grade," Blackburn said. Now Blackburn volunteers a good portion of time doing work for the community, making it a full circle of sorts."
• The article talks about his broader life: "He has served as a motivational speaker since 2004. He travels independently throughout the United States delivering the messages of inclusion, ability and full participation in life for all individuals. In 2009, He delivered his first international speaking message in the Middle East in Doha, Qatar."

As I wrote about Alice Wong, the disability community needs inspiration. We need to be inspired by people doing inspiring things, not by disabled people just doing things at all. I'm especially interested in seeing norms shift in local news like this, for all the big national outlets do matter. This article is, in my estimation, a win.

Disability Advertising: Nike and Kyle Maynard

Prosthetics are everywhere in advertising these days. They look "cool." They don't bother typical society (advertising is all about playing to the center, I suppose, when it comes to big brands). They are easily understandable and explainable. They feed our technophilia. After the 2015 Superbowl, I wrote (in a longer piece on inspiration porn):

Finally - and I know this post has been long - what is it with prosthetic legs right now and marketing? Do they rest in some kind of "canny valley," in which they are just strange enough and new enough to be cool, but not so odd to fall into the "uncanny valley?" I'm not sure.

I'm still not sure, but I like the idea of the canny valley. This ad below, though, is supposed to make you feel a little "uncanny" at first, and gives you a narrator who reacts askance at a disabled man on a mountaintop. The climber responds with sarcasm and just keeps climbing. From Nike:



I had mixed reactions. At first, like the person who pointed out the ad to me, I didn't like the paternalism in the narrator's voice, and I hated the "Limits are only limits if you let them be" tag in the video description. Then I watched a few other ads in the "unlimited" series and realized that the whole schtick is a disembodied sarcastic narrator telling people they can't do things (i.e. telling a kid they can't race Usain Bolt, they can't skateboard down a giant San Francisco (I think) hill, etc.) and the people on the screen, the agents, dismissing the naysayers.

What I like about this ad is it's not just throwing in a person with a prosthetic to look "cool," as has happened a lot lately, but it really is a disability narrative.

Sports ads - the you can do it! - are often inspiration porn for disability, poverty, whatever. Hardship narratives. Overcoming! That's the genre.

I think, given the genre, this one is pretty good. What do you think?

Alice Wong and Reclaiming "Inspiration"

Yesterday, NBC News profiled Alice Wong and the Disability Visibility Project. Go read it!

I am genuinely inspired by Alice Wong. With neither budget nor celebrity, she's created an vibrant, accessible, community of people with disabilities, family members, and allies. She's told stories and made it possible for others to tell their stories. She works constantly to promote disability issues both within the community - building networks - and for the broader public via her writing and Twitter. Most recently, she's collaborated with Gregg Beratan and Andrew Pulrang to create Crip The Vote, which I believe has had a discernable impact on the 2016 presidential election.

Wong inspires me to work hard, to center the voices of disabled individuals and to make sure that those voices are as diverse as possible - both in terms of their diagnoses and their other markers of identity.

I write this because "inspiration," as you likely know, has a bad reputation in the disability community (my pieces on inspiration porn here, here, and here, with links to the many other wonderful writers within those). So often, both the professional media and social media promote that idea that to be disabled and merely to exist is inspirational, that to serve disabled individuals with or without consent is inspirational. It's demeaning. It's dehumanizing. As a community, we've come to reject that whole notion of inspiration.

But true inspiration - when one is inspired by the actions of others to work harder, to be better - is a beautiful thing. A year ago, I interviewed the legendary Judy Heumann, one of the earliest high profile activists in the history of the modern disability rights movement, and she talked about having been inspired by Ed Roberts, another legend. Then she walked back the term "inspirational" a little, and I thought - it's ok to be inspired by Ed Roberts! Or Judy Heumann! Or Alice Wong! The key is to make sure it's not pornographic, it's not about looking at their lives and using it as a way to feel good/bad, but as a model to guide your own work.

We need inspiration. Alice Wong - I am inspired by you, so I'm gonna finish this blog post and get back to work.

Give AnnaRose the Camera!

There are two distinct types of message driven inspirational videos. One type focuses inward at the community it represents; the other pushes outward.

#HowDoYouSeeMe claims to be directed outward. The makers and their PR folks claim that its goal is to change the way people see Down syndrome. In fact, headline after headline over the last few days have been telling us that the video has already changed the way people see Down syndrome, thanks to Olivia Wilde. Nothing like inspirational feel good + celebrity clickbait to get people over to your website.

My thesis: Basically no one's view of Down syndrome has been changed by this video, at least not as the makers intended. No one has watched this video and had a transformational moment after the reveal. No one sees the video and comes away with new realizations about the full humanity and complexity of people with Down syndrome. Rather, the focus of the press has been classic inspiration porn gushing over the famous abled person giving her time to this worthy cause.

