Mod Post: So let's talk about this ableism thing.

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Disclaimer: After writing this, I sent it to the other mods and some friends of mine to check to make sure it didn't say anything problematic, but if they or I missed something important or said something wrong, please don't hesitate to let me know. I'm still learning.

Something's been brought to our attention in regards to language people have been using re: disability, and problematic depictions thereof. It's great that we have a character in this fandom who is disabled, and it's great that there is a lot of interest in writing about him! But there are people on this meme who are also disabled, and insensitive or simply ignorant words can really hurt them. As our goal with this meme is to maintain a space where everyone present can feel comfortable participating, we'd like to keep this from happening, and we hope you feel the same way.

You may have noticed that "ableism" has been added to the list of triggers to warn for. If you're not familiar with the word, it refers to any speech, action, or treatment that hurts, oppresses, or discriminates against disabled people. Words like "cripple" and "gimp" fall into this category. Prompts using these words (with a few exceptions, noted below) will be deleted. So do stories that depict Charles' disability as disgusting or unacceptable, or erase it completely. Language like “the crippled man”, “the disabled man”, and “the handicapped man” focuses on his disability, perpetuating the common mindset that disabled people are only disabled, and never have any other defining traits.

Now, we're not going to ask you to stop writing these stories, because this is a kink meme and it is not our business what you choose to ask for or write about. But we do ask that you warn for it, if you think your prompt or fill contains it. Wanting stories about Charles and Erik having acrobatic post-movie sex does not make you a bad person, but that doesn't really matter to someone with a disability who reads it and is hurt by that erasure. Taking the time to consider if your content could hurt someone is just the considerate thing to do.

Likewise, it’s entirely possible to write about ableism without taking part in it yourself -- for instance, depicting Charles dealing with being visibly different for the first time and showing the ways people treat him. Unless they are part of the prompt (“someone calls Charles a “cripple”, cue him defending himself/the team defending him”), ableist slurs are unnecessary; comments in which the prompter casually uses them to refer to a character are unacceptable. But no matter how you write about it, any ableist content needs a warning.

The mods will treat this as any other warning issue: if we see ableist language or actions in your fill or prompt (or it's called to our attention by someone else) and there is no warning, we will ask you to post it again with that warning and delete the offending prompt or fill. We'd rather not do this, so please just be aware of what you're writing so that we can all enjoy this meme.

Please also be aware that we are not perfect; if you find unwarned-for ableist content that we haven’t caught, please feel free to contact the poster or us about it.

So to clarify: I am asking you to either change your wordings or warn for your content. Not because of politics or what bothers you, but because this is a space for everyone to enjoy their kinks and it's courteous to let people know that you've written content that might upset them.

And appended: took "crazy" out of the post because it's not that relevant to the discussion and I was informed that lumping mental and physical disabilities together was a bit insensitive, which, yes, I see now. I am leaving the computer for a while; if I don't get to replying to you in a timely fashion, that's why.

One more edit. Someone suggested having a "choose not to warn" option. Is this something people can agree on/ are interested in? It's not ideal but it seems like a good compromise so that we can all get back to the meme. 

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

I understand the thing about not wanting to use language like "cripple" etc to define the character, and why that may be seen as offensive to some people who are paralyzed.

However.

You're talking about how some people are taking offense to seeing Charles out of the wheelchair, which is blowing my mind. First off, it's a contradiction -- if he's not defined by his paralysis (which appears to be a point you're trying to make, that the language of "cripple" and other words shouldn't define the person), then it shouldn't be a huge deal to have an AU where he can walk.

Second -- you do realize that in the comics right now, Charles is out of the wheelchair and can walk? So telling people to -warn- for that sort of thing is pretty ridiculous when it occurs in the actual Marvel story lines.

[(Anonymous)]

It's Marvel. Give it some time and he'll be back in the wheelchair again.

Okay, but talking about this seriously, you should consider that this is a kinkmeme surrounding the movie and a number of people are going to come in expecting stories about the movie or post-movie or pre-movie. The comics aren't the canon here.

As to your first point, I believe the problem is erasure of a disability. He's not defined by his paralysis, but it's still part of who he is. It's not a big deal if someone wants an AU, but just label it as such; that it's an AU where he can walk. Tbh, this subject isn't a touchy one to me, but I do find it irritating because I go into a fic expecting something and I get something else altogether. I've been thrown a few times by fics written for post-movie prompts or with a post-movie setting, that don't mention anything about it being an AU, but suddenly he was never paralyzed.

[(Anonymous)]

^ I've been annoyed by the same thing. Likewise, this isn't a touchy subject for me. It just irritates me that I'm at this point where I start reading a post-movie fic and I have no idea if Charles is supposed to be in a wheelchair or not until the author offhandedly writes a moment where Charles is walking about.

I don't mind if people write stories about Charles out of the wheelchair post-movie. I do mind when people forget to label those stories as AUs because they are and I'd like to know what I'm reading.

[(Anonymous)]

ayrt. Urgh. I know how that feels. I've been taken aback when I'm imagining Charles in a wheelchair talking, doing stuff, and then he suddenly goes up the stairs and I'm like WHAT OH WAIT I SEE.

I don't know if it's expectations from different fandoms, but this is the first time I've had this AU label problem. Not that I'm saying all writers here do it, but it's just surprising that it happens.

[(Anonymous)]

It just irritates me that I'm at this point where I start reading a post-movie fic and I have no idea if Charles is supposed to be in a wheelchair or not until the author offhandedly writes a moment where Charles is walking about.

That's actually a really good point -- it's not just about ablism, it's about wanting to know wtf you're reading.