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Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'
Disfigured: On Fairy Tales, Disability, and Making Space by Amanda Leduc
4 reviews
lilacs_book_bower's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
sad
fast-paced
4.0
Please see content warnings. In addition to discrimination against disabled people, the narrator also experiences extreme depression and wants to not exist anymore. It is hard to rate memoirs and this work is part memoir and part essays, so my rating is more applicable to the essays content. I really liked her perspective and I hadn’t considered the fairy tales from the disability aspect, so I appreciated it overall. It feels a little on the nose to say, this is an accessible text, regarding writing about disabilities, but it is an accessible read. The author writes clearly and engagingly. This could serve as a good intro for people wanting to learn more about disabled people and the challenges they face. The author looks at disabilities in fairy tales and how they are dealt with, and what that could mean for the world in which the stories are being told. For abled people, it is easier to see ourselves in fairy tales and other stories, or imagine ourselves the princess or brave hero. But disabled people often see themselves as someone to be fixed, or even the villain, rather than also being able to see themselves as the heroes and heroines.
However, as the chapters went on, the fairy tale connection/analysis felt like it was just name checked, with very brief discussions. From additional info at the end of the book, I read that one chapter was published as an article. While I am not sure if it was before, during, or after the writing of the book, that chapter had stood out to me, even before I knew it was published elsewhere. I can see the connection the author is making, but it felt a bit like, one of these things is not like the other. Unfortunately, the text also felt a bit repetitive toward the end; it felt like it lost purpose or focus. The author asks a lot of questions about dreaming of a different world or life, "What would it mean to a disabled girl to see X?" "What if the world looked like Y?" I did appreciate that she wrote about different models, like Medical model and Social model, etc, as those were not terms I had heard, so I definitely learned something, and I am very glad to have read this book.
(Amusing side note: I swear a Booktuber described this as fairy tale re-tellings about disabled people, and I clearly didn't look at the sub-title, so I was quite surprised to read the forward and discover this was non-fiction.)
However, as the chapters went on, the fairy tale connection/analysis felt like it was just name checked, with very brief discussions. From additional info at the end of the book, I read that one chapter was published as an article. While I am not sure if it was before, during, or after the writing of the book, that chapter had stood out to me, even before I knew it was published elsewhere. I can see the connection the author is making, but it felt a bit like, one of these things is not like the other. Unfortunately, the text also felt a bit repetitive toward the end; it felt like it lost purpose or focus. The author asks a lot of questions about dreaming of a different world or life, "What would it mean to a disabled girl to see X?" "What if the world looked like Y?" I did appreciate that she wrote about different models, like Medical model and Social model, etc, as those were not terms I had heard, so I definitely learned something, and I am very glad to have read this book.
(Amusing side note: I swear a Booktuber described this as fairy tale re-tellings about disabled people, and I clearly didn't look at the sub-title, so I was quite surprised to read the forward and discover this was non-fiction.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Ableism, and Bullying
plantbasedbride's review
challenging
informative
medium-paced
5.0
A fascinating and eye-opening exploration of the connection between fairytales and disability. Amanda LeDuc did an excellent job of compiling a tremendous amount of information into a compulsively readable, concise, and understandable format.
Disability and mental illness are so often vilified in the stories we consume; used as shorthand to indicate that someone is unworthy or wicked. A trope in lazy writing that directly correlates with how disabled and mentally ill people are treated in their day-to-day lives.
How does it feel for a young person consuming media such as The Little Mermaid to see themselves represented in a way they never had, only to find that the heroine is magically cured of her "ailments" and gets her happy ending as an able-bodied woman, with legs and a voice.
How does this reinforcement of the idea that a happy ending is inextricably linked with able bodiedness impact our preconceived notions and biases as we grow up?
This is a world-view shifting book that everyone should read.
VIDEO REVIEW: https://youtu.be/Z6jPExstT1Y
You can find me on...
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/plantbasedbride">Youtube</a> | <a href="https://www.instagram.com/elizabethturn/">Instagram</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/ElizabethTurn">Twitter</a>| <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@plantbasedbride?lang=en">TikTok</a>
Disability and mental illness are so often vilified in the stories we consume; used as shorthand to indicate that someone is unworthy or wicked. A trope in lazy writing that directly correlates with how disabled and mentally ill people are treated in their day-to-day lives.
How does it feel for a young person consuming media such as The Little Mermaid to see themselves represented in a way they never had, only to find that the heroine is magically cured of her "ailments" and gets her happy ending as an able-bodied woman, with legs and a voice.
How does this reinforcement of the idea that a happy ending is inextricably linked with able bodiedness impact our preconceived notions and biases as we grow up?
This is a world-view shifting book that everyone should read.
VIDEO REVIEW: https://youtu.be/Z6jPExstT1Y
You can find me on...
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/plantbasedbride">Youtube</a> | <a href="https://www.instagram.com/elizabethturn/">Instagram</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/ElizabethTurn">Twitter</a>| <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@plantbasedbride?lang=en">TikTok</a>
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Chronic illness, and Child death
Moderate: Sexual assault, Violence, Medical content, and Body horror
yvonne_cl's review
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Chronic illness, and Medical content
Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault
maisierosereads's review
informative
medium-paced
4.5
Disfigured is a valuable reflection on the ableism in fairy tales and other popular media, how this relates and contributes to ableism in the real world, and the author's own experiences of cerebral palsy and depression.
I listened to the audiobook of Disfigured on Scribd - the narrator was clear, engaging, and easy to follow.
I listened to the audiobook of Disfigured on Scribd - the narrator was clear, engaging, and easy to follow.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism and Bullying
Moderate: Medical content, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Rape, and Suicidal thoughts
More...