Ableism in Fandom

Ableism refers to prejudice or discrimination against people with disabilities or perceived disabilites. In a fannish context, the person may be a character in canon or in a fanwork, or a fan herself. Fans discuss the exclusion of disabled characters, the depiction of them when they do appear, the ways other fans write about them or transform able-bodied characters into disabled characters, and they also talk about their own experiences as fans who are disabled.
==Ableism in Source Texts==
Sasha_feather. 2010. From the edges to the center: Disability, Battlestar Galactica, and fan fiction. Transformative Works and Cultures, no. 5. 
*See also: GateFail 2009 for more information about depiction of disability in SGU.
*Fandom depictions of the character Joker from the Mass Effect franchise, who canonically has osteogenesis imperfecta (brittle bone disease). 
*Controversy surrounding fandoms where major characters are interpreted by fans as having PTSD or other, usually mental or cognitive, conditions.Diagnosed by the Audience on TV Tropes, formerly "Ambiguous Disorder".
*Canon and fanon depictions in Homestuck fandom, which contains a large number of disabled characters. In particular, the character Tavros Nitram is a wheelchair-using paraplegic. Canon and fandom both derive humor from his impending euthenasia ("culling"), his inability to climb stairs, and his ablist interactions with other characters.
*Disability Superpower, in which a superpower not only compensates for a character's disability but it elevates the character above able-bodied abilities. See Matt Murdock or Bucky Barnes.
==Ableism in Fanworks==
The June 2010 discussion of hurt/comfort on Metafandom and the 2009 Warning debate. The linkspam Dreamwidth community also covered some of the issues.
*See also: Disability Fic for more information on Disability as a trope in fanworks.
==Ableism in Fan Interactions==
===Autistic Fans and "Cringe Culture"===
Fandoms as a whole are often mocked for being "cringey" or weird by the general public, and this seems to be especially the case when they are perceived as having many neurodivergent (especially autistic) members. This reaction is similar to the stigmatising of "geeks", or shaming people merely for being aware of or enjoying things outside social norms, or knowing obscure facts, making others uncomfortable. Autistics are particularly singled out for harassment in fandom and may have their fanworks used without permission in cringe compilations. In one case, an autistic fan has attracted a hatedom that has obsessively cyberstalked her for years, documenting every aspect of her life and harassing her and her family offline."Cringe" by ContraPoints on YouTube Fans have called out such bullying as an example of ableism.
As fans have also noted, fandom and special interests are often a source of connection and refuge for autistics, who can often find non-fannish spaces overwhelming and may have difficulty making friends in them:
==Mental Illness==
Issues surrounding mental illness include both its depiction in source works (as mentioned in the example above about "ambiguous PTSD") and fan diagnoses of characters in fic and meta. While all of the above can be handled respectfully, it is not uncommon to see psychological disorders and terms being used inaccurately.
Perhaps most notoriously is the memetic Sherlock line, "I'm not a psychopath, I'm a high-functioning sociopath! Do your research!"; had Steven Moffatt done his research, he would have discovered that psychopathy and sociopathy are virtually synonymous, and neither are officially recognized diagnoses.
Fan diagnoses of villains is especially controversial because of the greater potential to demonize real-life people with a given disorder and perpetuate the societal stigma on mental illness in general.
A major mental health issue in fan interaction is clearly labeling potentially triggering material in fanworks (such as rape, self-harm, and blood) for fans with PTSD and other psychological disorders.
==Accessibility==
*See also: Access Fandom
Some conventions have attempted to make their spaces and events more accessible for disabled fans.
==Photosensitivity==
Fans suffering from photosensitivity related conditions, such as epilepsy and migraines, have criticised the way fandom treats their disability and the lack of care given in regards to their ability to access fan culture. Though efforts have been made to encourage users on sites such as Tumblr to tag gifsets with appropriate safety tags for things like flashing gifs and motion blur, many fans have either ignored this or tagged them with a counter-productive example, such as #epilepsy tw - which will show up in the epilepsy tag.
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==Notes and References==
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===References===
Category:Activism
Category:Disability
Category:Discussion