Elizabeth A. at blogofstench sent us her post on this ad for “Disaboom, a site of news, networking and such for people with disabilities and their hangers-on.”
She notes how the site and the ad challenge the stereotype of disabled people as asexual but, much like Viktoria in Bizarre magazine, does so by conforming to normative standards of attractiveness. But I really liked her observations regarding the extent of his disability. She writes:
…not only is this guy the picture of modern white bourgeois hegemonic masculinity, but I can’t shake the feeling that he’s also passing as non-disabled. Tattoos aside, he looks like a non-disabled guy sitting down in a chair that just happens to have wheels. While some people indeed use wheelchairs with no back and no handlebars and a low-slung profile, other people with disabilities have much more obvious tools that they use; an electric wheelchair, for example, can have six wheels, headlights and tail lights, a control box with joystick and horn, storage pouches on either side, footrests, leg braces, head rest, reclining seat, adjustable cushions and posture support, a backpack on the back and an obvious computer on board, all of which are much more obvious than a discreet little set of wheels under your butt… I feel that the Disaboom ad downplays the unavoidable obviousness of some mobility aids in its attempt to make the guy in the picture seem more stereotypically “non-disabled.”
Not to mention, I might add, a disability that interferes with urination and defecation or one that caused involuntary body movements.
Comments 10
Edith OSB — June 11, 2008
I became friends online with Ruth, author of WheelieCatholic. Ruth is a lawyer and advocate for people with disabilities. She is also a quadriplegic.
Ruth posts links to YouTube clips of wheelchair dancing, seated ski-ing and snowboarding, and participates in wheelchair tennis. Reading her blog opened up my eyes to the incredible diversity in the nature of disabilities and in the way they present themselves.
I'm troubled by the line "passing for non-disabled" in the blog, and assume it must have been an ironic echo of 1950s race language.
One of the topics that Ruth takes up regularly are the expectations and norms related to disability - that people are supposed to look a certain way. Sometimes the focus is on what people expect that they can do (e.g. folks get frustrated that a wheel chair makes a grocery aisle hard to pass by) and other times what people expect that they cannot do.
I don't know anything about disaboom. But if he is trying to present himself with all the stereotyped trappings of masculinity, that doesn't seem particularly different from all the non-disabled people who also present muscle-bound tatooed images of themselves. Rather than see it as passing for non-disabled, I would tend to see it as conforming to the stereotyped image of masculinity. The effect of those gender stereotypes is not moderated by disability, although the ability to evidence the stereotype may be affected.
OP Minded — June 11, 2008
... or maybe he just likes tattoos?
MW — June 11, 2008
Just to expand the discussion, I haven't seen any other ads in the series myself, but people who have commented on my blog said that they have seen other ads for Disaboom with other models.
One model is a Caucasian woman with a prosthetic leg. She is holding a baby and saying something to the effect of, "My disability does not limit my ability to be a good mother."
Tim — June 12, 2008
If they had a picture of Stephen Hawking on there not as many people would be interested. Looking at the picture of the tattooed man one can see that not all handicapped people are severely crippled. Someone with "an electric wheelchair, for example, can have six wheels, headlights and tail lights, a control box with joystick and horn, storage pouches on either side, footrests, leg braces, head rest, reclining seat, adjustable cushions and posture support, a backpack on the back and an obvious computer on board" comes across more machine than human and one could wonder what hope, if any, the person has of finding someone. They chose the model they did because he embodies a sense of hope. Much is lost, but you still have a chance, so join disaboom.
Sociological Images » “WE WANT TO BE ON TOP, TOO!” — June 28, 2008
[...] program that I have about Viktoria’s spread for Bizarre Magazine and Elizabeth had about Disaboom advertising. Notice that, of the eight contestants, at least seven appear white. Half are (let’s [...]
Sociological Images » NUDE CALENDAR IMAGES OF GERMAN PARALYMPIC ATHLETES — September 23, 2008
[...] out our earlier post about Disaboom, a community site whose ads for its dating service feature muscular and attractive people with disabilities. Do these calendar photos challenge the mainstream stereotype that people with [...]
enable — July 23, 2009
I don't think it helps to talk about people "passing for non-disabled".
People with learning disabilities (developmental disabilities) often don't "look disabled" at all- but they may still have trouble meeting a partner. Surely the point of this ad is that it's about his disability being irrelevant to his sexuality?
Lady Gaga’s Disability Project » Sociological Images — January 22, 2010
[...] more on disability and representation, see our posts on the model, Victoria, what does a sexy disabled man look like?, Britain’s disabled model competition, dolls with Down’s Syndrome, a nude calendar [...]