Why Are All the Baddies Disabled?

From ancient myths through to the Batman trilogy, pop culture is littered with disabled people and those with facial differences being cast as villains. Why does disability feature so heavily in literary and cinematic traditions, and how has this hypervisiblity had the ironic effect of erasing the experiences of disabled people?

Ash Sarkar is joined by author of ‘Disfigured: On Fairy Tales, Disability, and Making Space’ and disability rights advocate Amanda Leduc to discuss how problematic depictions of disability have impacted the lives of disabled people, and why Bruce Wayne isn’t actually a hero.

We’re up against huge power and influence. Our supporters keep us entirely free to access. We don’t have any ad partnerships or sponsored content.

Donate one hour’s wage per month—or whatever you can afford—today.

We’re up against huge power and influence. Our supporters keep us entirely free to access. We don’t have any ad partnerships or sponsored content.

Donate one hour’s wage per month—or whatever you can afford—today.