Disability and Fandom

Related terms:
See also:	Ableism in Fandom, Disability in Fanworks, Neurodivergence and Fandom, Disabled-coded
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Disability, Disabled characters, representation of disability, and accessibility in fandom are commonly topics of discussion and meta within fan spaces, including within fanworks, interpretations of characters, and conversations about events like fan conventions.

Despite the likelihood that fandom spaces may have a greater proportion of Disabled people than the general population — especially considering how many neurodivergent fans, including those with mental health conditions, are in fandom spaces — Disabled fans can find that they and disability in general are often invisible in fan spaces at best, or they face ableism and disableism at worst.

While canonical Disabled representation seems to be improving slowly, the bigger change is in media aimed at younger children. GLAAD's statistics in 2020-21 found that 2.8% of regular characters on scripted broadcast primetime were Disabled, down from 3.5% the previous year. Statistics for UK television found that in the top UK TV shows, less than 2% of characters were Disabled. Across all forms of media, the representation of Disabled people is far below the widely accepted 16-20% minimum of the global population who are Disabled. With Disabled representation in media lacking, many Disabled fans turn to fanworks to see characters like themselves.

Canon Representation

Examples of Canon Disabled Character

Some examples can be found on the ADHD and Fandom, Autism and Fandom, OCD and Fandom, Mental Disorders in Fanworks, PTSD, Disability in Fanworks, and Neurodivergence and Fandom pages. Other examples include:

Books

• Kaz Brekker (Six of Crows Duology) - Kaz has a physical impairment and experiences chronic pain. He uses a cane as a mobility aid.

Comics

• Charles Xavier (X-Men) - Xavier is a wheelchair user.
• Matt Murdock (Daredevil (TV series)) - Matt Murdock is blind.
• Bucky Barnes (Marvel) - Bucky is an amputee, with a cybernetic prosthetic. He also has PTSD.
• Cyborg (DC Comics) - Cyborg has multiple cybernetic prosthetics and assistive technology.

TV

• Eda Clawthorne - Became an amputee during the run of The Owl House. Fans also discussed that the way her curse operated in-canon had many parallels with chronic illness.
• Ava Silva (Warrior Nun) - Prior to receiving the halo, Ava is quadraplegic. When the halo loses power, Ava becomes temporarily quadraplegic again, indicating that she is still Disabled and the halo is essentially a supernatural mobility aid.
• Toph Beifong (Avatar: The Last Airbender) - Toph is blind.
• Artie Abrams (Glee) - Artie is a wheelchair user.

Video Games

• Barrett Wallace (Final Fantasy VII) - Barrett is an amputee, having had his arm shot off during an attack on his home town. He has a customisable weapon in place of his amputated arm.
• Jeff “Joker” Moreau (Mass Effect) - Joker has Vrolik syndrome, which causes bone brittleness, mobility impairments, and chronic pain.
• Wyll (Baldur's Gate III) - Wyll has a visual disability having lost an eye during a fight, he has a prosthetic eye.

Representation Issues

Ableist Tropes in Canon

There are a number of ableist tropes which have appeared with regularity in canonical portrayals of Disabled people and have been criticised by Disabled people over the years. Some of the most common tropes or portrayals include:

• Magically Healed - A character's disability is healed, either through literal magic if the genre fits, through an advance form of medical treatment which is not realistic to contemporary treatment, or through a series of events such as them being misdiagnosed and having a different condition which is then subsequently treated.
• Better dead than Disabled - Story-lines which paint disability as a fate worse than death.
• Disability as a source of inspiration - Where the Disabled character is used to inspire those around them solely by being Disabled and going about their daily lives.
• Disability as punishment - When a character who commits harmful acts or is the antagonistic of a piece of media becomes Disabled and it is portrayed as a punishment for their earlier acts or as a means for them to "learn to be a better person".

(For more, see: Ableism in Fandom)

Fandom and Disability

Fanworks for Disabled Fans to See Themselves

Disabled Headcanons

Due to the disproportionately small percentage of canonically Disabled characters across all media types, many Disabled fans have formed headcanons or interpretations of characters as Disabled. As with all headcanons, the amount of information or subtext used to inform the headcanon varies greatly from fan to fan. (For more, see: Disability in Fanworks)

Disabled-coded

With some characters, fans have discussed the possibility that they were intentionally coded as being Disabled, even though canonically their disability was not confirmed. Sometimes this is in fantasy, supernatural, or sci-fi settings, where disabilities as we know them are not a named part of the canon universe. (For more, see: Disabled-coded)

Fandom and Accessibility

Ableism in Fanworks

Ableism is not solely present in canonical material. Ableist tropes, characterisations, and story-lines can and have also be perpetrated in fanworks, sometimes intentionally, but often unintentionally as well.

For example, the subtype of fic referred to as disability fic, which often also involves elements of hurt/comfort has been discussed and criticised for unrealistic portrayals of disability and the way disability is often used as a plot device, as well as other elements. Some of these same discussions and criticisms have been raised during discussions of whump.

However, sometimes people will claim that a portrayal of a disability in a fanwork is ableist, when the portrayal has been written by a Disabled person writing about their own disability and experiences. While some Disabled fan creators can and do create ableist portrayals, it's also true that some criticism of portrayals of disability fails to take into consideration the diversity of experiences amongst Disabled people. (For more, see: Ableism in Fandom)

Disabled fans creating resources for better representation

In many online spaces, Disabled fans have and continue to offer advice and guidance on how fans can better create fanworks for Disabled characters and avoid ableist tropes or offensive portrayals.

Some examples include:

• CrippleCharacters- A Tumblr blog run by a team of neurodivergent and disabled mods, who aim to provide a firsthand perspective to their disabilities and offer advice on writing Disabled characters.
• Manual Wheelchair Tutorial - A guide by Fade31415 on how to draw manual wheelchairs and how Disabled characters would move in those types of wheelchairs.
• A Guide to Visually Designing Wheelchair Using Characters - A guide by cowsabunga on different wheelchair using characters and details to include when creating characters.
• Writing Disability with Cy Cyborg - A website by Cyrus the Cyborg about portraying Disabled characters in art and fiction.

Examples of Disability and Fandom Meta

Written Meta

• Disabled Representation Has Come Farther Than You Think: You’ve Just Been Conditioned Not to See It. Meta by Mod Izzy from fandomhatespeoplewdisabilities about how some Disabled characters are not perceived as Disabled and how this is rooted in ableism.
• Cyborg, Disability, and Ableist Fandom: A Personal Narrative. Meta by Murphy Leigh about how fandom and fans perceive Cyborg and disability.

Podcast Episodes

• Fansplaining episodes, "Episode 186A: Disability and Fandom: Part 1" and "Episode 186B: Disability and Fandom: Part 2"

Example Discussions about Disability and Fandom

• Why is it that the fandom is often so ableist? [all] r/camphalfblood, discussing the Percy Jackson and the Olympians fandom

• Being in a fandom as a disabled person…. discussion at r/FanFiction

• Struggling to stay in the fandom. Disabled furries? discussion at r/Furry

• I am sick of the way kpop fandoms treat disabled fans. discussion at r/kpoprants

• Disability representation in fanfiction discussion at r/FanFiction

• There’s a problem in this fandom about accessibility. discussion at r/tearsofthekingdom

• Ableism in Fanfiction discussion at r/FanFiction

Communities & Websites

Blogs and Communities

Livejournal

• Disabled (SF/F) Fandom - A community for disabled people and their allies who share an interest in sci-fi/fantasy.

Tumblr

• Disability, Ableism, and Fandom Spaces at 1863 Project

• Fandom hates people with disabilities blog