Watching television is about so much more than escapism these days. We tune into our favorite shows to see our experiences reflected back at us and to gain insight into the lives of people that we don’t usually encounter in our daily lives. Unfortunately for the disability community, our stories are rarely portrayed on TV. According to GLAAD’s “Where We Are On TV” 2020-2021 report, disabled characters make up only 3.5 percent of series regulars on network television. Per the Ruderman White Paper in 2016, we also know that at a time, 95 percent of disabled
characters on TV were played by able-bodied actors.
None of these studies explore the nature of the character arcs we see on TV, but we know that disabled people spend a lot of time dispelling the stereotype of disability based on the tragedy model, which promotes the idea that disabled people are “victims of circumstance who are deserving of pity” (via Disabled World). Suffice to say that as a community we are starved for depictions of disability on TV that respect its breadth and move away from the idea that disabled people are to be pitied and toward the idea that disabled life can be — dare we say it? — full and fun.
Dawson’s Creek
When Audacity Magazine asked me to write a piece about characters on TV that we wish were disabled, I jumped at the chance to dream. I have a distinct memory of being a young tween watching shows like “Dawson’s Creek” and wondering A. why they didn’t talk like normal teenagers and B. wondering why no one who looked like me was on screen? I was desperate to believe that something about my life in high school would be more exciting than middle school because people grew up and learned how easy it was to invite wheelchair users to a party or kiss us or include us in group social activities.
I’ve already been to my 10-year high school reunion and I have yet to see a character anything like the one of my dreams on any high school drama, let alone in the halls of Capeside High. Now, I was allowed to make a case for why seeing a disabled Pacey Witter on-screen would’ve changed the world? Someone pinch me.
For the record, I adore Joshua Jackson and Pacey Witter is already iconic. But I won’t ignore the nagging feeling inside of me telling me that seeing such a charming, sensitive yet tortured young disabled man fall in love with Joey Potter (always and forever played by Katie Holmes) would have shifted perspectives of disability within the community and beyond.
What’s more, nothing about Pacey’s journey in Capeside and beyond would have to change if he were hypothetically a wheelchair user. His first girlfriend Andie McPhee (Meredith Monroe) could still help him find his self-worth and he could still try to help her navigate her mental illness. He could even still sail away for the summer with Joey and eventually become a professional chef.
I have no idea what it would mean for disabled men to have seen Pacey on-screen, but even as a young teenage girl seeing an attractive young guy who is a wheelchair user overcome his insecurities would have helped me believe in myself. Perhaps disabled Pacey Witter would have helped abled viewers eradicate some stereotypes in their minds about what it means to be disabled, physically or otherwise.
One Tree Hill
While we are here, let’s explore possibilities for another CW teen drama in the early aughts —“One Tree Hill.” Brooke Davis and her portrayer Sophia Bush remain role models for me to this day. In the world of teen dramas, Brooke is a legendary businesswoman, a trauma survivor, and a seriously loyal friend who ultimately gets her happily ever after when she finds her true love Julian Baker (Austin Nichols) and becomes a mother.
No matter if her disability is visible or not in this hypothetical scenario, imagine the awareness of depth that having someone disabled on a show like “One Tree Hill” would have brought into the world. Yes, as a fashion designer she could’ve obviously brought life to adaptive fashion far sooner than that became trendy. But more than that, a disabled Brooke Davis would have been a case study in how our disabled hearts also break and heal; and how just like everybody else, we have events in life we have to survive — and eventually, we move on and thrive.
7th Heaven
Teacher Amanda Adams who lives with Cerebral Palsy reminded me that although teens are a big part of old-school WB shows, they aren’t the only characters who could have helped the disability community make strides where awareness and representation of disability is concerned. “I would have loved to see either the mother or the father be physically disabled [on ‘7th Heaven],” she said. She used to watch the wholesome family hit “religiously” as a child.
As she has grown up, she realized she would have loved to see disabled parenthood modeled for her. “It would have been nice to see a family where [a disabled parent] dynamic was built-in and positively portrayed.” There obviously would have been struggles, too. But seeing physically disabled parents on screen would have helped Adams see that she could be a parent one day, too. “I can’t think of any TV shows where I’ve seen a disabled patriarch or matriarch and I think if I would have seen that from a young age it would have boosted my self-worth and self-confidence in the ability to [be a parent] now.” Adams is not currently a parent, but hopes to be one day.
That’s So Raven and Friends
Sticking with our “throwbacks” theme, Morgan Davis, who currently works as a fellow for Respect Ability, would have loved to see some of her Black role models on TV like Raven Baxter of “That’s So Raven” be disabled. “Growing up in the mid-2000s, Raven was the only Black person on Disney Channel that was getting a lot of airtime,” she said. Davis is curious to know how writers of the show would integrate a disability with Raven’s psychic powers and her friend and family dynamics.
Sitcoms make unfamiliar issues digestible for the public. Plus, humor doesn’t offer much room for pity. Many people in the disability community would have probably loved to see one of everyone’s favorite “Friends” live with a disability. Adams is one of them.
“Rachel probably would have been the coolest to see,” she said. “Because she was kind of like that popular one of the three [women] and the one what I would say in the late ‘90s, early 2000s, everyone kind of wanted to be.” How awesome would it have been if Rachel Green (Jennifer Aniston) was known for normalizing disability and inventing the most popular haircut at the time?
