Disability in Media & Fandom - Art Commentary

A big thank you to ‪@fxllxngofficial‬ for helping with audio editing and providing the music!
Intro - 00:00
Part 1: Disability in Motion - 2:53
Part 2: Fandom & Paternalism -13:13
Part 3: Understanding The Pattern - 22:00
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Oakwyrm's Links:
KZbin - ‪@Oakwyrm‬
Tumblr - / oakwyrm
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My Links:
Twitter: ItsFionapollo?t=j...
Tiktok: / fionapollo
Instagram: / fionapollo.yt
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Software:
Clip Studio Paint EX (illustration)
OBS (speedpaint recording)
Audacity (Audio)
Adobe After Effects (Editing)
Adobe Media Encoder (Rendering)

[@Oakwyrm]

Well said all around, and thank you so much for reaching out to me ^^ I love that more people are talking more actively and critically about disability in media. Take care and I hope your voice feels better soon.

[@Fionapollo]

Thank you too for being a part of this, your videos were a really helpful frame of reference on how to go about everything! And thanks again, it's almost back to normal now ^^

[@TheLawSystem]

omg we love your content! awesome to see you around on other channels we frequent haha

[@JordanS-ww4eu]

@@FionapolloI think you still sound the same

[@JordanS-ww4eu]

@@Fionapollowhat country are you from?

[@JordanS-ww4eu]

@@Fionapolloyou’re my best friend I really like you ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@tacoforce5]

remember: as long as elon musk keeps deadnaming his daughter, we can deadname his platform!

[@HiBuddyyyyyy]

I forget that he has kids, Oof.

[@Shayotita]

Having a dead name is disrespectful to the woman who gave birth to them and been wanting to name them that name for a long time 🙄

[@HiBuddyyyyyy]

@@Shayotita I would have thought a parent might care about their actual child’s well-being a bit more than the name they gave them but alright. Also dads can choose names too. There was kind of a thing a while back about Elon Musk doing that to one of his kids.

[@tacoforce5]

@@Shayotita people change their names all the time, trans or not. like, you know sojourner truth? why don’t you call her isabella baumfree? “vivian” isn’t even just some nickname elon’s daughter came up with-it’s literally her legal name now.

[@liviwaslost]

@@Shayotitait’s just a name. The only thing that’s makes it special in anyway is the child. If the child doesn’t like it then the name isn’t special and they should be called something else. Children aren’t dolls or pets. They have thoughts and feelings you should respect if you are a caring loving parent.

[@nargames]

I always thought people with major injuries like missing limbs were so awesome because they just keep going. I love how more and more games with character creators are adding more ways include people with disabilities

[@bearzinluvzxd]

Um... Please do not say that? Please? That's kinda bad to say....

[@cornflake6877]

Way to inspiration porn disabled people.

[@Polychi1998]

What did I just read?

[@bearzinluvzxd]

@@Polychi1998 i'm pretty sure they had good intentions but honestly it came out pitying and infantilizing. Kinda like "omg, you're so brave for living on!! If i were you i'd kms!!" And all that shit.

[@jasonjasso666]

Monsters University is an alright film, but Mike’s arc and way his “non-scaryness” is handled is nothing short of a masterpiece. It’s not something that’s cured in the story, rather, it just exist as is. This doesn’t stop him from getting as close to his original career goal as possible for someone in his position.

[@amberdawn868]

Some of the most unique disabled rep I saw recently was in PJ Masks--a toddler show--of all things. In the spinoff, more heroes get added to the team to help the core trio fight nightly crime, and one of the new heroes is a boy with ice powers that uses crutches and a wheelchair. His disability gets integrated into his polar bear hero costume as having his feet planted on a snowboard and his crutches turn into longer arms that he propels himself on the snowboard around with. Like, man, if a show for toddlers and preschoolers can have that kind of rep, why can't the shows for older kids and adults get that too?!

[@magenstaffarts]

Precisely

[@jacoblee21]

As someone who has autism, I find it pretty fascinating to explore both the positives and negatives of disabled characters in media. Also, side note, I was not aware that Felix/Adrien was supposed to be handicapped!

[@bella_daze3092]

Really!? Me neither :0

[@Barmeecarba]

Honestly I think Finn regaining his arm ended up being really good long-term. He actually doesn't lose his arm twice, instead we later find out that Finn never truly regained him arm, he only made it seem that way because at the time he lost it he was in a very dark place and felt like he needed the arm but when it is taken away again he no longer feels that way, he's no longer that kid who wanted to be the perfect hero, he's accepted who he really is and doesn't need his arm anymore. So honestly his disability ended up working greatly with his character development

[@BaobhanloreArt]

Not to mention the grass sword was clearly made with some dark magic and caused more problems than it solved. Even when grass Finn grows from it + the Finn sword, he's very morally dubious but kind of acts as a time capsule of how self destructive and sad Finn was at that time. For example, by fighting wrecklessly with the Finn sword, he was actually putting himself in a lot of danger and was meant to represent his self destructive nature. By confronting a version of himself who was harmed by that, we get to see him acknowledge how he hurts himself in the name of being the hero he thinks he needs to be.

[@wakkaseta8351]

@@BaobhanloreArt Which kinda falls apart when we see how self-destructive he became as an adult.

[@GreayWorks]

Great video! And to be fair, Guts from Berserk can also be an example of a mental disorder. It's just not as notable as a missing an eye and arm, from the first arc it's kind of evident he has clear PTSD which he continuously deals with throughout the story and it's not cured but he does improve but also has falls throughout the story. It's not portrayed as evil nor good, mainly it's just portrayed as messy like real life.

[@chrisyaworski2080]

Honestly. If we hadnt seen him rip it off, we might never know he was missing the arm. Same with the eye. Its more of a visual reminder of past trauma than physical disability. Those mental issues though. OH BOY. Always hitting him in the series.

[@amberdawn868]

An interesting discussion I witnessed once was a debate over the magical healing of disabilities. Some people were saying that it was harmful like it was pointed out in the video, while others found it validating or even wish fulfillment to see someone miraculously healed of something that they themselves tackled with. The takeaway I got from the conversation is that different people, even if they share the same or similar disabilities, look for and need/want different kinds of disabled rep in media, and that the variety of portrayals really does need to expand and grow.

[@HiBuddyyyyyy]

I think nearly all representation things boil down to just needing more variety.

[@HD_Segal]

To state the generalization that "we're operating in a modern, ADD-riddled world" does a great disservice to neurodivergent individuals who legitimately struggle with attention span and impulsivity issues. People like my father and I (the former's ADD-related genetic traits I have inherited, on top of being Autistic).

[@liviwaslost]

I struggle with a lot of these things and I agree. It has been hard to explain my view of it to my family because some of them think calling it a disability means I’m unable to do things that all neurotypical can do. I’ve even heard them ask me to explain how I am disabled which is such an inappropriate thing to ask.

[@diegocaceres3475]

I remember the episode when Finn lost his arm. I still remember my shock as a kid and even more how they actually showed him trying to come in terms with it.

[@ThatGreenMach1ne]

I actually forgot, but Guilia's dad from Luca is a great example of disability rep.

