Exclusion Isn't Romantic (WU Representation in RomComs)

Something I think about every day is the lack of wheelchair users starring in romantic comedy movies.

Representation greatly impacts everyone - whether you know it or not.

Growing up, I didn’t see any wheelchair users in romcoms. (I was 19 years old when I watched Christmas Ever After with Ali Stroker for the first time.)

Because of this, I gave up on experiencing healthy romantic love from ages 11 to 18 or 19.

Wheelchair users are human beings. We deserve love. And we deserve other people to know that.

Literally anyone can be or become a wheelchair user. We can be monogamous or polyamorous. We can be asexual and/or aromantic. We can be in healthy romantic and/or sexual relationships.

Wheelchair users can date and fall in love with other wheelchair users. We can date and fall in love with able-bodied people. We can date and fall in love with nondisabled people.

We can even be parents (*sarcastic gasp*)!

Why not show that? (Rhetorical question.)

Also, our partners aren’t these amazing people just for dating us.

We are lucky but not for the reason some people think.

We’re lucky for the same reasons nondisabled people are lucky to date their partners. And, in turn, they’re lucky to date us.

Wheelchair users being in HEALTHY romantic and sexual relationships is neither a pity nor impossible.

Just because it may be different than what you’re used to seeing, doesn’t mean it’s sad, wrong, or it can’t happen.

In regards to the aforementioned Christmas Ever After, it came out in 2020. To this day, it is the only romantic comedy starring a wheelchair user I’ve ever seen (and know of).

How I like to test representation is to name five. If five exist, I consider that a good step in the right direction.

Try it: Name five romcoms starring two (or more) able-bodied or nondisabled people. Now name five romcoms starring at least one wheelchair user.

If you can, without hesitation, good on you. Drop them in the comments - give me some movie recommendations!

The thing is, though, I chose my words intentionally. Five is a step in the right direction. It’s not a cue to stop.

It should feel wrong to not include us.

In conclusion, wheelchair users are perfectly capable of being in romantic relationships. That needs to be known and shown.