Adams’s reason for wishing Rachel were disabled goes even deeper than that. “It’s hard when you look at a TV show that’s based on friendship and groups of friends and you’re not [represented] at all…I don’t even think any of their ‘B’ characters had disabilities at all either,” she said. “We do contribute to [our] friendship groups and it would be nice to broaden the horizons of viewers.” She has a point, and I can’t help but wonder what having such an iconic show representing disability would have done for accessibility in bars and coffee shops.
Disabled Characters in Scary Shows
IndieWire’s TV Editor Kristen Lopez who lives with Osteogenesis Imperfecta, makes a great point that even in the ‘90s, disability representation could have been simpler than we might think. Growing up, she loved horror anthology series for kids like “Goosebumps” and “Are You Afraid Of The Dark?”
“None of them had disabled kids on them which was really weird because they were marketed towards the children of the era and I never saw anyone that looked like me,” Lopez said. In her mind, an anthology series about kids sitting around a campfire telling ghost stories would have been the perfect place to represent disability.
“Yes, the woods are notoriously not disability friendly, but we could’ve figured something out,” she laughed. It’s just a set, after all. Plus, there is a naturally accessible element to telling stories around a campfire. “The characters are sitting anyway,” Lopez points out. “So, it’s not like you need a disabled actor to do stunts or really move around a whole lot.”
Disabled Characters in Drama and Comedy
As for more current shows, Lopez and I both love the new Peacock series “Girls5eva” about aging former pop stars who reunite and would have loved for disability to be naturally introduced into that story. “I think there’s a way that we could have maybe interjected a character even if that person is disabled later in life,” she said. That would open up an avenue for the show to explore both adapting to disability as we age and becoming disabled in the public eye.
“Comedy is a real easy way to interject disability in a way that is really fun,” said Lopez.
I’m just very attached to the fact that the disabled community deserves representation in an iconic ‘90s girl group.
Narrative TV shows that focus on the media and entertainment industry in particular are missing out on a chance to make a real impact when they choose not to tell nuanced stories about disability. I’m a Freeform addict, so although “The Bold Type” has featured disabled characters, I think it’s unfortunate that Jane Sloan (Katie Stevens) is not a visibly disabled wheelchair user.
She could have spent her days writing pieces that inspire social justice reform both in the fictional world of “Scarlet” and in the magazine industry in the real world. Or, perhaps a better choice would be Kat Edison (Aisha Dee) the Black, queer woman who becomes editor-in-chief of the magazine in the series finale. I can hardly imagine a wheelchair user in a place of such power. It’s sad to admit that, but proves how much a fictional portrayal on TV could potentially change the world.
Disabled Characters in Strong Female Roles
Speaking of powerful women, both Davis and Adams named medical professionals on ABC’s ”Grey’s Anatomy” and Fox’s “The Resident” that they wish were disabled. Speaking of her choice, Nic Nevin (Emily VanCamp) Adams said, “She’s such a strong-willed female character and I think it would be cool to see the same strong-willed female character as a disabled character because we’re often portrayed in media as meek or ‘less than,” she said.
Adams would have also loved to see a disabled character on “The Resident” in one of the stable, caring romantic relationships the show depicts so well. Nic and her husband Conrad (Matt Czuchry) also just became parents. So, in this hypothetical world, she would be a disabled woman who almost quite literally has “it all.” That’s the type of representation we deserve.
Even though there is so little positive disability representation on screen, we grow up and learn to live with our disabilities in our own ways. But there is no denying that seeing ourselves reflected on-screen through complex disabled characters would have had a positive impact on our lives.
“[Seeing myself on-screen at a young age] would have given me a sense of validity in society,” said Davis. “Not that I didn’t feel valid but it would have just been cool to [see], ‘hey, it’s okay you don’t have to feel sorry for yourself, people don’t have to feel sorry for you. You can do whatever you want.’”
Validation
“Validation” is a keyword for why many disabled people would have loved to see their stories on screen from a young age. “I think it would just validate my experience as a disabled person more and help me to feel valued and understood and seen by a wide array of people,” said Adams. “I feel like by not having disabled people on television it kind of [supports the thought of] ‘okay, I guess my story doesn’t matter enough to be told.’” Adams notes that lack of representation can cause the voices of internalized ableism within us to get louder.
“When you don’t see yourself represented on TV, I know a lot of people say the assumption is you don’t exist,” said Lopez. “So I think seeing disability represented on TV especially at a young age, definitely would help a lot of disabled kids who are growing up saying ‘how do I navigate friendships? How do I navigate dating? How do I navigate school if I don’t know what that looks like for someone like me?’”
Even as an adult, I admit I sometimes wish a handbook existed to help me navigate disabled life. You may argue that no one has a handbook for life, but I would disagree. Abled people have far more examples to look up to in reality and on TV to help teach them how to navigate hardships, milestones of growing up, and perhaps most importantly, give them permission to dream. The disabled community deserves the same type of guidance.
So, I will keep dreaming about what it would mean to me if my favorite characters were disabled, keep pushing for
disability storylines on TV that matter, and try to get the courage to write that teleplay about disabled life. No matter the messages that mainstream media is sending about disability, the world needs to see our authentic stories.
BIO:
Esme Mazzeo is a freelance entertainment and lifestyle writer with a passion for writing about authentic representation in all marginalized communities, especially disability. Her work has been featured digitally in Vulture, Elle, Marie Claire and Cosmopolitan, among other places. She likes her cats and loves champagne, dark chocolate, and meditation. You can follow her on Twitter @EsmeMazzeo.
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