What A Movie Taught Me About Disability
By: Jyoti Meena
Tags: Movies, Disability, Queer, Analysis, Psychology

Relational trajectory with Khanum

The last theme is ‘Relational trajectory with Khanum’ which, as the name suggests talks about Laila's queer relationship with Khanum.

‘Margarita with a Straw’ portrays a queer relationship between two disabled women, something rarely seen in media, especially in Bollywood. Laila meets Khanum in New York where Khanum is chanting “Fuck police” in the university and is enraptured by Khanum’s boldness. As both the women befriend each other and start spending progressively more time together, Laila starts getting attracted to her. She starts having emotions she didn’t know she was capable of, towards someone from same-sex.

The first queer sexual encounter takes place when they return to Khanum's place from the bar and as she gives her a head massage, Khanum leans in to kiss. Initially, taken aback Laila reciprocate and it leads to sex. They get into a romantic relationship and Laila moves in. A noteworthy event takes place when Laila sleeps with Jared and feels extremely guilt afterward. When she confesses about the infidelity to Khanum, she is upset and angry and asks if “fucking Jared would give her the certificate of normalcy?”

This shows that even Khanum who appears to be confident and self-sufficient views disability as something that is not normal. In the end, they part on a positive note and Khanum forgives her before leaving for New York.

Indeed disability and queer identities are rarely considered separately, and they are almost never considered together. While experiences of being both disabled and queer are lacking within academia, it is even less present in popular media and popular imagination. Disabled people are frequently de-gendered and desexualized in both popular imagination and research (McRuer, 2006). The notion that disabled people are not gendered nor sexual leads to the invalidation and invisibility of queer disabled people, further marginalizing them. Neither are they validated from the LGBTQ+ communities and organizations nor from the disability communities and organizations.

In a study by Stoffelen, Schaafsma, Kok, & Curfs (2018) they had found that lesbians had it hard to talk to others about sensitive subjects such as their sexuality, and had been left to figure out information regarding their sexual orientation without support or guidance. Also, there was a lack of information, sexual education, and role models when it comes to lesbian sex and women with a disability. Social contact was often limited, and participants experienced difficulties finding a partner. This supports the earlier discussion on invisibility as well as the marginalization of queer women with disabilities.

Based on the above analysis, a clear understanding can be drawn regarding the portrayal of the intersection of disability and sexuality in the media product Margarita with a straw.

Queer and disabled women face triple marginalization where they are discriminated against and oppressed for bringing disabled as well as being queer and being a woman has always been an oppressed identity position. While society views disabled people as asexual with no interest in sexual activities, the idea that not only are they interested in sex, but also sexually attracted to same-sex leads to responses such as disgust and disbelief. They are seen as ‘freaks’, ‘abnormal’, different’ etc. Often, parental support is hard to obtain which further makes them vulnerable to harmful behavior and emotional distress. In the movie, ‘Margarita with a Straw’, Laila is viewed as an asexual entity. Her mother, who is the closest to her responds with discomfort and disgust when she realizes her sexual interests and urges.

Despite societal notions, she explores herself sexually and takes control of her sexuality. Laila, though motivated by attraction, also uses each of her lovers to discover something about herself. As the movie closes, Laila is seen preparing for a new date — she sits alone at a café and smiles warmly, and the camera turns to catch her gaze — her reflection in the mirror. Though the movie doesn’t show if anyone will join her later, it’s implied that the mirror gaze is a moment of reckoning. The chair across from her doesn’t need to be filled and she is self-sufficient.

Seeing from the disability model perspective, every character has a different disability model they use. For instance, Laila is rights-based as she walks away showing her middle figure to the principal when she is awarded for her disability than her talents as well as she uses the social model of disability (given by Union of Physically Impaired against Segregation (UPIAS) in association with Vic Finkelstein) wherein the cause of the problem is due to the society’s failure to be sensitive to the needs of the disabled. One chief instance is when Laila is carried by two men upstairs when the elevator in the college is not working. There is clear discomfort on her face due to loss of control over her mobility.

Interestingly, when Laila shifts to New York, due to the availability of ramps and elevators on public transport as well as her college campus, she is much more independent as she was in India. She no longer has to depend on her mother unlike in India where her mother would accompany her everywhere.

She is able to go to college and even live by herself. Regarding Shubhangi, she operates from social paternalistic model (she is very supportive of her daughter and is always helping her out) as well as rights-based (as seen her dialogue “As soon as Laila gets admission to any foreign university…I’ll personally phone her and tell her…who’s normal and who needs brain surgery!”). Finally, Khanum is operating from a Rights-based model as she is always seen fighting for her rights.

On the other hand, Cultural Pluralism Media Model (Clogston, 1990) which is a progressive media model is used to portray Laila as well as Khanum in the movie.

According to this model, disability is not viewed as the only aspect of an individual, rather, the person is considered to be multifaceted and is presented in the same way as their non-disabled counterparts. Similarly, in the movie, Laila and Khanum are much more than disabled women. Their identities encompass their sexualities, nationalities, and gender. The movie, rather than fixating on disability (as most movies tend to do) presents them as multifaceted individuals.

Finally, it becomes crucial to critically see the narrative appreciating the strengths as well as their shortcomings. The film can be applauded for its realistic portrayal of a disabled character. Laila is shown as a person before she is shown as a disabled, a queer, and a woman. In addition to this, the film tackles the issues of disability and sexuality, a very rare phenomenon in media, very sensitively and without unnecessary glorification.

However, the biggest criticism is the non-usage of disabled actresses to play disabled characters. TAB Kalki Koechlin and Sayani Gupta play the role of Laila and Khanum respectively. Having real disabled actresses could have helped with the non-inclusion of disabled actors in Bollywood. This shows a type of masquerading called as’ disability drag’ where the disability stories are shown by imposing disability onto able-bodied actors so to please the audience. Not only does it keep disability out of community view but it also coverts its lived reality (Ghai, 2015).

Therefore, based on the above-mentioned analysis, it can be concluded that Margarita with a straw is a progressive portrayal of disability where the disabled characters are people before the disabled. Also, one unique thing about the portrayal is the fact that disability, rather than being shown as an obstacle that protagonists need to overcome, is seen as just a part of the identity. The story focuses on much more than disability. It talks about sexuality, queer identity, sexual exploration, relationship with mother, homophobia, the parallel between accessibility conditions in India and New York, etc. This makes the movie much more unique than any other portrayal of disability in Bollywood. All in all, it is a very positive portrayal.