Lancrenon

 

"Children’s literature is rife with tropes that narrativize illness or disability as a linear, homogenous experience that often culminates in “overcoming” disability, all of which presented implicitly for the benefit of an assumed abled reader. In such narratives, this abled gaze thus finds itself comforted by an ableist status quo in which conceptions of disabled people as “others” need not be challenged, while disabled subjectivities are overlooked or bypassed altogether – a dynamic which seems at odds with those same narratives’ well-meaning educational goals".


"In addition, what underlies the notion of visuality is the question of perspective, or gaze: who is (implied to be) looking? At whom? Where is the reader placed in that equation? In short, each of these texts position their reader with regards to the disability discourse in ways that at times align but can also conflict with the author’s intended message. Such narratives generally aim to educate readers about “acceptance” or “kindness,” a goal that centers individual attitudes as the sole catalysts of disability oppression and tend to ignore the role of larger institutionalized systems. In such cases, the reader is therefore encouraged to align with one of two sides, as these narratives are presented as stories of personal discovery – that of the disabled individual who comes to terms with their condition, or that of an abled character or narrator who learns to “accept” disability."