[@BaobhanloreArt]

I think a big thing people like to do to us disabled folk is talk over us, like harassing self diagnosed neurodivergent people. Or how tics and roses, a very clearly mentally disturbed person dealing with the reality of dying young, was harassed and bullied beyond reason while those same people will bully people with tourettes syndrome like me and/or invalidate my experiences. So thank you for actually listening to disabled folk and platforming them! Everyone thinks we're incompetent and have no thoughts or feelings of our own, its frustrating.

[@TheAnxiousOwl]

Just go get diagnosed.. it took me 5 tries but I finally got it. They didn't think I was autistic because they thought only males had autism

[@leoneabbachio6052]

@@TheAnxiousOwl as much as I'd like to agree, there's a lot of people who don't get diagnosed due to financial or stigma. in a perfect world, those who have a condition should get diagnosed, ngl I don't really vibe with self diagnosers

[@TheAnxiousOwl]

@@leoneabbachio6052 Understandable. I wish everything was more available for every class of citizen. I just feel like the self diagnoses thing is mainly a means to gain attention and it makes us look bad. What if they have ADHD or shizophrenia instead of autism? Then once they get diagnosed it'd probably make them look bad later. Choices just have effects and this is one nobody should make on their own (mainly when dealing with media...)

[@Ornithological]

​@@TheAnxiousOwl there are alot of people who cant really get diagnosed at the time they figure out "oh hey this disorder matched my symptoms i might have this". some disorders tend to get diagnosed faster than others (like physically presenting disorders) and some can take actual years (been trying to get at least medical recognition for DID for at least 9 months now), but they all take alot of time. self diagnosis (when done properly) is valid. theres also people who just cant get diagnosises, some cant be diagnosed until 18 in minors despite symptoms (like personality disorders), and some poeple are in situations where they just cant get one (jobs can discriminate still as long as they dont say why, money issues, could be surrounded by gaurdians who dont believe in mental health or what theyre saying). like the other person who responded said, in a perfect world, everyone could get diagnosed and get their needs met, but we are nowhere near having a perfect world. not everyone can afford it, or have an environment where they can even get one. some people dont want one because it might effect their world (for example, a teacher might just get a diagnosis of "personality disorder" instead of bpd). other people who still do even want one might not beable to, because of how long it takes to get one. like i mentioned, weve been trying for over 9 months to get even recognized with DID and have had to go through some awful medical professionals that just denied any of our symptoms without any reason being given. which, if we had worse parents than we do, would probably have just ended in "oh your therapist said you dont have it (without any reasoning or any reason otherwise) then you dont have it" which means that DID or not, our symptoms would have just been discarded. especially in minors (which are the main people who do end up self diagnosising from what ive seen) they cant always just go out and get one. like you said, theres also a ton of discrimination in the medical field, like afab people not being diagnosed with autism and just being told theyre being "dramatic" . theres also this condonation in both medical and non medical fields that you can only have __ amount of diagnosises or if one things wrong with you there cant be another slightly similar things. experienced this first hand when we went to a neuro about possible epilepsy and he immediately just blamed it on our autism without running any tests. if done right, with proper research, self diagnosis can help you get diagnosed in long run, or get help without a diagnosis. if you know you have a mood disorder but youre not diagnosed or even know which one it is, you could get mental help or meds to help. you dont need an official diagnosis for that, but if you dont know whats wrong, then you cant really get help? even if its like "hey i might have this" its still a good start, you cant get a diagnosis about 80% of the time if you yourself dont realize something is wrong and start putting symptoms together. when you dont you think things that clearly point to mental health or even physical health issues are normal, especially if theyve been around for a while, (like large amnesiac gaps around traumatic events in our case, thats not a normal thing, especially not 10 year gaps). everyone should get diagnosises, but there are multiple reasons why people cant or wont. i know one of our friends doesnt even want an autism diagnosis or anything because theyre scared it will limit their job opportunities in the future, especially in the science fields theyd like to go into (said friend is medically recognized by their therapist but not officially due to that and parents refusing to believe that there is "anything wrong with their perfect child" despite said childs legs also not working alot of the time). yeah sorry for the essay but i did want to thuroughly explain everything, as someone who kind of has to self diagnosis to let people know that we deal with these issues while waiting for the ability to get diagnosises for things we know we deal with and fit pretty accurately in a certain diagnosis

[@MaimaiKuroshiro]

@@TheAnxiousOwl Same, I'm autistic too (female, diagnosed at childhood) I don't agree with self-diagnosing either. I get self-suspecting, but honestly, medical professionals know better about disorders and disabilities than you do. Just try to tell them all you think about and they'll help.

[@kengwallgmail]

One thing I always appreciated (as a fully-sighted outsider, so take with a grain of salt) about Toph is that, unlike characters like Matt Murdock / Daredevil, her superpowers don’t stem directly and externally from her blindness (or the cause of her blindness). The show takes the extra step of having her exceptionalism stem from a) being trained by exceptional masters (the moles who, granted, take an affinity because she’s blind but are the first earthbenders), and b) her determination and creativity, both of which are arguably a legitimate side effect of overcoming a challenging characteristic like blindness. It’s true that the net result is fairly similar but the fact that nothing “comes with” or is directly caused by her blindness is a nuance worth mentioning.

[@somerelativleyuninterestin4763]

I always come back to the fact that autism, especially in girls, is really fetishised, both by neurotypical and neurodivergent folk. I feel like I see it more than anything else and it sort of confuses me cus most of the time it feels like it’s either stemming from a saviour complex or people thinking specific autistic traits in women make for some men’s dream girl, and I feel like no one ever really sees it

[@mjcsandboxgames4021]

Example?

[@MightyBOBcnc]

@@coldchary9244 Hmm, I've never heard anyone make the claim that the manic pixie archetype is supposed to be like autism. When I think "Hollywood Does Autism" the examples that come to mind are how they pigeonhole it as non or minimally verbal/communicative (but totally always a savant at some area of interest) and sensory sensitivity (e.g. sound overstimulation). I think manic pixie maps better onto other conditions, although it frequently does get into wish fulfilment.

[@zoguy6988]

I wonder on the side of the neurodivergent people. Because on the one hand, yeah some do fetishized autistic characters. But on the other there's people who just like character's who they can relate to. So I wonder how much of that is fetishizing and how much is that autistic people liking an autistic character.

[@STARVAs132]

Oh, I’ve been thinking of making my oc autistic (after doing proper research of course), she’s a female and 12 years old (currently). And I’ve been scared that I’d represent autism wrong or make her autistic just because.

[@somerelativleyuninterestin4763]

@@STARVAs132 there’s nothing wrong with making an autistic character. I’m not the autism arbiter but ihave it so if you want to go through your ideas I’ll tell you if anything’s a bit off? It likely isn’t but if it’d help then go for it

[@YourWaywardDestiny]

There's a lot of my brain that keeps telling me "you're not _really_ disabled, you're not wheelchair bound, you have all your limbs, you can obviously read social ques, and have a normal attention pattern." Except my body physically does not, and can never again work as is typical, and I know that logically. Still that little voice persists that it isn't a disability, I haven't met the threshold of "bad enough" to get that label. Like it's something you must earn through suffering instead of just being a literal fact of my life. Media reflects reality reflects media. I'd like to meet who ever it was that put this "if it's not easy to ID, it doesn't matter" thing in motion and punch them in the face for being an asshat, because it's literally effecting how everyone sees me, including myself.

