April 5, 2026 - 14:14
One part of Brilliant Imperfection that stuck with me was the section on “overcoming disability”, especially the billboard featuring Whoopi Goldberg. Disability has long been viewed as something pitiful, horrific, and tragic. When looked at this way, the only good that can come out of disability is “curing” it. The billboard pitches that all the success Goldberg achieved happened after she became non-disabled. The narrative of “despite” is already extremely common, and using such an inspirational figure to reinforce this idea only propels it further. I have long encountered this mentality in the field of mental health. Peoples achievements and perception of life after struggling with mental health issues have long been attributed to their recovery. Very rarely do I hear this narrative shifted to “because of”. Maybe Matt Haig, the renowned author, became so successful because of his relatability, perspective, and knowledge stemming from his experience with mental health struggles. I doubt that he could have written best selling books without this journey. I believe that this use of “despite” instead of “because of” is extremely harmful not only disabled people figuring out their condition, but also to anyone. This thought - that you can only learn after you are cured - discounts the exact concept of disability wisdom. There is good to be found in the challenges of disability, just as there is chronic pain and frustration within social systems. It is important to portray disability with this nuance, as it helps give a voice to disabled people and shifts some focus toward adaptability and access, and away from cure.