Conversations about disability in the media can be exhausting, frustrating, and deeply personal — especially when the stories being told don’t reflect real lives.
In this community questions episode of 3Spoonies, we sat down with Maddy Alexander-Grout and Victoria-Jayne Scholes to respond to listener questions about disabled representation in print media: who gets to tell these stories, why harmful narratives keep repeating, and what it feels like to constantly see disability discussed about us rather than with us.
You can find out more about our guests here.
Why representation still feels so wrong
A recurring theme throughout the questions was how often print media falls back on stereotypes. Disabled people are frequently portrayed as:
- burdens on the system
- inspirational “exceptions”
- passive subjects rather than active voices
These narratives don’t just misinform — they shape public attitudes, policy conversations, and how safe disabled people feel showing up as themselves.
We talked about how damaging it can be to open a newspaper or article and realise your life is being simplified, sensationalised, or used to provoke outrage rather than understanding.
Who should be writing about disability?
One of the strongest points raised was this: lived experience matters.
Writing about disability without lived experience often leads to missed nuance, inaccurate framing, and harmful assumptions. That doesn’t mean non-disabled journalists can never write about disability — but it does mean disabled voices should be centred, consulted, and paid for their expertise.
Representation isn’t just about visibility. It’s about power, authorship, and credibility.
The pressure to represent everyone
Another issue raised by the community was the pressure placed on individual disabled people in the media to somehow represent all disabled experiences.
No one person can do that.
Disability is not a monolith. Conditions, access needs, energy levels, identities, and experiences vary hugely — and expecting one voice to “speak for everyone” is unrealistic and unfair. That pressure often leads to silence, burnout, or being misunderstood no matter what you say.
Protecting your energy
Many listeners asked how to cope emotionally when confronted with biased headlines, misleading articles, or hostile comment sections.
We talked about:
- choosing when (and if) to engage
- stepping back from comment sections
- using misinformation as fuel for your own content instead of direct confrontation
- remembering that protecting your energy is not the same as giving up
You don’t owe the media your trauma, your time, or your emotional labour.
Why these conversations matter
Representation in print media still shapes public opinion in powerful ways. It influences how disabled people are treated in workplaces, healthcare, education, and everyday life.
Changing that narrative starts with disabled people being heard — not spoken over.
This episode reminded us that while the system is slow to change, community conversations like these matter. They validate lived experience, build confidence, and help people feel less alone when navigating a media landscape that often gets it wrong.
🎧 This topic — and all the questions above — were discussed in full on the 3Spoonies podcast.
If this resonated with you, we’d love you to listen to the episode and join the ongoing conversation about disability, representation, and lived experience.
Don’t forget to check out our guests Maddy Alexander-Grout and Victoria-Jayne Scholes here.
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