[@rewrose2838]

I've had a physical disability since I was a kid, and while I have a hard time thinking of any good examples of disability in fiction, one that jumps to mind is the character of Kai in the manga Heroman. His disability is treated as a real part of him and the way he is forced to experience life, with all the inconveniences and unpleasantness/limitations that comes with it. Its not magically solved (as far as I remember), its not magically ignored, and its certainly not magically making him a superhuman (*cough* daredevil). He is a badass friend to the hero, despite his disability.

[@insectenthusiasts11]

This is a good topic to discuss. Since my psychology class I've been annoyed at anyone using psychopath or schizophrenic as derogatory terms. These mental disabilities don't automatically make someone a bad person.

[@discordiacreates6669]

Honestly of all the harmful tropes that need to die, I feel like being rid of that one would be a big win for mental health disorders because yeah, they're people too and outta be treated kinder. I really think, though, that the people that write such characters as evil have actually never met such individuals once in their life because I have though afaik only met schizophrenic people in person and they really aren't all that different, they just have a different set of personal struggles is all. We all have personal struggles though so I hate the idea that one struggle automatically makes one person a bad guy and so they can be nothing else while a different struggle shoehorns a diff person into being a good guy and nothing else because life... It don't work that way. Like disabilities should definitely be accommodated whenever needed but I still think treating them as a fellow person and human being outta be a requirement, like, I feel like it's kinda the minimal since installing a wheelchair ramp does take time and money but all it takes is a moment to be nice to someone like that, or with any other disability, rather then waste both parties' time and energy to be a jerk for no reason. Disability doesn't mean guilty until proven innocent

[@GeebzGBZ]

Shout outs to Bentley from Sly Cooper for being an amazing bit of representation for disabled people, because for the first 2 games he isn't, but from 3 and on he is wheelchair bound. It becomes a major part of his character in 3 with him dealing with a sense of belonging and learning that his core trait isn't being disabled, he is still the same person he was, and can do everything he used to as the brains, hell, better now that he has a portable computer chair with him 24/7. Very positive message I enjoy a lot from a ps2 platformer for sure.

[@AlixL96]

I feel like this was the exact video I needed right now. I've been diagnosed with a psychological disability from a very young age but I was just recently diagnosed with a physical disability, and it has really affected how I've been seeing disabled characters. I do think it might be good to touch more on the very annoying trope commonly called "inspiration p*rn" where disabled characters are frequently portrayed as being able to completely overcome all their challenges despite the odds stacked against them and it's supposed to be so impressive and embowering, especially to able-bodied people. and, like, it's not totally a bad thing in isolation, but there's such an overwhelming amount of it and it never acknowledges the reality that sometimes there are things that WILL hold you back, some thing's you'll never be as good at as an able-bodied person. Also, there's a lot more representation in both live-action TV and in books that I really think people would benefit from seeing. Hope your throat feels better soon.

[@angiewhite4529]

I think physically disabled people are not always portrayed as underdogs or inspirational.. I mean, an insane villain trope is a thing, but a disfigured villain trope is also a thing, people with various deformations are often either portrayed as outcasts who naturally turned to evil, or as if their disability "reflects" their character flaws. When I was a child, I remember reading a book about two characters who were both physically disabled. One of them was a good guy and got magically cured, another one was bad and stayed the same as punishment. That way weird.

[@indesomniac]

I'm disabled (hypermobility + autism, etc.) so this topic is incredibly important to me; it's hard to find genuinely good representation that isn't so stereotypical and boiled-down that it instead kind of comes off as insulting. My autism made me an easy target for creeps as a child, and now as an adult my physical disability is minimized and turned into a sex joke half the time I bring it up to someone new. I'd like to give a quick shoutout to Charlotte Webber for existing because she gives me hope lol One criticism I have real quick is that the music you used in the background if the first half of the video is too... noisy? There being lyrics and hard-metal-sounds made it difficult for me to focus on the words you were saying without getting distracted by the background!

[@FutureMint]

Dude. As an autistic and hypermobilitated guy with an obsession with Charlotte webber, I fully agree

[@MeemahSN]

There was music in the background?

[@troydonna]

Everything's Gonna Be Okay is my personal favourite show when it comes to autism representation, two of three main characters are autistic and are played by autistic actors, it was written and created by an autistic person and also has characters in the supporting cast who are autistic and are played by autistic actors. It's also super funny and has great heart felt moments.

[@TheAnxiousOwl]

I think the reason it is so hard for industries to include people with mental disabilities is because they need someone to teach them head on about it and a majority of people with mental disabilities are on disability checks and can't get payed over a certain amount. It would nullify their paycheck and drop their disability altogether. So since they can't pay them or get info for free they have problems putting it in works. Like damn I'd vouch for free.

[@cablefeed3738]

I am on the spectrum and got diagnosed in middle school, but thankfully, I had a great support system, so the most I get noticed for it is people just naturally feeling annoyed with me and people who have been around others like me. I say all this to explain how I don't really understand a lot about others in similar situations and feel out of place with my belief that all disabilities should try to be cured by researchers while being accommodated and treated respectively by everyone.

[@SherbertTheSherb]

It’s cool to see someone talk about this! I’m disabled (partially deaf) and I wish I had more rep because it’s either 100% deaf or fully hearing, would of helped me a lot when I was younger since all I saw was older people with hearing aid and thought I was gonna get bullied. I didn’t get bullied but no one knew what was a hearing aid, if we had more shows representing people like me it would of been cool. Also about mental disabilities, I suspect I have things but I know I most likely have depression, I wish people didn’t use it to be like UwU I’m so depressed look at how aesthetic I am let’s go do depressing things together. It completely invalidates me and for a while I just told myself no I’m just being dramatic. If we just treated it as a normal thing, not glorifying it or view it as an evil thing would of helped a lot. Generally we should just represent people normally but also acknowledge the bad parts and don’t make it seem like an evil thing. I know this wasn’t hot takes or anything just wanted to share what I had to say ^^

[@othello-von-ryan]

I'm so glad you're willing to speak about this topic seriously, a lot of people don't take it to heart as much as they should. Much appreciated 💚

[@creacherfeacher8232]

As a disabled person, the idea that I can't be sexual due to.. type one diabetes and epilepsy (among other suspected things, but that's neither here nor there) is almost funny. My pancreas doesn't work, guess I'm forever an un-sexy tragedy

[@tetitous]

I'd like to note that while you talked about Edward Elric, you specifically adressed his manga/2009 iteration, and even in those he remains an amputee, his leg is still very much a prothesis. In the 2003 adaptation not only does he have an automail arm and leg during the whole series, there is an episode where he meets someone who lost his leg and, as opposed to him, wouldn't make himself a prothesis. He liked his leg as it was, and Ed not really accepting his disability and properly move on from all of his losses gets actually adressed. FMA in general has a lot of characters who lost limbs, and we see how each of them feel about it, those who love their prothesis like Paninya, those who only see them as tools like Ed and those like the old man who don't want prothesis because they can't afford it and/or don't really want to. It's pretty cool to have so much diversity on that one subject in FMA, though there are other disabilities that are worth this kind of tratment, I still think it's worth the appreciation.

