dreams_library | Avoiding ableism in postapocalyptic fiction

Avoiding ableism in postapocalyptic fiction

I was having a conversation in

cleolinda's journal on LJ about how frustrating the Dies the Fire and other books in that universe by SM Stirling are because of the ableism. This is a pretty big stumbling block for me in postapocalyptic fiction, because I have insulin-dependent diabetes, and I basically see myself written out of the story whenever I pick up one of these books. And not just "you don't exist" but "you existed, but you died a horrible death which the author just couldn't be bothered to write about".

So! With that in mind, can anyone recommend any postapocalyptic fiction which addresses people with disabilities and/or chronic medical conditions? It could even be as simple as the character needing glasses to see and not being able to get them because of the postapocalyptic setting. I think I'd prefer it if the character was a major character in the novel who was fully fleshed out, rather than an emotional accessory for or someone to be "rescued" by the protagonist. Happy ending, if possible.

I feel like this is a pretty tall order, but there must be something out there somewhere. I'd even be open to just plain fantasy recommendations which deal with disability in a realistic way. That aren't, um, the Vorkosigan Saga, that is.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

This probably isn't helpful AT ALL but in "The Postman," the narrator (I forget his name, you know, the guy played by Kevin Costner in the movie) is kind of obsessed with his toothbrush because he's seen people get tooth abscesses from lack of dental care. It was a really nice, realistic touch but not on the same level of needing medication or assistive devices to function.

If my glasses got broken in a post-apoc world without eye doctors, I'd be in so much trouble.

Oh, that is a nice touch! And I actually enjoy the movie, but haven't read the book.

If my glasses got broken in a post-apoc world without eye doctors, I'd be in so much trouble.

I know, right? Other people have plans in case zombies attack. I have an insulin rationing plan half figured out in case the nation's infrastructure collapses.

I'm wracking my brains because I've read a fair amount of post-apoc fiction and I really can't think of anything like you're searching for. Mentions-in-passing of picking up antibiotics from a pharmacy/drug store/whatever happen but other than that?

Hm. In "30 days of night" (the movie; possibly the comic) one of the main characters has asthma. They break into a store for supplies and also grab an inhaler while they're there, which he uses gratefully because he's had problems breathing for quite a while. Ironically, I think it would be easier for me to get the medications I need (albuterol inhaler, metformin) if I had license to break into a pharmacy and loot than it is now.

I've read quite a bit of postapocalyptic fiction, too, and I was hoping that someone would have read something that I hadn't which actually addressed what I think is a huge and compelling issue, and not just because I have diabetes. I'm really hoping that this isn't one of those situations where "if you want it, create it!" because I don't want to write a postapocalyptic novel. I only want to read them.

Thank you! I'll see if I can't track down the movie or the comic.

Ironically, I think it would be easier for me to get the medications I need (albuterol inhaler, metformin) if I had license to break into a pharmacy and loot than it is now.

:( Oh, the sad truth of the American health care system.

I haven't read the comic but the movie was... interesting in parts and awful in other parts. I like the way the vampires were treated, actually.

O noes! Do you want to go into more detail? I don't care if you spoil it.

I don't remember a lot of what I didn't like about it, just that I considered reccing it for a bad film festival some friends of mine run. There's some really cliched stuff going on, though.

If you're really into vampires, check it out. I don't regret watching it, but I wish it had been better.

I just looked it up on Wikipedia, and I saw that it starred Josh Hartnett, so I'm kind of forming a mental picture of the acting and such. And some vampires are killed with a snowplow? Maybe I'll give the movie a miss . . .

Oh yeah, there is some serious over-the-top-ness.

I'm a huge ~~sucker for~~ fan of vampires, in general, so will usually watch crappy movies/read bad books about them just to get my vampire fix. And really, the way the actual vampires are handled was nicely done.

I like vampires, but I don't really like really bloody movies, so what with the head crushing and vampire plowing, it probably won't be for me. Sadly, I'm a fan of angsty vampires, while simultaneously being aware that it's all a little silly, really, all these men in frilly shirts yearning for humanity and marinating in self-loathing. So I'd probably like most vampire horror movies more if there was less blood and more . . . La Bohème with vampires.

