If you are anything like I was when I first heard the term inspiration porn, you are probably thinking to yourself "There's inspirational porn?." Well, there may be, however that is not what I am talking about.
In the disability community there is such a thing as inspiration porn. It is when someone with a disability is glorified for doing a mundane task, such as washing dishes or cleaning their house. This glorification is usually exuberant and over the top. "Oh look how clean Billy got that dish! Way to go Billy!" The purpose of inspiration porn is to show society, in a demeaning way, that people with disabilities are people too and we can do everyday things just like anyone else. Inspiration porn can also be used to make a company look good. For example, an employer that hires someone with a disability might contact local media to do a story about the person; in turn making the employer look good. Inspiration porn is disgusting, demeaning and it needs to stop.
Recently, on the TV show America's Got Talent, a 22 year old man with Autism named Kodi Lee received the Golden Buzzer for his incredible singing and piano playing. Some people in the disability community see this as inspiration porn. If you have seen the video, or if you watched it live, you saw how incredibly talented this young man was. He deserved, deserves, the praise he got not because he can sing--but because he is incredibly talented.
That is the difference.
As a person with a disability, I know what it's like to not have people believe in me. I know what it's like to be told I cannot do something on the simple basis that I have a disability. However, I also know what it's like, I know how it feels, to have someone believe in me so much that they raise me up and help me achieve something beyond my wildest imagination.
My family has a farm in rural Saskatchewan that we hold a reunion at every May long weekend. My Cousin Kevin has a son who is visually impaired--just like me. Kevin taught his son how to drive around their small town just in case he needed to get somewhere. A few years ago Kevin asked me if I wanted to try driving the John Deere lawn mower and mow the lawn at the farm. I chuckled, thinking he must be joking. However, he was not. With a little push and a lot of guidance Kevin taught me how to mow the lawn. This was huge for me. It was huge for me because it was something that I never, in my wildest dreams, thought I could achieve. Kevin believed In me so much that he gave me a chance to shine.
The same chance to shine as Kodi was given.
We were each given those chances, not because they were mundane things that everyone can do, but because our abilities went beyond our disabilities.
Every single person with a disability has abilities that outweigh their disability. All it takes is someone to believe in us enough to let us shine. All it takes is someone giving us a chance to achieve greatness.
It isn't about glorifying something we do to make it look so incredible. It's about giving us our moment in the sun, it's about helping us achieve what we never dreamed was possible.
And that, to me, is damn inspiring.
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