Cultures of Representation by Benjamin Fraser

Author:Benjamin Fraser
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: PER004030, Performing Arts/Film & Video/History & Criticism, SOC029000, Social Science/Handicapped
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Published: 2016-03-08T05:00:00+00:00

Beyond the Screen: Disability Drag and Issues of Performance

Claire Danes’ performance as Temple Grandin brings up the issue of disability drag, as termed by Tobin Siebers, where an able-bodied actor portrays a disabled character on screen. Such a performance makes the audience aware of disability, and potentially even accepting of disability, though the audience is aware that the actor will return to being able-bodied (2008: 114–16). In one sense, the performance of disability drag actually reinforces the preference for able-bodiedness. However, Siebers goes deeper to understand how disability drag functions: ‘it also exposes and resists the prejudices of society. The masquerade fulfills the desires to tell a story seeped in disability, often the very story that society does not want to hear, by refusing to obey the ideology of ability’ (2008: 118). In this sense – although it is an imitation that highlights the able body and ability of the actor – disability drag also makes disability present and sometimes more visible, encouraging audiences to confront disability rather than to hide it. In this way, more able-bodied people can learn more about disability; through performance disability can be brought into cultural discourse. Instead of hiding the disability, it is brought to the forefront (2008: 119).

That Siebers’ understanding of disability drag is nuanced, however, does not mean that he sees such performances as unproblematic. Prochnow writes:

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