It's arguable that the video is a much better job at the second task – building community among the already persuaded. The video confirms the feelings that people Down syndrome matter among people who already believe it. The production values, the celebrity involvement, and beautiful words spoken by Anna Rose, promote good feelings among people who already feel good, and thus the video gets shared by folks who mean well. Everyone behind the video means well. Everyone who shares it means well. But it just doesn't "change the way you see Down syndrome," no matter how much the makers want to make that claim.

In my Establishment piece I focused on the wonderful video from Argentina (the tl;dr is watch this; not that) because I think it really does change the way people see Down syndrome, including for parents like me.

Our image of Down syndrome is white, cute, and compliant (and generally a child). This surly teen in his Ramones t-shirt, his leather wrist cuff, cutting school and jamming in the park with his friends, then riding mass transit alone, changes the way Down syndrome is generally portrayed. I'm wildly for it. I was glad that Born This Way had a black man with Down syndrome and an Asian woman with Down syndrome as two of the characters. Best of all, the "Libertad" video shows rather than tells, then concludes with the filmmaker (who also has Down syndrome) making a few comments AFTER the viewer has already been persuaded. 

The Olivia Wilde video – notice how everyone calls it the Olivia Wilde video – tells rather than shows. And when people complain, the makers and the supporters of the video continue to tell, and tell, and tell. If you have to keep telling, rather than showing, your video is a failure. 

In this self.com piece,  we get a few great quotes from AnnaRose. I wanted more. She's clearly a rivetingly interesting young woman with a lot to say about disability and identity.

So here's my proposal to CoorDown and Saatchi and Saatchi, the well-financed folks behind the "Olivia Wilde PSA." GIVE ANNAROSE THE CAMERA.

Give her a budget. Give her access to professional editors. Let her direct, star, produce, whatever she wants. Give her full control.

Then let's see what she can do. Now that would be changing the narrative.

Inspiration Porn: Don't Take Pictures of Disabled People Without Their Consent

Some suggested rules for life as a good person:

1. Don't take pictures of disabled strangers without their consent.
2. Don't share the pictures you shouldn't have taken to the internet without their consent. Their story is not your story to do with as you see fit.

A picture of a Kroger employee helping a blind customer has gone viral.

From the video:

Spotted this touching sight while shopping at the neighborhood Kroger. This visually impaired gentleman was waiting for assistance at the service desk. As we both stood among the Valentine's Day decor and discount candy making small talk, the young man gathering carts in the frigid parking lot approached us. He introduced himself to the gentleman, and reminded him that his name was Colin and he would be happy to help him as he shopped.
Trying not to listen and completely eavesdropping at the same time, I found out that these two know each other; as Colin has helped this gentlemen, who is a regular at this Kroger store, many times. Without missing a beat, the two set off to Sunday grocery shop--together. With Colin guiding the cart and taking care to navigate the busy store as the two discussed his shopping list.

Trying not to listen. Complete eavesdropping. This is not good behavior.

From the article. Emphasis mine.

The woman, Ashlee Fujawa, who is the director of public relations for environmental conservation organization Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, happened to snap a picture of the interaction between Coleman and the customer. She later shared it on the organization's Facebook page, where the post went viral as Coleman's kindness resonated with social media users.

It just happened that she took a picture of two strangers and put it on the internet.

The employee and the blind man seem to have a good relationship. That's lovely. Their story is not fodder for feel good inspiration porn.

Related:

• Don't touch disabled people without their consent.
• Against inspiration porn (via Al Jazeera)

Don't touch disabled people without their consent.

Back in June, Morgan Wheeler saw a wheelchair user and asked if she could help. He said no. She started pushing him anyway. He asked her to stop. She kept pushing him. He asked her to stop again. She kept pushing him around.

1. This is likely illegal. Battery? Kidnapping? Assault?
2. Morgan decided to take to her facebook page to advertise what a great person she is. It went viral (over 500000 shares).

This is the worst kind of inspiration porn, turning a violation into a positive act.

I asked him if I could assist him with his shopping today, and he, quite grumpily, said that he was doing just fine and was not getting much anyways. Me, being as stubborn as I am, insisted and proceeded to push him and tell him a little about myself.

HE SAID NO. NO MEANS NO.

He interrupted me and said that he only needed help to the door, to which I picked up where I had left off before he interrupted me.

She said - "HE. INTERRUPTED. ME." While she violated his autonomy.

I told him about Fayetteville, and my horses, and my nephews (I had parked a good ways away from the doors). And when I reached the doors, I continued to push him and talk. We reached the produce area and I asked him to tell me about himself. He reluctantly looked at me and began telling me that he lived in Sod- Lincoln County, and that he just recently lost his wife. I asked him if he was a veteran, to which he replied that he was- but with pain on his face, so I changed the subject and asked if he had made a shopping list.

It goes on and on. The original Facebook post is here, if you can stand it.

This woman violated a disabled veteran. And she's being praised for it. She's being covered in the media as a hero for our time.

I don't blame Morgan, or at least not only Morgan, she's following the norms she's been taught.

The media is perpetuating a culture in which disabled people are dehumanized, touched without their consent, and their violators praised as heroes.