Rosie Jones on writing for kids about being disabled and gay - from RHLSTP Book Club 85

To listen to the full audio podcast for FREE head to www.rhlstp.co.uk/website.cgi?... - or wherever you get your podcasts from
To watch the whole video join Acast Plus here plus.acast.com/s/rhlstp
To see the show live and upcoming guests head to richardherring.com/rhlstp
Buy the books here:
www.amazon.co.uk/Amazing-Edie...
www.amazon.co.uk/Amazing-Edie...

[@LeornianCyng]

Everyone either has some sort of disability or will have some sort of disability, illness or injury in their lifetime. Rosie is fighting for everyone’s rights and making sure that they are visible, treated with respect and have the best possible care available. She’s a phenomenal comedian, excellent investigative journalist, a wonderful campaigner and now an author whose story’s will be a comfort to many I’m sure.

[@fredh1720]

There was a genuinely fascinating article with Rosie in the Radio Times a few weeks back about this. (Well, part of this. I don't mean she was banging on about the RHLSTP, thank goodness.) She's highly intelligent, genuinely funny, and every person who thinks they need to share the fact that they don't think she should be on TV is providing another reason why she should be. (Someone had also written in and said she was so good in Call the Midwife, and they wondered whether she really had cerebral palsy? Imagine!)

[@audiblenugz]

Omg this one had me in stitches!!!

[@user-ml9qc5hk1p]

Where did this obsession with having to relate to or see ourselves in the fictional characters come from?

[@Herring1967]

I think it’s more about not seeing anyone like you being represented. It’s crazy that there are next to no kids books with a main character that is disabled (or gay). People want to read about people not like them too. So that’s another reason for representation! You made a good argument against yourself there!

[@SquirrelNutkins]

Hegemony

[@fredh1720]

It's not a new idea. It's called othering by omission. Not talking about something, or not representing it, is akin to pretending it doesn't exist-when there's a conversation around it and it's still being deliberately ignored, then that's even worse. Neither is it an obsession. It's just common sense-if you're making a kids TV show, you're probably going to have kids in it. That's your audience. A TV audience (especially a BBC one, because the license fee does not discriminate) is diverse, so it's just logical that the same rule applies.