[@baliebox4916]

as someone whos autistic and was forced into a special ed class during high school i know how this feels (trust me ive been trying to get into the game, animation and music industry for years now despite me dropping out of high school/special ed when i was 16) there are negative depictions of not just autistic people but also characters that blend in infantilization or stupidity with autism as a joke (such as timmy and jimmy from south park, ralph from the simpsons and even certain studios like andrew hussie the creator of homestucks original name for mspa that being "cough" team special olympics there are also characters that may seem autistic but are actually just innocent children that would eventually change or become edgier as they get older (such as millhouse from the simpsons, cream the rabbit from sonic, bluey and bingo, the younger version of asriel from undertale and even hinata from naruto) i just wish there was more autistic characters that are not only smart but also attractive and cute kinda like tails from sonic or certain anime characters

[@zoguy6988]

Zane from Ninjago I feel would have been perfect autism rep if they didn't make him a robot. But his roboticness never took away from his neurodiversity at all.

[@Boobilby]

Maybe Abed nadir from community? The first couple of episodes would make you believe he’s not well written but he becomes one of, if not the most complex character in the whole show

[@indiecrowarts]

As someone who’s chronically ill mentally and physically in addition to being a cane user- thank you for using your bigger platform to share this video. Growing up seeing disabled characters be either damned or cured didn’t make dealing with irl stigma any easier. I made a tumblr post a while ago about eda when her elixir episode came out because it was the first time I could relate to a character, medicine tucked a all over the house, not getting your hopes up about being fixed, outwardly standing your ground and showing that you’re still awesome and that you don’t need to be able bodied/minded to be powerful or good at what you do. In addition to Toph from ATLA another good rep character from the show would be Haru from season one (wheelchair kid from the air temple who could fly around). I often worry about getting accused of f3tish in my art because I make a lot of characters have different states of disability/queerness/neurodivergency because I didn’t have any as a kid. Heck the amount of euphoria I gained once I started drawing myself with my cane sent my self esteem about it through the roof compared to when I first had to adapt. I honestly hope one day we see a “good” character experience some sort of psychosis without being seen as having a “madness arch” one day.

[@johanandersson8252]

I also like Oakwyrm, he makes good videos

[@CreativaArtly]

Amazing video and I love Oakwyrm’s channel. Their stuff is fantastic! As someone who has learning disabilities (epilepsy and autism), I appreciate this a lot.

[@maquelinemyojo3999]

Damn I'm early- To know that Felix was supposed to be handicapped is a cool concept, I literally had no idea but now I want it 😆

[@emeraldqueen1994]

For a character who has a mental disability & has a mental breakdown but is still seen as a good person, Luz from the Owl House For a character who is considered nero diverse from PTSD (would be Nero typical otherwise) and has a mental breakdown but is still seen as a good person, Stevan Universe from the show of the same name

[@melasnexperience]

Yeah, Luz is one of the few that I can think of where she has a breakdown & isn't demonized for it. Also, the way the show handled Edda's curse was such a recognizable & good parallel to IRL chronic illness. Cuz basically, that's what it was.

[@LunNightMoonLight]

I never knew mental illness was considered a disability until this year … I have multiple mental illnesses and have been struggling all these years and am now just finally getting help

[@galaxyjam3742]

Most people don't consider them disabilities. The thing is, when you get to what a disability is, its a disadvantage. Mentally ill people are at a disadvantage. Therefor they're disabled too. (I think it is important to put them in slightly separate categories though)

[@Hack_Man_VII]

I haven't seen the show in a long time, but there used to be a cartoon called Pelswick on Nickelodeon. It was about a kid in a wheelchair, and how he navigated everyday life. He also had a mystical guardian , but it wasn't straight forward. I remember one episode focused on trading cards (pokemon allegory) Pelswick's guardian gave him clues to the episode's lesson, and he eventually piece together that rare cards lose their value when they become more abundant. (Granted, the specific printings make this a debatable point, but it's still a good lesson for what it's trying to do) I think it was a pretty good series, even if it was short lived. If I remember correctly, I think the creator himself was disabled, and wanted to make a series inspired by his own experiences. I apologize if I'm remembering that wrong. Even so, I think some people were upset about the series airing because didn't know the full story.

[@glamrockchica909]

Feel better soon Fiona ❤❤❤

[@kengwallgmail]

A good dive into a complex and nuanced topic. Thank you. I tend to find neurodivergent representation uncomfortable to watch because they trigger insecurities that I have about myself externally, whereas I find myself relating more to “misunderstood” or “awkward” characters because they feel familiar internally while hitting less close to home externally. That said, all I really care about is whether an attempt is made at fleshing out a character or whether something is presented as their defining characteristic. I don’t expect them to get it right, I just want a good faith effort to be made to make them a fully realized character. But that goes for any character, really.

[@yuujikon]

I actually really appreciate this coming across my videos, im Neurodivergent and Im like, kinda writing a manga that will pertain to at least my stuggles with it! this gives me some things to study !

[@AdeIineLaRue]

Hey there! Loved the prosthetic leg designs. Also in terms of a mental disability other than autism that I feel was portrayed while still showing the character as a good person was Korra from LoK. However, it is only for a short while before she bends the metal out of her body.

[@motorcitymangababe]

The best adhd representation ive ever seen is subtle, but its Everything Everywhere, All At Once. Its not about adhd perse? But it was intentionally written to be a metaphor for adhd, the problems it causes in adult life, the intergenerational trauma centered around it, and the mental and physical load it causes. Both the mom and the daughter have ahdh and the "everything is a bagel" scene is a perfect manifestation of the depression that comes from being pushed to hard when you have adhd and no one cares.

[@IanNBF]

I think it's possible to have something be both. Perhaps the author/artists fascination & appreciation comes from an unknown interest in the dramatisation of things like losing a limb in battle or a character suffering from schizophrenia.

[@Turai12]

As a transgender woman and as someone who really enjoy porn (especially the drawn variety), the existence of pornographic art of trans people is a blessing. Seeing others in the same boat as myself enjoying what I can't is a boost to my mental health.

[@floodattendant002]

As someone who has a physical disability, I think you handled this topic with a lot of respect and care! Thank you. I have found it hard to learn to see things not just in black and white when it comes to fetish art vs. attractiveness for disabled characters. We always have to be on high alert, or we could end up being fetishized in a place where we don't want to be sexualized at all. I'm slowly learning to just loosen up a bit and learn how to love myself. Great video as always!!!!

[@Pebble-With-a-Pen]

!!!! unexpected but very cool crossover!! I love oakwyrm, and it's very cool to see them here!

[@elliart7432]

Donnie from ROTTMNT being so widely accepted as good autistic rep felt so great to me because he actually fits a lot of "stereotypes", namely struggling with low empathy and alexithymia. We usually bristle at characters who exhibit the same traits as bad rep in the past. But guess what, _I'm_ alexithymic and have low empathy, and it was really awesome seeing this be represented _accurately_ for once instead of just having the character be an asshole like Sheldon or BBC's Sherlock. So long as they're actually true to life, we should reach for stereotypical traits to be done better, not erased all together.

