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A review by starryeyedenigma
Disfigured: On Fairy Tales, Disability, and Making Space by Amanda Leduc
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
"Ableism is a system that places value on people’s bodies and minds based on societally constructed ideas of normalcy, intelligence, and excellence. These constructed ideas of normalcy, intelligence, and excellence are deeply rooted in anti-Blackness, eugenics, and capitalism. This form of systemic oppression leads to people and society determining who is valuable and worthy based on people’s appearance and/or their ability to satisfactorily produce, excel, and ‘behave.’ "
You realize your privilege and hand in being part of the same society that creates this 'otherness' for people who are different from the socially defined 'norms'. What is normal and who defines this normal? The good thing about the time we live in now is that we have the ability and the power to break the definitions of what is normal. The only thing missing is the awareness and the knowledge. It is here that books written from the author's own perspective about the impact of fairy tales for someone who suffers from cerebal palsy, helps.
"Fairy stories are not real, no. But neither are they ever only stories." - And we need to read this book to inspire new stories, where ableism isn't the end goal, and disability is acknowledged as not something less, but something that is also normal. The individual shouldn't have to overcome anything. The society needs to overcome their prejudices and preconceptions about what is normal.
You realize your privilege and hand in being part of the same society that creates this 'otherness' for people who are different from the socially defined 'norms'. What is normal and who defines this normal? The good thing about the time we live in now is that we have the ability and the power to break the definitions of what is normal. The only thing missing is the awareness and the knowledge. It is here that books written from the author's own perspective about the impact of fairy tales for someone who suffers from cerebal palsy, helps.
"Fairy stories are not real, no. But neither are they ever only stories." - And we need to read this book to inspire new stories, where ableism isn't the end goal, and disability is acknowledged as not something less, but something that is also normal. The individual shouldn't have to overcome anything. The society needs to overcome their prejudices and preconceptions about what is normal.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism and Bullying