 'I'm reading this book that says art can help process trauma and I'm on a healing journey,' said Sex Education's Aimee Gibbs (played by Aimee Lou Wood) to wheelchair user Isaac Goodwin (George Robinson) in the first episode of season four. She added: 'Is that why you do art? To process trauma? 'Cause you're disabled?' Isaac shot back a look of disbelief, then retorted sarcastically: 'Yes, I'm looking to find catharsis from the daily emotional torture of being in a wheelchair through the magical outlet of painting.' Before later adding: 'I don't need anything to help because I'm actually very happy with my life. I do art because I like painting. 'But thank you very much for your ableist projection.' As a disabled wheelchair user myself, I loved this scene. A stranger once said to my face: 'I'd rather be dead than be in a wheelchair' It was short and to the point, but showed how a simple exchange – even with good intentions – can be an ableist microaggression towards a disabled person. Unfortunately, it happens all the time. For almost 10 years, I've been an ambulatory wheelchair user, but I've been disabled since I was a teenager. I have hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (hEDS) which is a genetic connective tissue disorder that means I dislocate joints, tear ligaments, pull muscles and tendons easily – my skin is hyper-elastic, and my organs are affected. I experience ableist micoragressions all the time (Picture: Sarah Alexander) Despite also having many other conditions, hEDS is my primary one – I suffer from chronic pain due to this. My first experiences of ableism were at school, when I was bullied for using crutches. I had them kicked from underneath me and was called 'peg leg'. Often, I was deliberately left out of social events, but I didn't realise it was ableism at the time as I didn't know there was a name for it. I always felt like an outsider and i){kind=link}
NEWS… BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT
‘I’m reading this book that says art can help process trauma and I’m on a healing journey,’ said Sex Education’s Aimee Gibbs (played by Aimee Lou Wood) to wheelchair user Isaac Goodwin (George Robinson) in the first episode of season four.
She added: ‘Is that why you do art? To process trauma? ‘Cause you’re disabled?’
Isaac shot back a look of disbelief, then retorted sarcastically: ‘Yes, I’m looking to find catharsis from the daily emotional torture of being in a wheelchair through the magical outlet of painting.’
Before later adding: ‘I don’t need anything to help because I’m actually very happy with my life. I do art because I like painting.