[@Snow-vk7th]

This was a great video, I love how informative your commentary is! It made me uncomfortable realizing it was truly hard for me to think of any sort of "good" (like on the good side) mentally ill character. Does Catra from she-ra count? I personally headcanon her with bpd or cptsd as I have it myself, but nothing is confirmed. She joins the protagonists eventually.. Well actually we never see her have a psychotic episode while on the good side. We don't really get to explore her recovery in too much depth. Although Jinx has a very sad story, it made me really happy to see a character I could relate with so much. The writers had such a phenomenal grasp on her character and how trauma would effect it. Her and Catra are a quite similar, I"m very glad Catra gets her happy ending. There's also Diane from Bojack. All of the characters in that are more morally gray, but I think she's kinda the voice of reason. Let's hope we get more good disabled representation.

[@FutureMint]

Also I think cherry from words bubble up like soda pop is a good autism rep!!

[@carolinecheney]

I’m an autistic person, and I’m alright with how Donnie was portrayed since I can relate to some of his moments. But with that aside, I have two disabled characters. One being Foxy from FNAF in my au. He still has the hook, but I gave him a reason to have the eyepatch, which is that he’s a bit self cautious about his eye that was blinded at one point (I put a scar over the eye to show that something happened causing it to go blind) and the fact that he has to protect it from harmful rays. And because he’s trying to get over past trauma, he does his best to do things that make him happy. The other character, (whom I’ve created on my own) is also blind in an eye from a fight she was in. She also has a fractured wing from another fight. She covers her blind eye with an eyepatch for the harmful ray reason. She’s alright with her scars, cause it means she gets to have scar stories. Don’t know if y’all like how I’ve portrayed these characters or not, but that’s them.

[@viridiankat8527]

2012 Leo from tmnt is an awful example, in season 3 at the start, he’s literally just woken up from a 3 month coma, and he had a messed up knee that he needed a crutch for. His response of trying to go back to normal and being frustrated with it fits his character, but SPLINTER TELLS HIM THAT THE PAIN IS IN HIS HEAD, which is a horrible thing to say?! And it works, like… no???? That’s a very dangerous message there in general. He did canonically have a psychotic episode that was.. “cured”, so I don’t think it counts I’m working on a rewrite, and I also added a group member named after Isabella D’este who’s an amputee without her left leg because I got so frustrated about how Leo was handled.. so this video was really helpful! ^^

[@Doodles.Lion153]

10:59 twilight sparkle has a psychotic breakdown, emotionally harms people around her, and still is viewed as a good person after the breakdown. Not before receiving consequences though .

[@rsj2877]

Which episode is that though?

[@MrAuthor3DS]

@@rsj2877 "Lesson Zero", I think? It's the one where she panics because she didn't write a new friendship report for the week.

[@sneakers_smh]

Dont forget the dad from luca! He is dissabled

[@kierstenburtz8442]

The thing about feet is so real! I've been doing art for years but I'm not great at sticking with one hobby enough to get great at it (ADHD go brrr) so I've been practicing a lot lately trying to get better and I was practicing hands and feet and literally wrote next to the feet drawings "this is practice. I'm not weird!" In case anyone happens to flip through my sketchbook and see it.

[@HiBuddyyyyyy]

I would say Johnny Joestar from JJBA would be good representation considering he’s like the only wheelchair using manga/anime protagonist I can think of (there aren’t that many in other media either). Except the ending is a bit iff, I won’t say why incase I give spoilers to someone who doesn’t want them.

[@suns_and_moons_husband]

As a person with ID (intellectual disability) i find it fascinating that they're adding more characters with disabilities, it makes me feel like im never alone.

[@johnhenryeden7535]

Well as some who sits in a wheel chair, i realy dont want to be seen as atractive just becuase im in a wheel chair, as it will superficial atraction on the disability on the person. And i dont trust people who are atracted to the person just becuase they have a disability, as it can atract the wrong people where a pervert may be the least trouble. Get well soon!

[@darkroninmarvel]

Amusingly, I'm friends with H-artists who specialize in weird and sometimes dark stuff yet are the most open-minded and nicest guys I've ever met. They believe that this whole romanticization of self-loathing is kinda messed up, and people should love themselves a little rather than being harsh.

[@melasnexperience]

11:00 As someone who suffered from a terrible nervous breakdown during college and got mistreated for it, I appreciate you pointing out that having had a nervous breakdown doesn't mean that you turn into a dangerous or immoral person. It's very frustrating how much any expression outside of "I have anxiety/depression and express it by being sad & safe under a blankie" is still not accepted (again, speaking from experience here, since my panic attacks/depressive episodes are usually met with irritability and thus seen as not "legitimately" depressed/anxious despite multiple diagnoses). I've said before elsewhere that the "end the stigma" efforts online have only created a newer & equally damaging stigma around mental health, and I great appreciate that you're speaking against this part of it. Thank you.

[@chickadeestevenson5440]

Kion from the third season of The Lion Guard is an AMAZING portrayal of a character dealing with PTSD or some other sort of trauma induced mental illness. (It's vague and also there's magic snake venom that is likely an alagory for trauma since it's a show for preschoolers) INCLUDING the idea of taking one's medication to help! IT's fucking amazing and it's in a show for kids. Bluey shows an ADHD character with neutral rep. Just, he's a kid with ADHD.

[@Meiliina]

A big problem I have come across while studying disability studies is that there are different ways of looking at disability, that it's not just medical but societal. More often than not the problems people face are not inherent to the illness but to the inability of the world to accommodate their different needs. The other thing is that medical shows have made people think that there will always be a diagnosis, but in reality there isn't always, just trying to take care of the symptoms. As for good representation (in my opinion as someone with delusional thinking) I'm a Cyborg but that's OK, which follows a woman who believes she is a cyborg and the whole movie feels like a fairytale where other mentally ill people help her regain some control over her life without dismissing her thoughts and feelings (it's a weird film, but I love it). While I appreciate Adam Pearson in Under the Skin, his character in Under the Skin may be seen as only someone to be pitied, as he is the only one left alive on Scarlett Johansson's killing spree, some say because she pitied him, some think because she saw herself in him. I'm critical of both readings of the movie, because no matter how much I love the idea of an alien finding comfort and someone like them in a disabled character, it's not great writing to suggest disabled people have most in common with aliens. On the other hand, it starts her journey for self-discovery, but the rest of the movie is a mess I have more than enough thoughts to fill an essay with.

[@bevinbrand4637]

