#bellthekat

Oh, that’s a classic.

They are indeed good frogs!!

I have now

what even the fuck

Ooh, no!  I’ll have to look that up sometime.

one of the many upsides of my spoiler policy insulating me from the fandom at large

Ooooh, thank you!

:<

I’ll fite u

I MEAN I GUESSED FIVE FIGURES COME ON

I’m apparently vastly more creative than I ever gave myself credit for. This isn’t an attempt to brag, either; I’m still taken aback by what I’ve been able to do over these last nine months and I’m concerned it’ll all come to a screeching halt at any moment. 

This is the second time someone has sent this headcanon so you’re not alone in thinking it!!!

Avoiding Stereotypical Portrayals of Black Characters: When Disability and Race Intersect

I think you’ve made a nice start with having more black characters, although they don’t have to all be neurotypical, as neurodivergent people are a large and greatly varying group of people. It’s important to let these characters be different, in their personality as well as their looks, etc. Stay away from stereotypes.

Make sure you know what you’re writing about. Research Cri du Chat syndrome, read about people’s experiences (the people themselves more so than their families, etc.), and read about the ableism they might face. Do your research for writing a Black woman, about the racism and misogynoir Black women face and how life as a Black disabled woman.

There’s a lot of ableism to unpack here on top of misogynoir, because it could slip into the way you describe your character. 

To be honest, you’ll have to think about intelligence and what it really means, especially when disability comes into play. What is “intelligence” and how is it defined? Why? Think about how the idea of intelligence is praised, while the lack of it is seen as a reason for ridicule, hate and genocide (think of forced sterilization, accepted torture and murder, etc). Think how all of this affects someone’s life when they have an intellectual disability/learning disability. And think how this goes hand in hand with Black people being seen as less intelligent to begin with. Plus: intellectual disability =/= lacking intelligence.

Suggestions of what might help to avoid stereotypical portrayals here:

You don’t have to shy away from their disability, from any learning difficulties they might have, etc. They can still have things they know a lot about or skills they are really good in. This is NOT to compensate for any supposed lack of intelligence, but to show them as a well-rounded developed person. I’m not saying that they need to be an expert or even good at anything, nor do I mean for them to have some kind of skill or attribute to compensate for their disability. Let your disabled character be disabled! 

Your character has distinctive facial features because of their syndrome. It’s okay to let your readers know that. While you describe them though, be neutral in your word choice. They look different, meaning there will be people who think they are ugly, but there will also be people who don’t see her like that. HOWEVER, since society and beauty standards are biased as hell, there will be lots of people who will be negative about her appearance. This could be shown through microaggressions, her reaction to them. You could give her space in your writing to share her thoughts and feelings concerning her looks and beauty in general. 

Black women are often written off as undesirable. You could combat this by allowing people in her life who care about her, who love her. It doesn’t have to be a big part of the plot to show a window into her love life. Then, disabled people are seen as undesirable too. As not interested in sex. Don’t infantilize your character, for her disability either. 

Have black women in your story who are smart, who are beautiful, have some be educated, etc. (I mean aside from other traits. Don’t make them ~*perfect*~) Have your black women be diverse. Same goes for disabled and neurodivergent (black) people in your novel.

Something different, but still important:

Don’t use words such as st*pid, d*mb or r***** in your novel. I know there’s a lot of talk about stripping your vocabulary of ableist language and not everyone supports it, but since you’re writing a neurodivergent MC, possibly with a learning disability it would be wise to leave such language out so you won’t alienate a big part of your audience. 

Don’t use a lack of “intelligence” as a negative trait. 

Have appropriate beta-readers.

Be clear on your representation: don’t make people guess about her syndrome.

Once again, because this is important: Allow your disabled character be disabled! Their disability will influence a big part, if not all of her life. We have a lot of issues with representation for disabled people, where writers make their characters be disabled only in name.

And just a cautionary note: don’t make inspiration porn out of your character.

OMG! Thank you for this recommendation! It’s perfect :)