thinking about the "disability is not body horror" discussions, and how i feel that's another one of those talking points that came from a good place, but has been oversimplified into something kinda backwards.
cause like. becoming disabled is horrific. BEING disabled is not inherently horrific, but the sudden jarring change where you no longer even know your own limits, or the slow frustration as you gradually lose a skill you previously had; that can definitely be wildly upsetting and traumatizing to go through. not to mention the horror of navigating the world as a disabled person, being treated as lesser and like you can't/shouldn't even advocate for yourself. And don't get me wrong, a disabled life does not have to be constantly awful, but i think we all have awful moments where we hate it.
i understand the frustration with abled people ONLY ever creating art about disabled people to coo at how sad and horrible it is, in much the same way that it sucks when every gay character dies. but it's in tension with the very real horror and despair that disabled people often experience. in this way, playing with body horror as a discussion about disability can be very powerful (look at Metamorphosis).
i just worry sometimes when people play a hardline "disability is not horror!" we can sometimes start to believe that everyone who puts "disability" and "horror" in the same sentence are saying something they aren't (that disabled people are horrifying, from an outsider's perspective).
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