disability: not something to erase

A few weeks ago, I stumbled upon a video produced by Saatchi & Saatchi, an advertising firm in NYC, and CoorDown, an association for people with Down Syndrome, in honor of World Down Syndrome Day.  It features Olivia Wilde, a well-known actress, going through the motions of life -- hanging out with her family, doing everyday tasks like laundry, jogging, etc -- accompanied by the narration of a woman with Down Syndrome, constantly repeating, "I see myself...(doing what Wilde is doing in the frame)."  And, it is not till the end of the video, when Wilde's reflection is shown in the mirror, that the camera pans to show the woman behind the voice, appealing, "This is how I see myself.  How do you see me?"

Undoubtedly, I'm sure that this video and those involved had wonderful intentions.  And if you just watch it once without really thinking, it's probably not at all clear why something might be wrong. But, despite the fact that it was created for an honorable purpose, this particular campaign seems to be reentrenching a lot of society's problematic ideals, and is probably not the best way to bring attention to disability.  Allow me to explain.... 

First of all, by using Olivia Wilde to portray a woman with Down Syndrome, the video furthered the invisibility of disabilities in society.  If they truly wanted to create awareness, why not have Anna Rose -- the woman narrating the video -- be portrayed actually doing the activities she sees herself as doing? Going through her own life, as opposed to having an able-bodied woman in her place?  The piece's storytelling technique does not, in reality, make people with Down Syndrome more relatable or more human, because the human qualities were primarily projected on Wilde instead of Anna Rose.  Rose was erased from the narrative, and her own narrative at that -- her name wasn't even credited, until activists made a concerted effort to find it, and she made a 2 second appearance at the end. Maybe the organization thought that people wouldn't empathize with Rose enough/be drawn to her, so they opted for a video in which the main image was Olivia Wilde; however, it's more likely that at the end people will be subconsciously comparing the image of Anna Rose -- one that is still seen as alien and inferior -- to the glossy, perfect, and most importantly able-bodied image of Wilde, thus distancing themselves from disability further. 

This brings me to my second problem with the video: it implies that difference is bad and is something that should be erased.  That's probably another reason why the ad features Anna Rose constantly saying she sees herself like Olivia Wilde or another able-bodied person.  Her invocation of "How do you see me?" is pretty clearly a request to view her as not someone with Down Syndrome, but as someone who is able-bodied. Yes, I know the point of the video is to show how we're all the same. But the thing is -- a perfect world is not one where disabled people are perceived as able-bodied, black people are perceived as white, and queer people are perceived as cis or straight.  That's assimilation and is very distinct from equality.  It still assumes, even reifies, the power and normalcy of existing social hierarchies and doesn't do anything to change the mindsets that stigmatize otherness  -- the video posits ablebodieness as the norm that not only people with disabilities should envision themselves as, but as an image able-bodied people should script onto those with disabilities.  But why does society have to erase disability from identity to reach acceptance? That still implies disability is undesirable and is pretty counterproductive.

Such a mentality of erasing difference is all the rage lately.  For example, with gay marriage, activists were declaring that now, queer families can be the new nuclear families, side by side with traditional families, and they're the same!! But that's still an imposition of heteronormative logic because it's simply incorporating queer people into the existing dominant, straight-centric group, which is completely different from creating a space where queer people can be queer and queerness alone is okay. The Down Syndrome video seems to operate by the same logic -- let's promote erasure of disability, instead of acceptance. Let's create an ideal world where disabled people are viewed as able bodied, instead of a world where people are as they are, disabilities and all, and that's still great.  This ensures that when someone comes along that doesn't meet society's standards of assimilated queer or assimilated disabled person, they're discriminated against and excluded just the same. 

In conclusion, this media piece was well-intentioned, but its assumptions are ironically reflective of how far society must come to actually reach equality.  What are your thoughts on the matter? I really would like to hear them. 

xoxo, elyse