davidgillon: Text: I really don't think you should put your hand inside the manticore, you don't know where it's been. (Don't put your hand inside the manticore)
David Gillon ([personal profile] davidgillon) wrote2018-07-17 10:57 pm

Sergeant Bothari and Disability Representation in the Early Vorkosiverse

Rose Lemberg has a really very good article about Bothari and the way Bujold handles disability in the Vorkosiverse (I'm not sure that 'early' strictly applies given they also talk about Mark).

However, the essay is discussing Bothari, and his arc includes a lot of very unpleasant, if not outright disturbing stuff, so trigger warnings are provided for

  • Ableism
  • Abuse
  • Child sexual abuse
  • Mental health issues
  • Rape/sexual assault
  • Shaming
     

It's very thought provoking, and I'd personally have added the artificial way Bujold lumbers Miles with a seizure disorder just at the point his fracture disorder is rendered no longer quite as limiting via bone replacements. Good writing should make disability incidental to the plot, not blatantly pitch in another layer in order to retain your character's unique selling point.

The article can be found here.

yhlee: Alto clef and whole note (middle C). (Sandman raven (credit: rilina))

[personal profile] yhlee 2018-07-18 12:19 am (UTC)(link)
That's a really good essay; thanks for linking to it.

(I confess I only ever go to Strange Horizons anymore if directly linked there, rather than browsing it independently, because I cannot for the life of me navigate their new site layout.)
sovay: (Sydney Carton)

[personal profile] sovay 2018-07-18 04:39 am (UTC)(link)
and I'd personally have added the artificial way Bujold lumbers Miles with a seizure disorder just at the point his fracture disorder is rendered no longer quite as limiting via bone replacements.

Hm.

Good writing should make disability incidental to the plot, not blatantly pitch in another layer in order to retain your character's unique selling point.

I would also think that living with a seizure disorder would be very different from living with fragile bones; they are both disabilities, but they are not identical experiences, and one can't simply be swapped in for the other regarding plot points or states of mind.

(I have not read this series past Shards of Honor and Barrayar, which I read years ago in the omnibus Cordelia's Honor.)
Edited 2018-07-18 04:40 (UTC)
sovay: (Rotwang)

[personal profile] sovay 2018-07-18 05:21 pm (UTC)(link)
They are different, but Bujold uses them to restrict him in similar ways, and also to impose a ticking clock mechanism on the plot in a very artificial way.

Understood. I may not have been clear in my original comment: treating them as interchangeable feels just as artificial to me as the idea that if your disabled character gets accommodations, somehow you need to keep them disabled for the sake of the story. I see that Bujold is using them in the same way, but that just feels rigged.
jesse_the_k: Two bookcases stuffed full leaning into each other (bookoverflow)

[personal profile] jesse_the_k 2018-07-18 10:47 pm (UTC)(link)
Being a completeist, I read Shards of Honor first, and my favorable impression of LMB's interest and insight in disability was wholly shaped by her treatment of Bothari.

So, I'm rushing right off to read it, although that content note list is daunting.
cesy: "Cesy" - An old-fashioned quill and ink (Default)

[personal profile] cesy 2018-07-19 05:00 pm (UTC)(link)
Definitely thought-provoking, thanks for the link.
shehasathree: (prosthetic memory)

[personal profile] shehasathree 2018-07-21 07:33 am (UTC)(link)
Ooh, I need to read this! Thanks for sharing.
(And, to make myself feel *slightly* better before diving in, I shall use one of my relevant icons. *g*)