All Representation is Good Representation?

When it comes to representing Disabled characters in the Television or movies its very rare that they have their own story line, most times the story line is their disability and them over coming it. When you think about T.V. shows like the very popular Freeform show Switched at Birth. One of the sisters is the Deaf and even six seasons in her disability continues to be her storyline. This representation for the Deaf community seemed to be a good one until the community realized that her disability was the the only storyline she really had. Her relationship with her boyfriend wasn't really depicted well and her only family storyline was them getting used to her being deaf

when she was originally adopted.

A few deaf viewers posted their opinion on Deafeyeseeit.com of how they had high expectations for the show only for them to be met with disappointment. 

Then you have shows like glee where one of the main characters Artie is paralyzed from the waist down. There are a few episodes that highlight his disability but for the most part it focuses on his vocal abilities, his friendships and bullying for his vocal abilities and not because of his disability. That in my opinion is great representation, you have a character that other disabled people can relate to. Also in Glee there is a character named Becky who suffers from down syndrome and is a cheerleader and although she isn't a main character she is present through all the seasons. 

Overall I don't believe all representation for disabled characters is good representation especially on shows or in movies with the disabled character is the butt of a joke or they're only there to be pitied. Cuba Gooding Jr in Radio is a great exampled of disabled characters being used as the butt of the joke even with him as the main character, it didn't bring awareness to his disability instead it made fun of it. I think Hollywood is missing a big opportunity by not casting actual disabled actors for roles, I think that by not casting them for roles about them is ultimately isolating them further, but that's just my personal opinion. 

Get Familiar: Integrating the LGBT community

 In society it is becoming more and more common to see same sex couples in the media as well as in real life, same goes for the trans community. The question is: When is it appropriate to introduce this lifestyle to children?  Our kids see this everyday in the media from the news being about Caityln Jenner to shows with cross dressing or gender neutral characters or even the same sex relationships. The fact of the matter is our kids can't get away from it. I think it's important in the day and age to get children familiar with the Different types of people their are out there so they understand and don't offend anyone and most importantly so they understand that these people are normal.

Cartoons like the powerpuff girls featured one of the main villains HIM as what most of the world perceived as a male who was extremely feminine and dressed like a woman. This show is rated y7 meaning 7 year olds and up was the intended audience.   There's a clip below of HIM's moments on the show and you can see he is a very feminine character. But is 7 too young to introduce this type of lifestyle to children?

Then you have shows for a slightly older audience The legend of Korra on Nickelodeon features the heroine Korra who  is believed to be bisexual. The show is rated TVG, so typically for children ages 10 and up.  Korra was a strong female character and up until the series finale there was hardly any sexuality confliction but of course parents argued that there was a problem with her being bisexual even though the series never confirmed it. 

Then you have your TV14 shows reality and sitcoms that features gay characters, trans characters and everything in between. It's 2017 and more and more shows featuring members of the LGBT community are going to be around. The best advice the writers at the huffington post can give is to be prepared when your child starts asking questions, because there is no telling where your child will get its first glimpse into the community. In my personal opinion I believe its very necessary to be prepared to have these conversations with your kids, it's not as simple as the birds and the bees anymore.