Change Is A Sound

airawyn:

[Image: A cheerful red-haired woman in a Batgirl costume walks away from a wheelchair bearing the Oracle symbol. Fanart by Jamie Noguchi]

[WARNING: Content below includes an image implying suicide by gun.]

A lot of talk about around the decision to make Barbara Gordon walk again has centered on the need for people in wheelchairs to have visual representation in fiction and pop culture. I’ve been hesitant to speak about my own experience because it feels appropriative - I’m not in a wheelchair. I don’t have mobility issues. Strangers can’t tell I’m different just by looking at me. But Oracle was still a role model for me.

I have an “invisible disability”. In my case, this is a mental illness. Positive portrayals of mental illness are rare in pop culture. Crazy people are villains, and villain are evil because they’re crazy. Sometimes a writer will try to create more depth by showing the trauma that drove the villain mad, or try to be “realistic” by tacking the name of a real-life illness onto a character. Sometimes a villain will get treatment for his or her illness and reform. But the message is always the same. If you are mentally ill, you are a bad guy.

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