Avoid ‘inspiration porn’
Referring to people with disability as ‘brave’, ‘courageous’, or ‘inspirational’, just because they have a disability is disempowering and patronising.
This type of language is known as “inspiration porn”. A person with disability should not be used to make people without disability feel better about themselves. The term hit the mainstream via prominent Victorian disability activist Stella Young who explained:
“Inspiration porn is an image of a person with a disability, often a kid, doing something completely ordinary – like playing, or talking, or running, or drawing a picture, or hitting a tennis ball – carrying a caption like ‘your excuse is invalid’ or ‘before you quit, try’” ~ ABC RampUp
Stella elaborates further on this theme in her iconic TEDx Talk, I’m not your inspiration, thank you very much‘.
It is wonderful to celebrate achievements of people with disability, just as you would people without disability, but not just because they have a disability.
Watch Stella's TED Talk (off-site)