Disabled people have been assigned a clear part in the stage performance. We are the recipients of help, in need of assistance, holding out a tin can for charity, here to inspire. Attempting to claim another role, a more complicated part, like the one who accepts and offers a bit of help, one who uses a chair to navigate the world and has sex, one who can’t walk and isn’t asking for your money—even if it’s a role that feels natural and fitting—can surprise, confuse, or even irritate the other people in the performance.
