Representation in media
Aug. 30th, 2015 07:22 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
untonugganI am having a lot of feelz lately when I do recognize something in my health experience or queer experience in mass media represented and it's not just "oh look and inspiring story about how lazy we all are if we don't run a marathon like this kid in the special olympics" or "don't get close to these two women in love, they're about to experience a horrible fate to remind us all that queers can never be truly happy!"
/o\
A show which has been counteracting these depressing trends and giving me warm fuzzies, which I will pimp *again*, is Switched at Birth.
I won't go into the particulars of how this scene came up, because spoilerz, but:
A character with an invisible disability (Person A) who was closeted about it was talking to a Deaf character (Person B) who is strongly involved in the Deaf community. They were frustrated that someone they knew had a physical disability (Person C) that was interfering with their ability to sign, and thus have a really close form of communication (versus lip-reading).
Person A told Person B that, "[Person C] is probably a hundred times more frustrated, because it really sucks to have your body betray you."
[mic drop]
I'm sorry, I lost my shit. For several days. Someone on ABC FAMILY just spoke my truth to millions of viewers while navigating the waters of intersectionality and hiding disability and that being a legit choice and that there are different types of disability and it sucks and it's no one's *fault* and there's all kinds of adjustments and grieving that happens when you have a new diagnosis.
Excuse me while I recover from my swoon
***
At the suggestion ofkaberett , I've been checking out endometriosis.org.
There is one article (by a doctor) called "Is endometriosis all in your head?" about the psychological effects of how long it takes to get an accurate diagnosis, and how often people do start believing that they are imagining or exaggerating the pain. Which just. Yup.
Anyway, this one section in particular literally made me weep with relief that a doctor somewhere actually recognizes this truth in my life:
***
So, does anyone have any recs for fic or books or media or whatever that will give me similar tingly feelings of "omigod other people feel this too??"
/o\
A show which has been counteracting these depressing trends and giving me warm fuzzies, which I will pimp *again*, is Switched at Birth.
I won't go into the particulars of how this scene came up, because spoilerz, but:
A character with an invisible disability (Person A) who was closeted about it was talking to a Deaf character (Person B) who is strongly involved in the Deaf community. They were frustrated that someone they knew had a physical disability (Person C) that was interfering with their ability to sign, and thus have a really close form of communication (versus lip-reading).
Person A told Person B that, "[Person C] is probably a hundred times more frustrated, because it really sucks to have your body betray you."
[mic drop]
I'm sorry, I lost my shit. For several days. Someone on ABC FAMILY just spoke my truth to millions of viewers while navigating the waters of intersectionality and hiding disability and that being a legit choice and that there are different types of disability and it sucks and it's no one's *fault* and there's all kinds of adjustments and grieving that happens when you have a new diagnosis.
Excuse me while I recover from my swoon
***
At the suggestion of
kaberett , I've been checking out endometriosis.org. There is one article (by a doctor) called "Is endometriosis all in your head?" about the psychological effects of how long it takes to get an accurate diagnosis, and how often people do start believing that they are imagining or exaggerating the pain. Which just. Yup.
Anyway, this one section in particular literally made me weep with relief that a doctor somewhere actually recognizes this truth in my life:
Emphasis mine.Facing the local emergency room
Lastly, she will probably eventually be forced to meet the local emergency room healthcare providers because of an episode of severe pain.
Healthcare providers in emergency rooms are liable if they do not rule out everything from appendicitis to pregnancy to sexually transmitted diseases.
This means that our young patient will be forced to have an examination, pregnancy tests, cultures, blood work, and usually an ultrasound or CT scan. When all is done and no answers are provided except that she has none of the above, she leaves the ER with her head held low and some pain medication. Worse than that, she feels physically violated by the experience.
For the patient, it is not a lot different from being physically assaulted anywhere else.
***
So, does anyone have any recs for fic or books or media or whatever that will give me similar tingly feelings of "omigod other people feel this too??"
