My Tropey Life: How Pop Culture Stereotypes Make Disabled Lives Harder

Carl, Annie

Annie writes with incisive wit and insight about what it's like to be disabled in an able-bodied world. She walks us through the stereotypical portrayals of disabled people in books and movies—the "inspirational" people, the miracle cures, the monsters and villains—and shows how these stereotypes play out in real-life interactions, from rude stares and patronizing comments to the institutionalization, marginalization, and even murder of people with disabilities. She also writes about positive representation of disabilities in pop culture and ends with a call to action for a cultural shift.