some people in the tags seem confused so i want to be clear: body horror does not refer to a subjective experience of a person with disabilities and their disabled body. body horror refers to a subgenre of horror that purposefully portrays "grotesque or psychologically disturbing violations of the human body."
it is not really about a true lived experience. if it is, it's either ableist, or a disabled person's content about their own personal experience. obviously not every person with disabilities has the same needs or level of comfort, so some might find it cathartic to explore body horror as a means of exploring their own disability. for many people with disabilities though, seeing themselves being represented or tagged in relation to body horror is dehumanizing.
body horror as a subgenre, and as a motif in media and content can often be ableist when it showcases disabilities, particularly visible ones, and portrays them as "inhuman," "deformed," or even "repulsive." examples of common ableist attempts at body horror are content that focuses on scarring, amputees, malformations, and so on. inaccurate body horror can also feature other stigmatizing portrayals of conditions like having excessive teeth, hyper-visible veins/blood vessels, longer than average limbs, albinism with red eyes, etc..
these disabilities or conditions featured as ""body horror"" are actively presented as "grotesque" and "monstrous," which is obviously untrue, ableist, and incredibly alienating and dehumanizing. body horror of this nature is mainly portrayed by able-bodied people.
examples of real body horror would be a mix of surrealism & unreality, and often times gore in relation to whatever is happening to the body. it is meant to be something that is not naturally occurring. someone's body being covered in eyes, a hand with a sentient being in it with teeth that speaks, tentacles in place of eyes, a shapeshifter becoming a writhing mass of barely recognizable organs and limbs, monstrous transformations from parasites or contamination, etc. but keep in mind that body horror in media is often ableist as well; relying on narrow ideas of able-bodied people for what a "normal" body should look and feel like, and is not always a good reference for non-ableist body horror.
disabilities are not body horror, and it is both ableist & incorrect to portray them as such. many ideas of body horror are based on ableist ideologies and narratives, and should be analyzed mindfully & respectfully.
please be compassionate and mindful about this issue where they are conflated, and the effect that has on people with disabilities. please especially be cognizant of the ideological aspect of how dehumanizing that is, and how that affects how able-bodied people may view those with disabilities.
vaporwave
ellievsbear
jbbartram-illu
