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Romance, Attraction, Sexuality w/in Disability (Seeing the disabled as…
Romance, Attraction, Sexuality w/in Disability
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Seeing the disabled as romantic, sexual beings or as subjects of attraction
the " de-eroticization and marginalization of dis-/abled characters" (Haas) can lead to more inclusion of disabled characters in the romance genre and could eventually shift our thinking into incorporating the disabled into our norm of what we consider attractive or deserving of romance
Authors like Mary Balough challenge the way in which her characters have fulfilling sexual relationships that end in a HEA untypical in traditional romance literature
Representation of " disabled sexuality" in both qualitative and quantitative aspects can create change in readers and pushes them to be more empathetic and comfortable with their romantic or sexual feelings of attraction to disabled persons and characters
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" focussing on the culturally and historically specific construction of dis-/ability in contrast to the idealized bodies and identities"(Haas). The hunchback follows the historical negative presentation of disabled characters. Though there has been a slow change from idealized to erotized to normalization with inclusion in the contemporary romance genre.
there is a need for " critical reconstruction of meaning making" when it comes to the historical attitude towards attraction to disabled characters and persons, towards one that is more inclusive and natural.
" The critical conversation about disability in romance novels has only just begun"(Cheyne). More realistic and "positive" romantic insertions of disabled characters into the romance genre are a contemporary trait that is the result of a shift from the historical ways in which disabled characters were portrayed in romantic literature
"I argue that romances with disabled protagonist offer significant opportunities to challenge negative stereotypes around disability"(Cheyne). I would take this thought one step further than these romances can not only challenge negative stereotypes but that they can also help shift thinking and normalize and create comfort around the idea of being attracted to disabled characters and who they represent.
" the fact that romance heroes and heroines typically have " not mealry 'normal' bodies, but perfect bodies" (Schwab 287)"(Cheney) we have grown accustomed to and have universally deromanticised the disabled and disfigured body that it isn't exactly wrong or hard to understand why people don't find it attractive.
" Emphasis placed on the development of a sexually satisfying relationship is signifigant...the "segregation" of "sex and disability [...] in dominant cultural representations"[...] and the depict[ion of] disabled heroes and heroines in satisfying relationships and as erotic agents" ( Cheyne) is something historically has been shunned, but more contemporary romance authors such as Mary Balogh are using these as tools to normalize the presence of disabled characters in romantic and sexual roles.
" The depiction of disabled characters achieving the HEA is significant in a society still dominated by tragedy-model perspectives and thus ambivalent about whether disabled people are worthy or desiring of love"(Cheney). This is the whole point of my project. I think the fact that we see so little representation that accurately portrays the feeling and desires of the disabled community leave able-bodied readers uncomfortable with their attraction to the disabled or disfigured body and therefore further isolating characters and an entire community that the characters represent, which only perpetuates the stereotype that disabled or disfigured people and characters are not deserving or incapable of being the subject of attraction, romance and sexual expression
"Assigned the status of sexual abjects, people with disabilities have often struggled to be recognized as sexual beings"( Baldys). While historically true there has been a slight shift that works like a gradient, where it starts strong with abjection of disabled and the inability to understand, accept or comprehend that they are in fact people who still are capable of romantics/ sexual feelings, to a middle shade where the disabled and disfigured are now eroticized. So they are no longer seen as unable to express romance but rather are the subjects of people fantasies and both their romance ad attraction as well as the reciprocated romance and attraction is seen as taboo, to the lighter shade that I feel like we currently reside in where there is just starting to be accurate representation but because of the eroticization/ fetishization of the disabled people have become uncomfortable with attraction or romantic feelings that they have for either disabled/ disfigured people or characters.
" Disabled sexuality needs to be contained because it is perceived as threatening by heterosexual hegemony"( Baldys)
" Often debarred from reproduction or carrying the threat of heritable impairment, disabled people exist on the wrong end of society's sexual bell curve"(Baldys)
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Shifting towards the inclusion of the disabled in what we see as being the norm of romance, this seems to be a slow progression as social ideas change, though simple fixes to descriptions, situations, and scenarios could easily speed up the process!!!
" stereotypes towards dis-/ability are structured and could be overcome with regards to patterns of inclusion"(Haas)
our own ideas of what is normal and our own conceptualizations of the disabled can either progress our thinking of disabled characters as normal or inhibit these feelings and thought
" viewers [readers] are more likely to seek images that reassure them of their own normality or against private feelings of ab-/normality, whatever they may be" (Haas quoted from 42 of Alison Wilde). This point connects with how there historically has been an exclusion of attractive disabled characters because it hadn't corresponded with what others viewed as normal, but there has been a shift where people are starting to repetitively see disabled character within the romance genre and therefore have begun to normalize disabled characters, but we most definitely are not completely emersed in that normalization yet and there will need to be changed in literature and other media forms to shift these feelings.
Normative norms vs. normalisitc norms.These are good definitions to have and utilize when talking about normalizing disability in a romantic aspect ( see Haas article for definitions)
Protonormalism and flexible normalization are also good terms to have when talking about the type of normality that should be achieved when talking about the disabled in romance ( see Haas article for definitions)
" if it is true that 'everybody wants to be normal', we need to explore in greater detail what this means nowadays both socially and culturally"(Haas). This is an important point to remember, things evolve and change and perhaps our definitions of who is considered to be normal are outdated.
" the disabled character is never of importance to himself or herself. Rather, the character is placed in the narrative 'for' the nondisabled characters- to help them develop sympathy, empathy, or as a counterbalance to some issue in the life of the 'normal' character"( Cheyne quoted from "crips" 45). This devalues the disabled character placing them in the background in order to help the 'normal' character show off their 'great' personality that allows for them out of the kindness of their heart to develop romantic feelings for the "poor soul". An example would be Quasimodo's importance to Esmeralda, though I would disagree that in terms of the hunchback this only serves to cause the reader to develop even more empathy for Quasimodo.
" Not only is what is 'normal' constructed, contingent, and subject to change, but [it is important that] non-disabled people acknowledge the limitations of their understanding". This is the only way that we can normalize disability in a romantic light and move on to fixing how we see the disabled as romantic, sexual beings deserving and capable of being the subject of attraction.
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