I say "cured" because that's how most writers write her invisible disability, by not acknowledging it at all, or giving her mobility aids that don't fit her disability (the chip itself doesn't exist in real life, no implant can give her the amount of mobility she has now with her type of injury and considering how old it is).
apart from how problematic it is to erase the representation of paraplegic people who are full time wheelchair users for no good reason (because dc certainly didn't have pure intentions of representing the disabled community, they're a multimillionaire company who wanted to nostalgia-bait with barbara back as batgirl considering how popular the redhead batgirl is), let's also consider how her disability is written – or not written – right now.
a fake spinal implant that gives her more mobility than able-bodied people have, a constant threat of "the chip malfunctioning with overuse" but she's been beaten multiple times pretty bad and nothing happens, the only time she was referenced to have chronic pain and muscle tension as well as used multiple mobility aids as during batgirls (2022).
combine this with the fact there was and there isn't any genuine sentiment from dc editorial, they didn't give her an implant for representation OR for good story progression. if you read oracle stories after the killing joke, you know a huge part of barbara's development is accepting her disability and learning to live a good, BETTER life as a paraplegic woman and wheelchair users. there's multiple instances where she talks about liking her life better, knowing she can do more as oracle, learning to let go of batgirl and pass it on. that was all erased for her to be infantilized and forced back into something she had outgrew.
her disability exists in a way that allows writers to pretend it don't, so they disrespect not only her being disabled, but decades of stories where the character became someone they actively erased by forcing her back to batgirl. a reminder babs is obsessed with her autonomy and indepence and she could have both while being a wheelchair user, but now her implant can be literally HACKED and WAS by THE JOKER. the man who originally took her agency, violated her body and will. and he does it AGAIN by controlling her body through the implant to the point she has to take it off herself!
barbara would never choose mobility she was more than capable of living and thriving without over her autonomy. she wouldn't accept the risk of losing control when she's a trained martial artist in combat specific for disabled wheelchair users.
nothing about the spinal implant represents disability in a genuine, sensible way. there's no effort or commitment. a mobility aid exists to assist, if the character isn't show still having consequences of their disability but with aid, what's the point? the chip doesn't give her anything the character needed, on the contrary, it takes away so much from her story and the resilience and stubbornness that makes oracle. she's not her disability, but disability is a part of her life that can't be erased without erasing part of who she is.
turnnoffyourmind
origamiaround
pixelskylines
stormborns
gummygunk
titsay
areudirty
