I mentioned it was a modern Western thing in the article.
In the West, people with disabilities are deliberately hidden away, and when we don't comply, we're seen as malingerers. It may be that there are more people with disabilities in China and Taiwan, or it may just be that Chinese society is less desperate to keep them hidden. Part of this is the Western obsession with individuality, where people who succeed are seen as succeeding on their own, and if you don't succeed (according to a fairly rigid model of success that very few people with disabilities can even come close to, and not without help) it's your own fault, and you're a bad person. I'm told Chinese society is more aware that nobody makes it on their own, correct me if I'm off base here.
One of these days, I'm going to write up my feelings about disability and superpower and how much this trope sets my teeth on edge. Most of my examples would be Western, as that's most of my media experience, but...
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branchandroot
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Date: 2011-07-21 01:36 pm (UTC)In the West, people with disabilities are deliberately hidden away, and when we don't comply, we're seen as malingerers. It may be that there are more people with disabilities in China and Taiwan, or it may just be that Chinese society is less desperate to keep them hidden. Part of this is the Western obsession with individuality, where people who succeed are seen as succeeding on their own, and if you don't succeed (according to a fairly rigid model of success that very few people with disabilities can even come close to, and not without help) it's your own fault, and you're a bad person. I'm told Chinese society is more aware that nobody makes it on their own, correct me if I'm off base here.
One of these days, I'm going to write up my feelings about disability and superpower and how much this trope sets my teeth on edge. Most of my examples would be Western, as that's most of my media experience, but...