I can’t stress enough how this should already be the norm; that it shouldn’t feel like a huge achievement every time we see a disabled model on the runway or an actor on television – but it is, because it is so rare.
Giving disabled and chronically ill people the same opportunities in the creative industry feels like such a fight, it’s exhausting.
You hear the same excuses over and over, “There was no time to cast a disabled person,” “We couldn’t find anyone that can do this…” “It’s just x, y and z excuse.” Because that’s what they are… excuses.
If you want disability representation in a film, cast disabled creatives, writers, artists.
There’s been so many times where giving equal creative opportunities has almost been treated like it’s a one-off event; hardly to be repeated ever again.
This needs to be changed.
It needs to be engrained within the entire creative industry as a whole to give equal opportunities to all and adequate support.
We have stories too. We have talent and can and should win awards for our work.
So many roles have been given to non-disabled, and non-chronically ill people and this needs to change indefinitely. I don’t have the words to say how easy it is to just put a call out there and ask someone what they need and actually implement it; how nice it would be to not have to explain why accurate representation matters because it’s just done thing.
No arguments, or dismissiveness, or comments like “It doesn’t matter.”
It matters to me, to us as a wider community. We have jobs and families and deserve to reach the same heights as everyone else.
I don’t expect everything will magically change overnight, but it should. People should care enough to cast authentically and not just because you are legally obligated to.
They should put us on front covers of magazines every year and not want praise for being “the first.”
Backing creatives from all marginalised groups isn’t hard, it’s as simple as it can be, ableism is hard, being rejected without even being given a chance is hard but this? It’s the easiest thing you’ll ever do.
So, say yes, care, implement the right support and you just might find yourself some of the most hard-working, talented people ever.
And whether you read this or not, they’ll get their Oscars and awards, they’ll make that short, or that cover, they’ll do whatever they want to do eventually because they’ll have someone in their corner backing them every step of the way.
It could be you, someone else or our entire community… but they’ll get there.
The creative industry itself can make all the excuses under the sun but, change is coming and it’s coming for a teary acceptance speech and a rolled out red carpet.
Google creatives, find someone new, retweet or share a call-out, support someone in their chosen field because, trust me, it means more than I can write in this article and it will for the next generation too.
So be that person that pushes for industrial reform, for opportunities to be wider and inclusive be that person, because we need allies, who’ll cheer for us just as loudly as we’ll cheer for them.
