A girl comes down the stairs smiling, her hair blowing slightly in the wind. She is wearing a casual denim blouse and dark trousers underneath. In the background, a few people are sitting on the steps, while someone is standing at the top of the stairs talking on the phone. The scene appears relaxed and everyday, a moment of transition captured in an urban setting.

Authentic Disability Representation

Authentic disability representation in mass media happens when disabled creators have control over their content and collaborate with other disabled people or nondisabled allies. This method allows disabled people to let their media creations flow directly from their minds and avoids the ableist gaze of many nondisabled filmmakers. This page will highlight the many disabled people creating all kinds of mass media.

We encourage all viewers of disability representation in mass media to reflect on their roles in challenging the narratives they consume. Does the TV or film storyline come from disabled creators? Are disabled performers playing disabled characters? Authentic disability representation happens when media content lets disabled people speak for themselves. The Props No More® platform underscores the importance of an inclusive media industry in creating a more just and equitable society for everyone.

of disabled Americans feel under-represented

52% say portrayals of their identity group are inaccurate; they want authentic depictions of their everyday lives.

A Nielsen survey of the disability community found in 2022 that 46% of disabled Americans (32.2 million people) feel that the disability community is underrepresented on television.

“People living with disabilities want to see the authentic realities of everyday life depicted in content,” the Nielsen study says, with 52% (of disabled Americans, 36.4 million) “more likely than the general population to say the portrayal of their identity group is inaccurate.”

A Black Deaf woman is in a video chat communications booth.
billion people globally have disabilities.

The United Nations emphasizes that accurate media
representation can strengthen human rights by combating
stereotypes and raising awareness.

Globally, 1.3 billion people have disabilities (16 percent) , and the United Nations says accurate media representation can help disabled people around the world gain stronger human rights. “The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) requires States to raise awareness and combat stereotypes related to persons with disabilities, including by A

A girl comes down the stairs smiling, her hair blowing slightly in the wind. She is wearing a casual denim blouse and dark trousers underneath. In the background, a few people are sitting on the steps, while someone is standing at the top of the stairs talking on the phone. The scene appears relaxed and everyday, a moment of transition captured in an urban setting.
Only 1.9% of film characters have disabilities

In 2022, no change since 2015 (2.4%). Hollywood’s inclusion
issues are most pronounced for the LGBTQ+ and disability
communities, as executives continue practices that marginalize
talented voices.

An annual study of film inclusion from the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative at the University of Southern California reports that in 2022, 1.9% of all speaking characters in films were depicted as having a disability. Additionally, the study states that no change has occurred in the portrayal of characters with disabilities since 2015, when the percentage was 2.4%.

“When we look beyond gender and race/ethnicity, it is clear that Hollywood’s problems with inclusion are even more pronounced for the LGBTQ+ and disability communities,” [founder of the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative] Stacy L. Smith said in 2023. “The lack of progress in these areas suggests that executives and content creators are relying on practices that continue to marginalize and exclude talented voices from all backgrounds.”

Behind the scenes at Anna Spindelndreier's photo shoot, where a photographer with dwarfism takes a picture of a blond female model with dwarfism. The young woman is currently working on a freelance photo project on the topic of "small women at work" in Hamburg, Germany.
of Americans have disabilities

Yet most disabled TV characters are played by nondisabled actors.

Even though more than one in four Americans (26 percent) have a disability, a large majority of the disabled television characters are played by nondisabled actors. GADIM -funded U.S. television studies by FilmDisfound that from 2019 to 2022, disabled actors playing disabled characters dropped from 11% to 8%.

Only 0.8% of children’s TV characters in 2023 are disabled

A decline from 1.3% in 2022.

Our Ressources

Toolkit On The Go: Representing Disabilities In Film And Television
Shutterstock Authentic Portrayals Of People With Disabilities Guide
In-Depth Study Of Disability Representation On TV
Disabled Creators Shutterstock Portfolio Page