#Inspiration porn professional#

When I opened UCAS Track in August last year to see that my offer to study at Cambridge had been confirmed, the elation that rushed through me was not merely the conventional relief of having secured a place on my dream course.

“I felt I had overcome my disability to reach the dizzying heights of abled equality. We cannot possibly be held to the same standards as our non-disabled peers, yet we remain their infantilized idols. While on the surface it may seem largely innocuous – after all, what’s wrong with a little motivation? – the idea that people with disabilities should be celebrated for ‘overcoming’ their conditions, for doing what those uneducated on disability deem remarkable, is predicated on notions of our inferiority. It is every time you’ve heard someone say, “if they can do it, anyone can.” It is images, videos, memes, and everyday attitudes that use disabled people as motivation.

Coined in 2012 by Australian activist Stella Young, ‘Inspiration porn’ is any portrayal of disabled people as inspirational solely, or in part, because of their disability. It is every time someone has told me they admire me simply for carrying on.

#Inspiration porn professional#

It is every photo of a disabled child doing an everyday task with the caption, ‘Your excuse is invalid.’ It is every disabled person hailed as a hero for achieving a feat society – but no qualified professional – has deemed them incapable of.