Disability/ability Research task

Definitions

Disability: Having a physical or mental condition that limits movements, senses, or activities.

Able: Having the power, skill, means, or opportunity to do something.

Common stereotypes of disabled

people

Common stereotypes of disabled people• Victims• Rude/aggressive• Burden • Outcast • Unintelligent • Incapable of full participating in everyday life• Laughable • Vulnerable • Unattractive • Helpless• Weak • Useless • Attention seeking • Brave • Tag-along • Lonely • Crazy• Weird

Disabled characters and representation

Physical Disability • Coronation Street – Izzy

Representation: Izzy has been represented as being physically weak her character is played in a wheelchair.

Linking to stereotypes: By Izzy being in a wheelchair this portrays her as being stereotypically quite ‘weak’ or ‘useless’. This is because she often needs help from other people. However, she challenges the stereotype as often insists on doing things for herself.

Physical Disability • Waterloo Road – Imogen

Representation: Emma is represented to be more vulnerable than other characters because she is partly deaf. She finds it difficult to understand peoples and sometimes requires people to talk in sign language.

Linking to stereotypes: She conforms to the disabled stereotype as being ‘weird’ as she acts differently from other people. She seems quite distant from others which also conforms to the stereotype of being ‘lonely’ that disabled people are often linked with.

Mental Disability • Eastenders – Jean

Representation: Jean is represented as being disabled in Eastenders by suffering from the condition ‘Bipolar’.

Linking to stereotypes: People with mental illness tend to be stereotyped as being ‘crazy’ or ‘helpless’. Both stereotypes are reinforced by her character as she is irrational thinking and at her worst has failed to follow an everyday and normal life, needing assistance from others.

Mental Disability • Glee – Emma

Representation: Emma is represented as being quirky as she suffers from OCD. This is because she has a strong need to keep things clean and tidy constantly.

Linking to stereotypes: She reinforces the typical ‘weird’ stereotype as the behaviour she has is unlike everyone else's.