Films & TV About Disabilities That Put Disabled People First
Last Updated 16 July 2021, 6:00
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Meg Fozzard is a UK-based disability rights campaigner, model and writer who has been vocal about her experience of becoming disabled in her 20s.
July is the month of many things – football and Love Island-related mostly – but unbeknown to most, it is also Disability Pride Month.
What started out as one day (the first Disability Pride Parade took place in 2004) is now a month-long celebration commemorating the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act in July 1990 – a groundbreaking civil rights law prohibiting discrimination against disabled people. Now, in the UK and worldwide, disabled people take the month of July to share the pride we feel and work towards ending any stigma. We even have our own flag.
Film and TV has always been a good place to start when learning more about the disabled community but there have long been issues with how disabled people are portrayed, whether it’s damaging stereotypes which can have negative repercussions for how we are viewed and treated in the real world, or 'cripping up' – where non-disabled actors take on roles of disabled people, taking jobs away from often less-represented disabled actors.
Ahead we've pulled together a list of great films and TV shows that you can watch to celebrate Disability Pride Month…
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