It's funny, I thought of two shows with disability rep while watching this video that I blanked on during suggestions. And mileage will vary, of course-- I have family members and friends with physical and/or mental disabilities, but beyond some mental disabilities that aren't very apparent to other people, I don't have first-hand experience with them. (One Piece tends to be my first thought because it was a series my dad and I both enjoyed, and I think part of it for him was seeing so many amputees being treated pretty much like normal.) Buffy the Vampire Slayer gets forgotten as a series that deals with mental illness, and it's been done both well and poorly in its run (imo)-- there are characters who have this romanticized "madness" like Drusilla where they seem to be in some form of psychosis, speak in poetry, and have psychic abilities, which... is a thing that is there and people feel different ways about it. There's a large and ongoing conversation about the concept of a soul and what having one means vs not having one that gets into areas comparable to antisocial personality disorder and it's honestly too complicated to go into here, but it can definitely manifest in fandom discussions in very ableist ways (raises hand guiltily, I am unlearning my own unconscious prejudices). Much of seasons 5 and 6 deal heavily with issues of mental health and disability, with both more "madness" of the type mentioned before, but also issues surrounding things like false memories, psychosis from brain tumors, dementia, and toward the end of season 5 the main character is stressed to the point where she spends an entire episode in a dissociative state which is handled with a great deal of compassion. Season 6 deals with a lot of the emotional fallout from season 5, including a season-long depression arc for the main character, two episodes dealing with the concept of shifting realities and confusion in determining what's real and what's a delusion, and another main character has a grief-induced bout of possibly dissociation of some sort (I am not a medical professional, idk). All in all, I won't say it's all 100% great rep, but I will say that it's complicated, and sometimes handled much better than others. Another one is Doom Patrol, the DC live-action series. The main cast nearly all deal with some form of disability, either literally or in a metaphorical sense. Of the main cast, there's Cliff, a full-body amputee who exists as a brain in a clunky robot body that doesn't allow him to feel anything physically. Larry is a full-body burn victim who needs to keep wrapped in bandages to keep from irradiating everyone around him-- he has to sleep in a radiation-proof room, which is the only place he can safely be without his bandages on. Jane has dissociative identity disorder and a different ability to go with each alter, but lacks cooperation with them or much self-control about switching. Rita can appear to be an attractive, able-bodied person when she's able to focus and keep control of her emotions, but if she gets triggered she will partially or fully "melt" into sentient goo. Vic is a multiple amputee with cybernetic prosthetics that both enhance his abilities, but can also malfunction or even be used without his consent, in the case of his AI system that runs and monitors his implants. Dr Caulder is the man who provides the house and treatments for them all, including designing and building Cliff's body, Larry's room and bandages, and the like-- he is a brilliant man who is also a paraplegic who requires a wheelchair for mobility. I can't speak to each condition and how well it's represented, but I have seen and read pieces from disabled people in real life who have felt very represented by one or more of the characters in question, and a lot of focus is given to each of their conditions as both positive and negative factors in their life, their process for adjusting to them, and the difficulties in recovery, as well as questions about what each of them even wants as a recovery, or how healthy or feasible that is as opposed to learning better ways to function as they are. To me as an outsider to most of it, it seems to be handled with a great deal of compassion, realism, and thought, although I'm sure it's not perfect.

[@TheTecManiac]

So, relatively new here, but I love watching your videos and learning more about the topics you talk about! ...while watching beautiful art getting created :D And yeah, good representation of disabled characters is something I´d definetly always be down for, especially more people with mental disabilities being the hero for a change Oh, and before I forget, get well soon!

[@Mewman115]

I think a good example of a physically disabled character is Captain Barbossa, from the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. Particularly, the last two films, as he lost a leg shortly before the fourth film. They only spend a moment on it, but that moment is more than enough to get across how he feels about it. All other times, it gets kind of glossed over. Which was, in my opinion, a great way to do it. He's clearly still the same character, even if he uses a crutch. I would say that overall, it was a great way to normalize a disability. Also, if we're counting early concept art, then Saren Arterius from Mass Effect was originally supposed to be a really old, physically weak character. (Source: Art of Mass Effect book)

[@lawnmower-pq8vk]

A ton of the pirates in those movies are disabled, also I liked how they included that the peg leg was hollow and had rum in it lol. It was very funny and in character

[@jumpingspiderjesusfreak6219]

An interesting and fairly nuanced depiction of non-autistic mental disabilities in media is etherealists in Jim Butcher’s “The Cinder Spires” book series. In it etherealists (magic users) all are vulnerable to brain damage due to the way ether (magic) flows through their bodies. This let’s them use magic, but their brains accumulate more and more damage the older they get. In order to function, etherealists develop odd behaviors and tics to prevent them from, “falling into the holes,” inside of their own heads. Folly for example, is rendered nearly catatonic if she does not have an etheric crystal on her at all times. Moreover, she can only communicate directly to beings or objects connected to the ether (other etherealists, crystals, monsters and Captain Grimm when he was in sync with Predator). Not only is this cool because it is similar for the way I compensate for my own issues (like memorizing people’s builds since I have trouble memorizing and noticing face, or body doubling when trying to get work done), but the reactions other people have to these behaviors and tools are very nuanced. Captain Grimm from the outset respects etherealists, does not discount or belittle them, and treats them with the same respect he treats everyone. Bridget ends up that way, but starts off very standoffish with Folly infantilizing her. And Bridget comes to the realization that Folly is intelligent and competent despite being odd even before Folly utterly annihilates a tunnel full of monsters. The one fly in the ointment is how the main villain of the first book, Sycorax Cavendish, is portrayed. Don’t get me wrong, she definitely needs to be shot, multiple times, as soon as possible, Butcher is a master craftsman of irredeemable villains, but its what Grimm and by extension Butcher says about her. Grimm basically warns Benedict that an etherealist who can pass for a normal person is not to be trusted. There was other stuff in Cavendish’s case that made him not trust her, and rightly so, but the implication that anyone who’s neurodivergent but can pass for normal is a sociopath is…unfortunate. That’s something I never thought about until seeing this video, but now that I’ve noticed it I can’t unsee it. I doubt Butcher meant for that to be the implication, but there it is.

[@yobpinky1972]

Great video!! I’m autistic, have anxiety, and have OCD that can be pretty severe sometimes. I think that as you said autistic rep is getting a lot better! As for other mental illnesses, it’s a mixed bag genuinely. I do think there is a palitability requirement for people to give mental illnesses good rep. I feel like anxiety, depression, autism, ADHD, and OCD with intrusive thoughts about sanitation, are most likely to be portrayed as positive and even woobified (not to say it is good rep tho). OCD especially, since it is seen as quirky and is made into a joke, causing people to forget how debilitating and scary it can actually be. However, if mental illnesses can have less palatable effects on people and their surroundings (schizophrenia, BPD, ASPD, NPD, etc.), they’re still portrayed (mostly) as being evil things to have. And for some, I feel like they’re so stigmatized that I sadly feel like there will not be any good rep anytime soon. Like for example, I have POCD (which is very scary for me btw), and due to the tabooness of the subject matter of my intrusive thoughts I don’t think there will be any rep (let alone positive rep) of it anytime soon. I really hope so tho.

[@magenstaffarts]

Thank you for bringing in the perspective of a person with disabilities rather than just speaking over! I’m glad that people are taking this seriously and having an actual discussion.

[@madao7865]

To add to the very short list of mentally ill characters that are not shown in a negative light: Senua from the game Senua's Sacrifice. And it's not even autism :P

[@mia-saraking5479]

Mech Cadets is a new animated show on Netflix that has really great amputee representation! Frank's disability is present and acknowledged, but it's also presented as just a normal fact of his life. A disabled writer and disability advocacy group were brought on to help create his character, and his voice actor is an amputee himself. Plus there's this super awesome action scene where Frank battles an alien on crutches, it's freaking spectacular XD

[@KittyKatt_Luna80s]

I remember when Toon Makers were to make an American Sailor Moon animation/live-action hybrid. Sailor Mercury was made a disabled curly redhead in a wheelchair. Sadly, her powers SOLELY came from her wheelchair - and as soon as she was knocked out her wheelchair, she was made extremely weak. As a disabled woman in her later 30's who has curly red hair, I was disgusted to see that the disabled character was only powerful when sat in her wheelchair. I am disabled, and I can walk (albeit on weaker days, I limp) - it was such a backwards thing to portray by this company. Yeah, I'm glad the Toon Makers version NEVER came to fruit past the disastrous pilot. 🙄

[@maferWaferuwu]

Great Video! It's sad how nowadays people feel insecure about including disable people in their art because of the kind of things they get accused of. Btw the artist who was involved in all the drama was a disabled person themselves, for those who don't know.

