This Valentine’s Day instead of eagerly watching the letterbox flap as cards fall through you could actually do some great campaigning work. How? Well the NUS SWD Campaign is proud to launch the Love Is Postcards as part of the Don’t Diss my Ability Campaign. The post cards are to the Director General of the BBC asking for a media that is free from discrimination. Now you might be wondering why the NUS SWD Campaign is doing this. Well this blog will explain why. (If you would like to know about the campaign, how you can get involved and have the campaign on your campuses as well as order post cards for your Union then click here

It would be great to say that in the 21st century disablism does not exist but it still does. Much of this is attributable to the persistence of traditional misconceptions about disability and disabled people. Stereotype assumptions about people with impairments are based on superstition, myths and beliefs from the past. They are inherent to our culture and persist partly because they are constantly reproduced through the communications media; books, films, television, newspapers and advertising.

While the media alone cannot be held responsible for this alarming situation its impact cannot be overlooked. Although there is some dispute about the level of influence the mass media has on our perceptions of the world, there are relatively few who would argue that it does not have any. Apart from specialist programmes such as See-Hear and Beyond Boundaries, disabled people are generally under represented on British television; but when they are it is usually in the context of one of the disabling stereotypes. In factual or current affairs programmes stories about disabled people are usually linked to medical treatment or the special achievements of disabled individuals - usually children. With one or two notable exceptions disabled people rarely appear in soaps or quiz shows. When have you seen a visible disabled newsreader?

The absence of disabled people from mainstream programming coupled with the link between disability and medicine reinforces the widespread misconception that disabled people are ill and unable to participate in every day life.

In fictional programmes such as Eastenders disabled characters are only introduced as an aid to the script and story development- you never see a character who just happens to be disabled- an issue is always made of it. And heaven forbid actually wanting a disabled character to actually be played by a disabled person. I mean in the 21st century would we accept a white person ‘blacking themselves up’ to play a black character? Memories of the minstrels send shudders down my spine. Yet in the UK we still accept that it is ok for a non-disabled person to play a disabled person- it is time that we no longer accept this and actually campaign for disabled representation on TV. We pay our license fee just like everyone else- so why should we not be represented on the TV just like everyone else?

Wouldn’t it be great if you actually just saw a disabled extra on Eastenders walk in the Queen Vic, ask for a pint and then sit down and chat with friends. No issue, just a disabled person doing an everyday thing like have a pint in the pub (mind you you have to wonder what the actual disability access of the Queen Vic is like- would they be able to get into the pub in the first place?). This has to be done and one of the ways that we can make it happen is through sending postcards to the BBC- letting them know that we want this to happen and that we want the representation of disabled people in the media to change. If we do this it could be a fundamental part of getting rid of disablism in this country. So order this postcards, write to the Director General of the BBC, lobby hard and actually make it happen. We can change things so lets get out there and do it!!!

Here is the wording of the postcard:-

Dear Mark Thompson - Director General of the BBC,

There are over 10 million disabled people in the UK yet this is not represented on television. For too long disabled people have not been portrayed on TV and I would like your commitment to improve the portrayal of disabled people. I want your commitment that you will not just represent disabled people by making programmes about disability but include disabled people in main stream programmes.

I would like to see an increase in roles where disability is incidental like disabled people going into the Queen Vic for a drink. Finally I want your commitment to increase the number of disabled people both in front and behind the camera and if your do have disabled characters they are played by a disabled person.

Disabled people pay their TV license fee the same as everyone else and therefore should have regular and appropriate representation just like everyone else. Please let me know what you are doing to ensure that this happens.

Yours Sincerely___________________________________________

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