See, I'm fine with a bit of the old ultra-violence unless it is specifically racist or misogynist.

I'm not too fond of ultra-violence. I feel bad when, like, nameless cowboys die in Westerns. I think I'm more OK with meaningful deaths that make sense, though I'm not always fond of them, either.

On the plus side, this post has made me think about the postapocalyptic serial I'm working on and consider adding disabled characters--something that has, I'm sorry to say, never occurred to me. It isn't a sudden apocalypse, more of a combination of economic troubles and physical and chemical warfare that contributed to a relatively slow decline, but surely people with glasses, diabetics, and asthmatics would still be around!

The main character does have PTSD, which is a different sort of disability. When I get it up and running (I plan to write it as an online serial), I'll be sure to let you know. Also hi, I know you from Ravelry! :D

Yay! I'm glad something good has come out of it! :D

Hello! Are you also clare_dragonfly there?

Yes I am! Well, actually claredragonfly with no underscore, because Ravelry doesn't let you have underscores (and hardly anybody lets you have hyphens, which is what I prefer). I'm in the Steamy Stitches group and I think we might have a couple of other groups in common too.

There's a very myopic character in Edgar Pangborn's The Judgment of Eve (from decades ago), who has grown up not long after an apocalypse, unable to see properly, and thinking of himself as clumsy and incompetent. Then someone meets him and takes him to a long-abandoned optician's shop. His reaction to the first pair of glasses he's handed is to fling them across the room, because they make things even worse; the second is good enough to change his life.

This is an able-ist narrative, in the sense that the disability is cured, but the character guards those eyeglasses very closely, and he continues to be affected by having grown up treated as incompetent.

And it does make some of the point that in that sort of society, a lot of us wouldn't exist because we wouldn't be helped/allowed to live. (The culture described also routinely kills visibly disabled newborns.)

Even if it's not quite what I'm looking for, it's better than nothing! I was actually trying to make a list of characters who just have vision problems which are a significant part of the conflict, and I could only think of Piggy from Lord of the Flies.

I don't know that I would consider adaptive devices as having cured a disability, though, but I suppose that depends on how it's presented in the book.

a year late to the party, but...

The Face of Apollo by Fred Saberhagen has a protagonist who is very near-sighted. The plot of the book is spurred by his finding the eponymous "face," a sort of mask thing that, aside from giving him magical powers, also gives him perfect vision!
(I'm telling you this for the sake of a comprehensive list, not because the book itself is particularly good. The plot is kind of meh. Also, the mask covers only half his face, so he only gets perfect vision in one eye. I tried this with only one contact lens, and wow is it ever disorienting. Though I suppose your brain would adapt after a while.)

Also, 1632 by Eric Flint has a major character who's near-sighted. He's a soldier king (can't wear scholar's spectacles, they would just fall off in battle, plus it would look undignified) so he makes do with having his right-hand man describe the positions and movements of armies to him when he needs to direct his troops.
(He is THRILLED when time-travelers introduce him to prescription sports goggles.)

I one of the main character in Winter of Magic's Return by Pamela F. Service wears glasses -- though I don't recall how he got them. It a bit of an odd bit being a fantasy set 500 years after the nuclear apocalypse. I'm not sure it's still in print.

Thank you! I'll see if my library can't track it down. They're fairly good at things like that, and sometimes have surprisingly obscure books on the shelves.

Have you heard of Winterlong by Elizabeth Hand?

It might not be what you're looking for because it can be very dark, even though it's beautiful. The reactions I've heard about it go from wonderful to couldn't handle it.

The main character is a "cured" autistic person (which usually I might hate), meaning when she was young (back in the high tech days) they totally scrambled and rewired her brain. This means she's non-typically wired in a new, third way. It's shown as a very normal mixture of everyday highs or lows. And she slowly realizes what she can do that she was supposed to not be able to do. There are other characters with disabilities, too. She has a love affair with a woman who is just sort of chronically a little sick.

OK enough, I'm sorry for giving anything away. I'll edit if called upon or re-write with no spoilers.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Avoiding ableism in postapocalyptic fiction

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

not sure this is what you're looking for

Re: not sure this is what you're looking for

Re: not sure this is what you're looking for

no subject

no subject

no subject