[@yourlocalcryptidd]

This video came up on my recommended right as I (physically and mentally disabled) was drawing a spicy comic with one of my disabled characters. Great timing lol. Great video too. Its rare to find good discussion of disabled people/rep from able bodied creators but this did not disappoint

[@razielashura5673]

11:05 Diane in bojack!

[@ladyscribbles6134]

Great video and very well said! (Also side note, but I am in ❤ with your art!) Disability in media and representation is and always will be very important. I personally have autism and often struggle with mental disability. There is also various disability within my family and friend groups (mental, neurodivergent, and physical). I’m also a writer who’s currently writing multiple disabled characters (some similar to my own experiences and some outside of my experiences). It’s always important to learn about and discuss disability, how it’s portrayed in media, positive, negative, and even harmful portrayals, tropes, stereotypes, etc. Also I love Oakwyrm and their videos! They always have great analyses of media, disability representation, and important discussions to be had! (They’ve also helped me to be more aware of disability representation in media and how to better approach disability in writing and avoid tropes/issues I’d, unfortunately, previously participated in)

[@HeavenPrinceofChaos]

On the subject of amputees with prosthetic limbs and autistic people in video games, I always go to Raven Cronwell and Laby from Elsword Online. Laby could be viewed as autistic due to her constant wonder of the world outside of the Black Forest, while Raven's four "evolution" paths represent the four different portrayals of characters with prosthetics, mainly his final forms: Furious Blade = Magically Cured Rage Hearts = Acceptance Nova Imperator = Individualism and Self-pride Revenant = Resentment

[@RWAsur]

fantastic deep dive talk, Fiona, thank you

[@TheHitsubasa]

One bad example was Korra from the second iteration of Avatar. She got injured so bad she was wheelchair bound for a while. But then she miraculously got healed!! I don’t even think they touched as much upon her having PTSD either. They could have explored these themes but they just. Brushed it all off.

[@Yhowdyy]

Yea! The only time they really brought up the ptsd (at least after korra removed the poison) was… when korra met Zaheer?? Morally questionable that she had to get help from the man who gave her a lot of that trauma to save her friends. I don’t think the fact that she recovered physically and mentally is inherently a bad thing…. Like not every traumatic injury results in permanent disability… The show just didn’t handle it. Like at all. And then there’s the problem of how the fandom treats the situation… i saw a post saying it’s so inspiring that korra recovered from her ptsd but implied that if she had stayed a wheelchair user the plot would fall flat or like… it would be unrealistic that she could be happy again at all.

[@TheHitsubasa]

@@Yhowdyy yeah that’s what I meant, like it’s fine that she recovered, it just felt **way too fast** and just for convenience of plot.

[@lk_3099]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't one significant solution to the disability representation in media to just have more than one character with the same disability within the same piece of media? This would allow the writers to convey different ways different people with similar or the same disability deal with it, while also getting the idea across that specific disabilities aren't stereotypes nor do they bring as many connotations that the general public will cling to as the universal truth about that disabilty. I have no clue why more media doesn't have at least 2-3 blind people, or 2-3 deaf people, 2-3 neurodivergent people, etc.; other than the fact that the writters didn't bother doing proper research.

[@Yhowdyy]

Yea i like that idea, especially in the case of a disabled villain. I’m not a professional writer and shows will have more factors that determine who the villains and heroes are (mainly thinking about kids shows n stuff for this ex though)… but if your villains gonna be autistic it might be good to have an auti protag. Just maybe (to writers in general) it’d be better to not have the villains motivations be like.. over a lack of access our hero doesn’t need. Or the hero is has low support needs while the antag has high needs or at least medium support. But the general idea of having multiple representatives (characters) of one identity can be a good way to work around big pitfalls.

[@AzraelIbliz]

Jack from Bluey is a pretty beloved depiction of ADHD recently. And I heard as well that Luz also has some traits typically associated with it. I think esp. Shizophrenia is often depiceted negatively since it is a very scary thought that you cannot be sure what you are precive is true or not. It can be dangerous for the people with this disability and it is often missdiagnosed with other stuff. So if the character isn't necessarily a "bad" person it is so often a horror trope... But honestly I don't know a positive depiction of it in animation. Maybe it has to do with the fact that it is not really common knowledge what kind of syntomps it can have and I remember that it was not so long ago multiple personality disorder war confused or mixed up with it... This is probably a topic rather picked up by art and shortfilms. If someone know any I am courious. Pysical disabilities howeveryou can show it pretty easy without telling and mental disorders if not outright stated can be confused with something else or missinterpreted. Another factor are prostetics, glasses and so on. The character might is missing a limp or has another disability but it is easier to give them a tool to get some of their abilities back that isn't magic. When I think about modern prostetics it would definetly be magical for someone in medival times. But I understand the aspect of magical cure is "deleting" a flaw. I know an aduld who was just diagnosed with ADHD this year and he praises his medication. I am happy that my anti depressants help me... I am probably ignorant since I am not born with a disabitity but I need glasses since I was young. I remember to this day how I told my mom exitied "Oh wow the trees actually have seperate leafes!" without them my sight is so bad that I am disabled. I can see my hand only like 4 cm from my face in a sharp manner. And if I could "fix" this I would definetly do it. Not because I don't like my face with glasses or the like but it is a quality of live thing. When I cannot find my glasses it is really annoying or scary when I cannot find them (like my cat kicked them from the bedsitetable or something like that). When I have been born with it or it was irrarpable like the eyesight of my grandma idk how I would feel about this. My work and hobbies are very focused on view. So loseing it entirely would be devastating for me. If I was however born with it my skills and hobbies would be definetly focused on other things and it is not said you cannot develop or learn new stuff to love. So idk... were can one draw the line between a medical tool, operation, medication or so on to improve quality of live and outright talking down to or giving the impression a person with a disability is worth less or that it's abelism? I just talked about transhumanism with my husband today. Is it a bad thing in general or can it open up other things? There are leg prostetics that "work" better for running then actual legs. There are people who included tools into their protetics which they can use for their job etc. etc. If it is the choice of the person is it saying people who are not doing this because they feel compftable without it or out of belive or out right financial reasons are worth less or wrong? It is a very complicated topic... (sorry if I overlooked spelling or grammar errors nonnative dyslexive...)

[@angelzarzosa6447]

4:53 Thank you so much for showing Felix 😍💙

[@strikerwott1222]

Absolutely amazing video!!! I love your art so much!!! Yeah, I definitely understand where you’re coming from. I feel it’s incredibly important to treat disabled people with the respect they deserve, both physical and mental disabilities. As an autistic person, I will say the infantilization I’ve seen targeted at autistic people really infuriates and aggravates me. I also do really appreciate the progress we’ve made when it comes to autism representation in media, but I still think there’s still lots of work to do. I do also really appreciate the representation for other disabilities too, and I actually really relate to one of them! I don’t feel comfortable going into it, but I do wanna say I honestly really related to Eda’s story with her dealing with her Owl Beast curse

[@justadragonwithinternetacc4505]

I don't really feel anything too strongly about disabilities, but that's because I grew up around it. My older cousin is an amputie, my mom has a neck injury that effects her hands, and I'm partially blind, three very different, yet still very real disabilities. And because I grew up around them, I don't really feel strongly about disabilities, they're just a part of life, and I acknowledge that. But I can also understand if someone doesn't feel the same way, especially if they haven't been around disabilities before.

