Blog 6: Disability and Inspiration Porn

Images of disabled people doing ordinary things are often circulated on social media websites for the purpose of inspiring able-bodied people. These images, also known as inspiration porn, reinforce ableist norms and objectify disabled people. Able-bodied people can look at inspiration porn and think, "If they can do it, so can I!" and "At least I don't have it that bad." This is damaging for people of all abilities. Those who are unable to pull themselves up by their bootstraps (disabled or not) are victim-blamed. Inspiration porn allows able-bodied people to celebrate the achievements of disabled people without being critical of society's willingness to accommodate for different bodies.