Beauty and Disability in Relation to Disfigured by Amanda Leduc

Student’s Name Professor’s Name Course Title Date Beauty and Disability in Relation to Disfigured by Amanda Leduc After reading the blog, Something Below Humanity’; The Beautiful and th e Beastly, I gained a new insight into fairy tales and how they can affect people who do not fit the specific archetypes in the books. Fairy tales have a specific norm where beautiful characters get the happily after, and if not so, the antagonists are made beautiful to create a happy ending for them. There are many connections from characters in famous fairy tales that help the author make arguments on disability. Therefore, in this blog post, through Amanda Leduc’s book disfigured, the issue of ableism has been explored to create ways to celebrate different bodies. As a young girl, Leduc imagined a fairy world where the good and beautiful received their happy ending, and this created a perspective for her about life. However, she was diagnosed with a cyst, and after it was removed, she got a hip dislocation making her limp. To her, the dream of a happy ending had been shattered forever because she had never seen any disabled fairy. Because of this unfortunate event, she realized fairy tales encourage people to despise the way certain people look. Like the Beauty in the fairy tale Beauty and the Beast, Leduc experienced loneliness as no one wanted to associate because they thought she was a unique child. However, Leduc explores the issue giving insights into how the problem has been created unconsciously and why solutions should be created to deal with the situation. Stories are compelling, and exploring the issue of beauty standards, the text uses some of the most significant fairy tales by the Grimm brothers and Hans Christian Andersen, like the Beauty and the beast and the ugly duckling, to show how the characters receive Beauty and aesthetics as rewards for their quests. Through such characteristics, it is evident that looking at a certain guarantee being overlooked. When children that not fit the aesthetics and fantasies created by the stories, they might feel like they do not deserve a happy ending. Leduc also explores the problem through contemporary film work like the lion king, bond series, Captain America, Shrek, and Star Wars, to show lack of a beautiful face and a form of disability are often represented as a form of punishment. Leduc argues that even though disability can be changed, disabled people should not be made to feel as though their ultimate happiness will come when they look different. Rather, the collectiveness of the society should be to create an environment everyone feels appreciated and happy. Conclusively, the concept in stories should be changed to make all bodies fit into the happy ending norm. Disability should not be used as a form of punishment; rather, people with disabilities should be given roles that help them triumph to bring inclusiveness in society. Through her own personal story, Leduc has successfully shown why the way stories are written should be changed to create a new inclusive narrative for everyone. Therefore, the blog has created an insight that many people may not even be aware of. Show Less