If you follow me on Twitter, you might have noticed that I’m slightly obsessed with the show Sex Education.
Not only does Sex Education discuss sex, but it also depicts female empowerment, diversity in ALL areas (race/religion/gender/sexuality/disability) and answers questions we’ve probably all had at some time.
However, this season, we were introduced to a new character, Issac who is the shows first disabled character.
Why we need to see more disabled actors and characters in mainstream media
It is rare to see characters with disabilities which are fully formed characters. Often, they’re whole storyline is their disability and portrayed in quite a negative light.
And then there are films which are all about disabilities/chronic illnesses/diseases such as Me Before You, The Fault in Our Stars and Five Feet Apart. They’re always some kind of ‘tragic’ love story and, if you haven’t seen these, spoiler alert, someone always dies. And it’s usually the ‘sick’ one. Also, these are often portrayed by people who aren’t disabled or chronically ill.
“Everyone pretty much knows someone who has a disability and yet the representation in media doesn’t seem to be there in the same way, even though it’s certainly changing,” he (George Robinson) says. “There’s been the precedent in the past of having wheelchair characters not being played by people in wheelchairs. I just thought that was such a refreshing thing when I got the call.”
George Robinson (who plays Issac in Sex Education)
I recently started rewatching Waterloo Road on BBC iPlayer (which I love btw). However, one of the first storylines involves a teacher being diagnosed with MS and then committing suicide almost straight away. What could’ve shown a realistic portrayal of living with a chronic illness was instead depicted in a really negative light.
By seeing characters and people who live life with disabilities and chronic illness, it becomes more of the norm. People start to understand that there is a person behind the wheelchair or illness. We’re no longer something people don’t understand – disabilities become seen.
A lot of the time, when I see stoma bags on shows like Holby City they’re shown as the worst thing possible to happen to you. And it’s the same with a lot of disabilities – that it’s a negative and poor you. What they don’t discuss is the fact that someone’s life might actually be improved massively by it.
And in some cases, no it isn’t ideal. But just because something isn’t the ideal scenario, it doesn’t mean that it automatically becomes a bad thing.
Living with a disability and/or chronic illness takes adjustments. It takes time. But it doesn’t mean your life is over. And that is what Sex Education has done so brilliantly – a character who lives with a disability but has an actual person behind it.
Have you watched a show or film which you feel represents disabilities and chronic illnesses well? And have you watched Sex Education?
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