Disability 101

Inspiration Porn

The definition of inspiration porn is the portrayal of people with disabilities as inspiring solely on the basis of their disability. The term was coined in 2012 by Stella Young. Young has TedTalk that goes over her experience with inspiration porn, which is a great beginner primer on the subject. If you’ve ever seen pictures of someone with a disability doing something with the caption “the only disability is a bad attitude,” that’s one example.  First off, that just flat-out isn’t true. No amount of positive attitude is going to get someone in a wheelchair up a flight of stairs. This mentality is usually used to make one feel better about themself.  It’s sort of a “well look how much they struggle, I can’t complain!”….

Once you know what inspiration porn is, it’s easy to spot.  It all boils down to “why is this inspiring?” If your answer is “because the focus is on someone with a disability who happens to have done something”, then chances are it’s inspiration porn.  If the focus is on the thing someone has done or accomplished, it’s probably not inspiration porn. It’s complicated, sometimes stories skirt the line. The more you look out for it and try to find it, the easier it is to spot” (Source).