I hear it all the time. Someone with a disability (usually physical/visible) "defies the odds" by achieving a difficult (usually athletic) feat. While I admire these people as I would anyone who scaled a mountain, wrote a novel, or ran a marathon, I feel that this rubs my own limitations in my face. Since I have no outward indications of a disability, I wonder if people stare at me wondering why I can't run a mile in ten minutes after having ran timed miles before. Aside from my general lack of athleticism and aversion to sports of any kind, I feel like this trope is demeaning to anyone who can't "overcome their limitations" in this way.
This imposes undue pressure to achieve on a person with a disability. Not all wheelchair users are training for the Paralympics, not every autistic person has savant skills (People, that's a small and misrepresented minority!), and not all deaf people are musicians. (This is possible. Just search "Evelyn Glennie".) I am not world-renowned, nor do I ever plan on reaching such a level. I just enjoy playing the flute and want to do so without any pressure to defy the odds.
I despise the overcomer trope because of the undue pressure it places on people with disabilities and the guilt it induces in those who do not. I am not saying that people should not try to excel at their passions; it would be hypocritical of me as I believe that passions make life worthwhile. What I am saying is that the trope does more harm than good. It denies any hardship that the achiever went through and tells "typical" people that they are lazy for not achieving as much. The achievement is reduced to an image of crossing the finish line, reaching the peak, or performing a musical piece. It leaves the grueling hours of training, altitude headaches, and long rehearsals out of context.
Perhaps I fall into the overcomer trope. As the first student in my resource program to join my school's honors institute, I can easily see all my effort reduced to a distinction on my diploma. All the late nights, headaches, frustration, and math tests will be left out of context. I want these achievements to be recognized as just that: achievements. My achievements do not define who I am. They are a defining factor of who I am and I like to brag about them (jk, not a trumpet player), but they are not who I am. Rather, it is the sum of my experiences and the fact that I am a living soul that defines who I am.
Exactly. We have pressure to do well to beat the stereotype of people with disabilities not doing well and we have pressure to do well to live up to the expectation of people with disabilities being "overcomers". I have also been the first person in my school with a disability to do things- to be on Student Council Executive Board and to be in the National Honor Society and to be a National Honor Society Officer.
ReplyDeleteYou hit the nail on the head. I applied to be section leader not to fit the overcomes trope, but because I know that I am an adept flutist with a desire to teach and serve.
ReplyDeleteExactly. I didn't do those things to "overcome" my disability-I actually take pride in it- but because I wanted to and I could. I dislike when everything about us gets boiled down to our disability When do you find out if you are section leader?
DeleteI will know at the beginning of the school year. I may be assistant leader or co-leader.
Delete