Interesting Links for 19-11-2023

[andrewducker]

1. The UK's economic assessment for vaccination eligibility is a masterpiece of fraud. (We bought the vaccines and then didn't give them to people it would have helped, even though it would also have helped others!)

(tags:vaccination UK OhForFucksSake )

2. Pharmacies prescribing the contraceptive pill will put women's mental health at risk

(tags:depression hormones women mentalhealth contraception )

3. Russell T Davies on the portrayal of disabled people (and facial scarring) and why they decided to change Davros

(tags:disability drwho evil TV society )

4. Evil Cripple - TV Tropes

(tags:disabilities society tropes TV )

Comments

[andrewducker]

I agree that more wheelchair users would be the ideal approach. Hopefully we'll get that too.

But I can understand that when pretty much every equivalent in Doctor Who has been evil that if there's an easy way to change that then it's not a bad thing to do.

(I believe we had a positive example in Good Omens season 2)

[teaotter]

I can't speak for wheelchair users or other people with mobility aids. But as a queer person, I preferred the eras when I could see people like me onscreen, even if they were only the villains or the comic relief. Even villains got a human moment every once in a while, and I was happy for those scraps rather than being completely erased from the world. So that really shapes my opinion here.

I guess I hope they don't *stop* here, in trying to remedy the problem.

[andrewducker]

Forgot to come back and agree with you! I do think we need a wider range of portrayals, rather than cutting them out entirely.