#can a bunch of visually impaired ppl get around just fine without aids - sure! But to expect ALL of them to without aids isn't a great look

[highfantasy-soul]

So as we're thinking about the casting of Toph in the Netflix adaptation, please please please remember that Toph isn't REALLY blind representation. Like so many other 'blind' characters, the narrative gives them superpowers that let them operate in the world in ways an irl blind person can't (Daredevil is a good example of this too). So let's not put those expectations on irl blind (or visually impaired) actresses and say "well, they're blind, so they'll actually move like Toph does!!" No. They won't. And to expect them to interact with the world like a fictional, superpowered blind person does is, in my opinion, pretty abelist.

It's a disability - shying away from the fact that blind people don't have perfect echolocation isn't putting them down. Refusing to acknowledge that they need aids to help them get around the world isn't helping anyone, it's dismissing what they deserve to have provided for them.

I'm not saying no visually impaired person could possibly play Toph well, what I'm saying is that I've been seeing a lot of posts claiming that a blind actress would be the only one able to accurately (and safely) portray the way Toph interacts with the world completely forgetting that Toph uses vibrations in the earth to see....pretty much everything - something irl blind people CANNOT DO.

We of course need to see more visually impaired representation on screen, but I think the best way to do that is to write characters that don't have superpowers that negate their disability. Have characters be strong and badass without declaring that 'well it they were REALLY blind, then they would be weak - they're strong because their superpower NEGATES their blindness to a large extent' or god forbid 'irl blind people develop superpowers, so if they need aids of any sort, they're just lazy and not working hard enough to compensate for their lack of sight'.

Just something to keep in mind when thinking about casting - if they don't cast a blind actress for Toph, unless I see otherwise, I'm not going to assume it's because they just don't like blind people. I'm going to assume they took into account the entirety of making the show and what was a realistic way to portray Toph and what was reasonable to expect the actress to do.

#natla #avatar the last airbender #netflix avatar #atla #just be careful your desire for representation doesn't inadvertently harm the irl ppl with that disability #assuming ppl with disabilities have their other senses develop to a superpower level that negates their disability is shitty #can a bunch of visually impaired ppl get around just fine without aids - sure! But to expect ALL of them to without aids isn't a great look #i mean at the end of the day we just need better REAL representation for ppl with disabilities #Echo was a great one b/c her abilities did nothing to negate her deafness or her prosthetic #Nor can she read lips perfectly - she needs interpreters - and Fisk's tech way around the disability was shown to be a super shitty way to #handle it - she rejected that aid because it showed how little he cared about changing himself to learn ASL so he could communicate with he #Oracle's computer genius doesn't negate her need for a wheelchair (that I've seen) - she doesn't make a suit so she can walk again #so everyone take a breath before you jump to conclusions or fucking start harassing the child they cast for Toph