Entrepreneur Steph Cutler will explore the portrayal of disability past and present in the annual lecture at Imperial College London on Wednesday 16 December.
Ms Cutler comes from a commercial background focused on fashion, but set up personal development and disability awareness training consultancy ‘Making Lemonade’ after experiencing unexpected sight loss.
The lecture will look at the portrayal of disabled people historically and today, examining how disabled people have chosen to react to these portrayals and represent themselves. There will be opportunities for questions and discussion. The lecture is part of Disability History Month, a UK-wide initiative.
Talking about disability in the media today, Steph said: “It’s very polarised – either disabled people are presented as high achieving, inspirational figures, or they’re a benefit scrounger. In reality of course most disabled people occupy the huge middle ground in between these two extremes.
“In films and TV shows disabled people are often presented as defined by their disability, whether they’re a tragic figure or one who has triumphed in adversity. We need to see more portrayals of disabled people as ordinary characters who just happen to have a disability.”
Ms Cutler has delivered a number of disability awareness training sessions at the College. She has also contributed to the Calibre Programme, the College’s leadership development programme for disabled staff – which celebrated its most recent completing cohort this June.
