“How does seeing me sitting in this wheelchair make you feel?”
“I feel sad!”
“I feel worried!”
“I feel sorry for you!”
“Okay.” (Showing no emotion, I picked up my book The Adventures of KatGirl and read it to a classroom full of second graders.)
Advocate and author Katherine Magnoli reads to young people from her book, The Adventures of Katgirl. Photo courtesy: Katherine Magnoli
Afterwards, I pose the same question; “How does seeing me sitting in this wheelchair make you feel?”
Quickly, their negative responses change to one of deep admiration! “You are so cool! Does your chair fly, too?”
This is an example of a real-life experience that showcases the power that disability representation has on the minds of impressionable children. A marketing tool that was severely lacking when I was growing up, which resulted in a lack of understanding and acceptance from my peers. This lack of understanding and inclusion is what prompted me to become an author and public speaker that is dedicated to educating the next generation about the importance of disability inclusion.
Luckily, I am not on this journey alone, over the last twenty to thirty years I have seen a great increase in representation of those of us who fall under the category of people with disabilities. This great shift is apparent to me, every time I am around my five-year-old nephew who happily points out “Look, Auntie Kat! They’re in a wheelchair like you!” This can be seen throughout the books and television shows/movies that both my sister and brother-in-law make sure to include in his everyday education.
Some examples of animated children’s shows that fall under this subject are PJ Masks and Carl the Collector. Another great example that a friend of mine with autism has told me about is one of Anime or graphic novels that very authentically bring up the topic of disability in several of their storylines. An example of this would be The Silent Voice, a story about a girl who is living with deafness.
Now, as happy as I am to see that the visual and literary media are making strong efforts in creating a world where kids with and without disabilities feel authentically represented and included, I feel that there is still a severe lack of representation in the toy and merchandise industry. Fortunately, many large companies who fall under the category of toy manufacturing have decided to make positive changes.
A prime example of this would be the mega-conglomerate Lego who, in 2016, added a person in a wheelchair to their Lego City display, helping children see that people with disabilities are a part of the everyday lived experience.
Another multi-million-dollar enterprise that has recently decided to push disability representation to the forefront of their product line is none other than the creator of Barbie, Mattel. A company that was founded in 1945, known for a long-legged blonde “bombshell” beauty, who only speaks to a certain subsect of the population, has made a point over the last three decades to be more inclusive with their representation.
Regarding their most recent creation in the fashionista Barbie line, most commonly referred to as “Autistic Barbie” Mattel reached out to Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN) to achieve the authenticity that they were going for in showcasing this very complex and important disability that affects approximately 1 in 31 children in the United States alone.
I will admit that when I first heard about this, I was pleasantly surprised.
In addition to my own perspective, I took a moment to speak to a dear friend of mine (who falls under the Autism Spectrum) and he had a very interesting perspective to share. He pointed out that when you are trying to describe autism you more likely than not will add some stereotypical aspect. He went on to say that the best and most effective way to represent it would have been for the doll to wear a garment that proudly displays the colorful puzzle pieces that have been donned as a visual representation for people who are autistic.
We noticed that the creators truly did their due diligence and incorporated many symptoms that a person on any of the levels of the Spectrum may experience. For those who are sensitive to noise, the doll wears headphones. She also has a text to speech generator tablet to show that some may be nonverbal. Lastly, she is shown holding what appears to be a fidget spinner for those who may experience social anxiety.
I feel that these toys, along with the aforementioned books and television shows are all helping this generation of young boys and girls have a better understanding and acceptance for people who have different physical, social, or intellectual abilities as they do.
My only hope as a woman with a disability, who encountered a lot of ostracizing and bullying due to the lack of representation put out during my formative years, is that we continue to grow in this way to the point where this is not even a topic open for discussion or debate but one of normality.
If these large multi-million-dollar toy companies and other forms of media continue to increase the inclusivity of their products, I urge them to use Mattel as an example and research and reach out to people that fall under those categories and use them as lived examples to model these products.
I believe that is the only way we will get authentic representation that will continue to alter the perception that society has about disability from one of feeling sorry for to one that shall continue to spark acceptance and inclusion. Then, and only then, will the slogan that Barbie so proudly displays, “You Can Be Anything!” will ring true for every boy and girl no matter what their physical or intellectual attributes are.
About the writer: Katherine Magnoli is a 41-year-old woman born with spina bifida who has served as an advocate and author of the children’s book series, The Adventures of Katgirl.
Opinions expressed are solely those of the writer(s) and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Able News at The Viscardi Center and/or The Viscardi Center.