Many people like to call a person a bipolar motivator, especially if the person is publicly successful or famous. They say this when we keep moving forward, when we tell the truth about our illness, and sometimes when we exist without breaking down in public where others can see it. But a lot of times, what they’re really doing is turning our pain into something that hurts us. Them Feel good. They are not seeing us as whole human beings with serious mental illness. They’re looking to us as a lesson, a symbol, an inspiring story that they can consume from a safe distance.
That’s the problem with inspiration porn. The lives of people with bipolar disorder are not meant to inspire other people, warm their hearts, or remind them to be grateful for their easy lives. We are not inspiring because we suffer. We are not appreciative as we continue to put up with a disease that can kill us. People with bipolar disease deserve respect, support, treatment, and respect, not objectification wrapped up in praise.
What is Prerna Porn?
according to Jan Grau, in this paperInspiration porn can be defined as:
“…representation of disability as a desirable but undesirable characteristic, usually by showing the impairment as a visually or symbolically distinct biophysical deficiency in an individual, a deficiency that can and should be overcome through the performance of physical skills.”
It essentially marks people with a disability like bipolar disorder and uses their story as a good lesson.
You can see it like this:
- Being called brave only because of disability
- your pain is called regeneration
- People are praising your survival, while ignoring the realities of your suffering
- Being turned into a symbol of resilience rather than being recognized as a three-dimensional individual
This fits right in with romantic disabilities like bipolar disorder. How many times have we heard about the frenzy that creates genius creativity? How many times have we heard about someone suffering from mental illness driving genius art? How often do people try to diagnose mental illness posthumously in people with paranormal abilities? They do all this to show us how “worthwhile” our disability is.
There is no end to its examples around us. Watch movies like:
- silver linings Playbook – Symptoms of mental illness seem like mere quirks that are redeemed through romance.
- girl Interrupted – makes mental suffering feel aesthetically appealing, relatable, and rebellious in some ways.
- a beautiful Mind – Takes the day-to-day burden of mental illness and frames it through talent, love and upliftment in a way that feels ideal.
Each of those movies deals with mental illness, but they do so in feel-good ways with happy endings that “solve the problem” of mental illness in order to inspire the audience. I’m not saying that movies like this are bad, but I can attest to the fact that there is nothing romantic or feel-good about me suffering from bipolar disorder.
Why is inspiration porn harmful?
Originally, inspirational porn was invented to make role models feel good about people with disabilities. They don’t want to see our pain or our challenges, or accept that not all stories have happy endings. They want to use us as lessons rather than accept our incredibly difficult realities.
Inspiration porn is harmful because:
- It dehumanizes people.
- It focuses on the comfort of the observer,
- It eases the cruelty of disabilities like bipolar disorder.
- This creates pressure to recover or remain inspirational all the time.
- It erases the anger, sadness, disability, and complexity – all real parts of bipolar disorder.
Not to mention the fact that by viewing people with bipolar disorder or other disabilities as a shiny object, they are not actually provided the accommodations in society that we need and deserve. This means that they actively harm people they admire.
Inspiration is not bad; to reduce suffering
The truth is that many people find me inspiring. If you’ve ever attended one of my talks, I hope you left it feeling really inspired. That’s not inherently negative.
The downside is also not accepting the ugliness that comes with glitter. And I guarantee, if you’ve seen me speak, you’ll definitely see that too. Living with bipolar disorder (and, in my case, other chronic illnesses) is terrifying. I don’t sugarcoat it. I don’t know that I just turned that resentment upside down. I talk in detail about the pain I live with every day. That pain is an important aspect of my experience as a person. I cannot hide my pain, and if I have anything to say about it, neither can you.
What to recognize instead of inspiration porn?
If you’re inspired by people with challenging life circumstances, that’s great! All you have to do is complete the picture.
When you look at a person with bipolar disorder or another disability and find them inspiring, also remember:
- Listen to authentic experiences.
- Respect All A way of experiencing life, the good, the bad and the ugly.
- Support our rights, treatment, dignity and housing.
- Remember that we are complete, three-dimensional people just like you. We have good days, bad days, and sometimes we can be as stupid as you.
- Stop turning existence into a morality tale.
- Accept us when we’re not “inspirational,” just like you would anyone else.
In short, people with bipolar disorder do not exist to make others feel grateful, inspired, or emotionally moved. We exist to live as full human beings.
Other Posts You May Enjoy