[@amybremer8961]

i have AOA1 so i love seeing physical disabled mcs

[@DrKaill]

Great video, this was a good discussion on the subject.

[@Viv1992]

As someone having to live with multiple challenges that I will not specify, your empathy is really well displayed here. You definitely caught the gist of how rhe struggle feels.

[@Tazer_Silverscar]

This I think has helped. I generally don't see myself as attractive for a number of reasons, and I do still struggle with my appearance (as it turns out, I do happen to have a hook-shaped nose), and I also have Epilepsy, Autism, and potentially have ADHD to boot. Despite loving drawing, I've felt that due to how late I received my diagnosis', I've always felt like it wouldn't be right for me to depict such things in my art myself. But given these are part of what I am, it also feels extremely foolish to cut it out. I now feel that personally this is definitely something I shouldn't ignore, and that perhaps I should try to better strike a balance over how I view myself, even if it might take me a while to get there.

[@SimonCleric]

I actually don't think Sean from Good Doctor is a bad representation. Like yes, sure, savant syndrome is a trope, but it's primarily used as a setup for the show, to make it a medical drama and whatnot. As a character, outside of hospital superpower scenes, he is much more nuanced than that one trope. But that's just my opinion, of course.

[@SaffronicSaffron]

Anthony Davies. Is a really good rep in IRL. He's just the GOAT. I feel like ash Williams Is good as well. Even with a missing hand he is a baddass and cool super hero. he even went to medieval Europe and fought zombies. You're gonna have to watch the movie. Ps can't really worded as I would like because I can only use autocorrect Speech. It don't always work.

[@KinomotoAkito]

and here I thought the part of appeal for characters like Daredevil or Professor Xavier is how badass they are despite their disability ( ; O A O )

[@arkanimation9833]

I think it’s gross to see people tell a story and worry about fetishing people turning the artists story into a fetish so they practice erasure. Simple empathy and putting ourselves in other people’s positions can help us understand the world and how we tell stories. The thing is there are 9billion people and probably a large number of fetishes out there. So, using the excuse of “I don’t want to feed someone’s fetish with this character” is in itself kind of talking down to the larger audience as well as showing the artist’s inherent prejudice against kinky people and those type of characters. Telling a good story requires the artist to see the audience as a mixed up messy person as they are if they really take the time to analyze their life. Erasure of disabled people just because you don’t ever want people to see them as attractive means the artist making that decision is at least subconsciously looking down on disabled people. Focus on the people part of disabled people you’ll see they like to feel attractive. But also show depth like every other character. Don’t make them the subject of pity or like you said the insane villain alone. Also not drawing feet because people will think you have a foot fetish is a cop out. I don’t think I have much fetishes and think I’m kind of vanilla like that, but I see artists who are their genuine selves and love it. Quinton Tarantino wears his foot fetish like a badge of honor but it’s not the full story. Kind of like a defining feature in his signature. Feet are gross to me as well but they make up apart of the human body so to any artist afraid of them don’t be. No cowardly artists will ever make anything they truly are recognized for. I say this all with love and respect to the topic and understanding of that place because I was there at one point in my life.

[@rebecca_rh]

I agree

[@birthdayfruitecake8158]

Feel better; thanks for the video! Also, the woman in your art is very fashionable.

[@Bacon-lover101]

Honestly, yeah. Representing a disabled character, be it mental or physical can certainly be a beast. Probably something that could help with that is better research into how people with disabilities are able to function in society and live a good life despite their disabilities, and maybe even better understanding on how to pull off that representation, at least in a way that not only shows that, yeah, we can be happy with what we have, but also doesn’t overly alienate the audience in the process. That might be a good way to fix it. And also might be a way to avoid that call out situation you mentioned at the beginning of this video. Probably a lot easier said than done though. I kind of say this as an autistic man. And to others who are looking to create a disabled character, again, physical or mental, and maybe even want to avoid creating negative rep, all I can say is listening to disabled people’s voices is definitely the best you can really do. Oh yeah, and maybe avoiding exaggerating it as a bad thing should probably be avoided too.

[@cookiemocher388]

We should also be carful with the "one of the good ones" idea, we shouldn't be scared to write flawed characters because bigots might use it as an excuse to discriminate againt the disabled, I've seen kid shows make the disabled character just boring and nice as an attempt to teach kids "see, they're normal like you", and not really give them any character outside of theur disability

[@veronicamonserrathrojas9549]

I think that off the top of my head good to neutal representation of mental disorders are Wanda (MCU), Eda (Owl House), Hunter (owl house) and Catra (She-Ra).

[@andreimircea2254]

The piece in the video looks so amazing. It took art to the next level. Kinda like when I had to chose my crutches because I broke my leg last summer and I chose the purple ones because they were the prettiest. On the video topic surrounding fetishisation, I agree. It is important to remind people that disabilities are neither good or bad, and the disabled are more than their disability, while at the same time, it’s okay to be into or enjoy a certain physical disability. Fetishisation is a problem when done too often (in a ‘in general’ way) or used for bad mindsets and/or actions. In my opinion there is nothing wrong with putting a sexual label on something physical as long as you’re aware there is more to it than that. Lastly on the topic of mental representation, I don’t watch mainstream media often but I hate how people just don’t think “how can I accommodate this”? I feel tired of not being able to easily communicate my wants and needs and this comes in part because people want me to fit in a box rather than accommodate me.

[@corainetheanimator]

For me, Jinx is a hard character because I find her interesting (only speaking from arcane, never played league and don't want to.) And i like that Vi didn't really lose hope in her like some others and even when she blamed her for the deaths of their found family she regretted it. And i feel with how it is done the psychosis isn't what makes her a "bad guy" but it was silco manipulating her from a young age. But still.. on that cliff hanger idk it's still not great when most media with disabled characters *does* make them out to be bad. On one hand it is like, her pain as a kid, and her *being* a kid that doesn't understand stranger danger is the big factor at least to me why she is a villain but on the other hand the psychosis makes it muddied into ... how should i feel

[@I.Simmonds]

There is a French Manga called Radiant, in that Manga all wizards have a mark physical or mental that is a result of the contact that gave them magic powers. Melie has extreme mood/ personality shift that has in the past trashed her relationships. While it is occasionally played for humor, her relationship with the main hero is tested when He pushed her aside because he fears losing control of his battle mode and she asks him (Not I direct quote) "Have you ever thought that I might have any insights to what its like to lose control of one own actions."

[@jackiesharp018]

Im suprised no one mentioned Stardew valley with Kent having PTSD and adjusting to being back in a peaceful village life instead of in a warzone. He's quite good, plus theres George in Stardew Valley who is in a wheelchair and I believe if Im remebering my trivia right, Clint the blacksmith has 4 fingers.

[@Mark_o_Helm]

I saw someone calling the app Ex-Twitter. I like that.😁

[@fizzyfrog784]

Adhd is often represented as being "Childish," which isn,t wrong but they never show the negative side