It also conceded that “there’s a huge paradox here because athletes in general do provide a service to society by being objects of inspiration. For Paralympians, it is grounded less in their accomplishments and more in what has happened to them. “If you’re asking about that at the same level you would for an Olympic athlete, that’s cool,” said Hunter, the professor and wheelchair basketball player. “But if they say something like, ‘Well, you know, you’re blind and I can’t see myself being blind and dealing with it,’ I’m like, ‘OK, hold up,’” Brown said. Young’s definition of inspiration porn covers moments like that, when disabled people receive exaggerated respect for just “getting out of bed and remembering our own names in the morning.”

Source: International New York Times September 05, 2021 03:11 UTC