Reconsidering "Inspiration Porn"

When I like it, it's a cool photo. When I don't like it, it's inspiration porn.

I've been reconsidering the concept of "inspiration porn" lately, since I started reblogging disability-themed photos I find on other blogs and websites. What is the difference between fun, or empowering images of people with disabilities and annoying, damaging "inspiration porn"?

I don't have it all figured out, but here are some factors to think about:

- It almost never helps to include a caption, especially if the caption is in the form of a simplistic slogan or bland platitude. A photo of a woman in a wheelchair doing a beautiful interpretive dance speaks volumes. Adding a caption like, "Let your inner beauty shine!" or somesuch ruins it.

- Variety helps. When the same photographer or website shows nothing but disabled people being athletic, I get the idea that I'm supposed to think that sports are the ultimate demonstration of personal achievement. The same goes for repeated images of disabled people in sharp business suits and dress. These images can serve a purpose when combined with other kind of images, but by themselves they suggest that disabled peoples' proper goal is to always appear and act as "normal" as possible.

- I can't stand sentimentality, especially when it feels cheap and unearned. There are a few instances of pop culture that will make me cry and not feel manipulated into crying … but very few. Obviously, sentimentality is a very widely employed aspect of disability images. I think this is the single biggest factor for me in judging images I am drawn to and those that offend me.

Maybe there's a project here in this topic … collect disability-themed photos found on blogs and social media, post them in groups, and "deconstruct" them to figure out what makes some genuinely positive and others "inspiration porn".