Ablism In Sci-Fi

[redbrunja]

nenena  had a fascinating linkspam about ablism in sci-fi and fandom that was really thought provoking and caused me to check my privilege, so I thought I'd pass some of the posts on, with commentary.

SF & Ablism

This one really struck a cord with me. Because my first thought was 'well, it's the future - isn't it better to imagine disability gone?' (And I say this as someone who is sick of every character in a wheelchair having an arc about getting out of the wheelchair.) And then I thought, 'well, it's human to imagine that things are perfect... but it's the same kind of human as all the fantasy stories about a beautiful, beautiful princess who all good people love and bad people hate and who has a pony – ultimately very limiting.' Because, as another article mentions, it's highly unlikely that diseases won't keep pace with medicine or that we won't get new disease due to technology and advancement, in the same way that we have new diseased now which are caused by stress and didn't exist thirty years ago.

So Fucking Special

Now, I had my issues with this write-up. While I agree with her main premise, that people with mental illnesses can lead full and complex lives, I think River Tam is a HORRIBLE example of a character to discuss consent issues with. The thing is, 'insane' is a legal definition, to categorize people who can be held legally accountable for their actions and people who can't. Someone who is has a mental illness of such a severe nature that a person cannot distinguish fantasy from reality, cannot conduct her/his affairs due to psychosis, or is subject to uncontrollable impulsive behavior, is legally insane. River Tam is in the care of her brother, cannot prevent the thoughts of others from her awareness, has had violent episodes, and has thought a gun was a tree branch. MANY people with mental illness are capable of consenting. Legally, River isn't.

I do appreciate all the lists of books who deal realistically with mental illness, though.

rachelmanija 's amazing post on PTSD:

Part I: What I Did In The War.
Part II: What Does A Flashback Feel Like?
Part III: I Don't Have To Do This Any More.
Part IV: Postscript.

Yes, it's long, but it's fantastic.

And for the writer's one my flist, The Future Imperfect, a writing contest about this issue.