Being able to "see" yourself in pop culture

[rainbow_goddess]

We discussed this a little bit when we talked about TV characters who showed signs of having Asperger's Syndrome, and then sammmason mentioned Jack Osborne being diagnosed with MS, and this got me to wondering: how often, if ever, do you see someone with your disability/diagnosis in popular culture -- either as a fictional character on TV or in movies, or a

Comments

[kittenmommy]

I didn't know that about Darryl Hannah. And I didn't know Dan Ackroyd has autism, either. Wow.

I rarely see people with Cerebral Palsy on television or in the movies, and if I do, they're always much more severely affected than I am. Someone who walks around just like everyone else and whose only real visible symptoms are clumsiness and a tendency to lose her balance doesn't really cut it as an Inspirational Character for that Very Special Episode, you know?

There was Jerri Jewel on The Facts of Life (but I didn't know I had CP back then, and besides, yeah... more severely affected, and Inspirational Character - not really my experience in life!) and Deadwood (in which she was mostly treated like crap by everyone... and they never said what was "wrong" with her which makes sense, because CP probably wasn't really known back then).

So... yeah.

[theidolhands]

I didn't know that either -- fascinating!! And I always liked them both.

[kittenmommy]

Me too!

And because I can, here's Dan Ackroyd making Phil Collins a Blues Brother:

More:

[precious_muse]

Cerebral Palsy--Check ou "Rollin' with Zach Anner" on OWN.

[kittenmommy]

Scent of a Woman was one of the worst movies I've ever seen.

[yasonablack]

I think Paula Abdul has been said to have RSD/CRPS but apart from that I haven't heard anything.

[kittenmommy]

Oh, here's another one: Howard Stern (yes, I know) has spoken publicly about having OCD. He also wrote extensively about it in one of his books.