Relatability Is The Bigger Impact Here
The film Door to Door (2002) ends with a newspaper writing a piece on Bill Porter being a positive part of people’s lives and an inspiration.
Of course, Bill was against being highlighted. The context of why someone is inspirational matters to the disability community because it is not a given right to anyone.
Bill Porter’s story is not inspirational but relatable.
It’s relatable because he gets in his own way and advocates for himself. He knows how his disability impacts how people treat him. He does everything to prove he’s independent.
Partners, Parents and Disability
Photo by Annette Sousa from Unsplash
The film also portrays his mother with Altimeters. That mental decline allows the film to show Bill as capable and independent. Taking care of his aging mother like any other adult would.
Another realistic element to the film is its hints at a client of Bill’s being romantically interested in him and Bill not recognizing the signs.
In their first meeting, she offers him spiked orange juice. She sees him as a romantic interest, which is often not addressed in the media, contributing to stereotypes of being asexual or simply undesirable partners.
The Upside (2019) also based on a true story addresses the same assumptions.
This salesman’s romantic storyline has a much smaller part in the film but subverts a stereotype unlike The Upside. Bill not reading the signs feels accurate from my own experience.
Assumptions
Given he has internalized ableism, he may assume the woman can’t be interested in him because of that stereotype of not being desirable.
He might think he has to prove he can have romantic feelings first. He hints at those feelings to Shelly, but she does not share them.
She does view him as part of the family. She cares for him not just as a job but as a friend.
Dating can be difficult under the pressure of disability-related assumptions. It is possible to have romantic relationships without these assumptions.
Some are more open-minded than others. Internalized ableism assumes those assumptions always apply and have to be disproven.
Internalized ableism affects everyday life, increasing struggles with universal human experiences.
In the case of Bill’s mother, his independence and empathy took care of her.
He was flawed in the case of his job and friends in his personal life.
However, internalized ableism stems from societal expectations and the need people in the disability community have to advocate for themselves. for basic inclusion