Come In, We’re Open: Ableism Through The Crown
by Ayla Roback
Clear glass shrouded with droplets Rain Image courtesy of Ivana Cajina on Unsplash.
A woman in sunglasses looks out at the dreary sky as the rain patters on the windshield and car window. She waits anxiously, half-hoping that there is nothing to be found, while also hoping that maybe there is.
After what seems like an eternity, there's a sudden knock on the window. The door opens and her friend, a priest, joins her in the car. As he shakes the rain from his coat, he says, "They are alive, ma'am."
Shock, disbelief. "You saw them?" "I did." A wave of sadness and shame washes over her, "How were they?" she asked quietly.
Internally, her thoughts race: "How could they do this to them? What possible reason could they have hidden them away and made us believe that all this time, our cousins were dead?" The sadness then turns to anger.
She flies to confront her mother, shouting: "It's wicked! It's heartless; it's cruel. It's entirely in keeping with the ruthlessness I myself have experienced in this family. If you're not first in line, if you're an individual character with individual needs, and God forbid, an irregular temperament. If you don't fit the perfect mold of silent, dutiful supplication, then you'll be spat out, or you'll be hidden away, or worse, declared dead! Darwin had nothing on you lot. Shame on all of you!"
Recently I finally caught up on season four of The Crown from Netflix. If you haven't seen it, The Crown is a TV marathon-worthy historical drama series centered around Queen Elizabeth II's (Olivia Coleman) reign and events of England's Royal family. This season's setting spanned from the mid-seventies to mid-eighties, which means that the story mainly focuses on Prince Charles (Josh O’Connor) and Lady Diana Spenser's (Elizabeth Debicki) courtship and marriage.
While many critics deemed the season not very interesting and the Royal family insisted on including a warning before the show that this series was, in fact, a dramatization, many of the moments included in this season (and the show in general) were historically accurate. I enjoyed the season because it gave me (while obviously dramatized and not a documentary) some insight into that time, what people- from all over the world loved about the real-life beloved Lady Di, and insight into some real-life issues like eating disorders, depression, family conflict, pride- that not only do everyday people face, but the Royal family has faced in their history.
Buckingham Palace. Image courtesy of Hulkiokantabak on Unsplash.
One episode in particular that struck me from this season was Episode 7: "The Hereditary Principle." This episode from season four focuses on Princess Margaret (Helena Bonham Carter), one of my favorite characters. In the episode (recap), Princess Margaret grapples with depression for an indefinite time (presumably years) as she's aging; she reluctantly agrees to attend therapy.
During one of her sessions, her therapist "lets slip" that members of the royal family have a history of mental impairment and suggests that maybe the depression is a hereditary affliction. Immediately, Margaret researches her cousins with cognitive impairment, Katherine and Nerissa Bowes-Lyon. Confirming that the two were, in fact, alive and confined to an asylum (many believed them to be dead), Margaret goes to Scotland to confront the Queen Mother (Marion Bailey).
The Queen Mother confirms that she was aware of the sisters' circumstances and tries to explain away this act of cruelty, with excuses about "the abdication" and increased scrutiny on the "purity of the bloodline behind the Crown."
Katherine and Nerissa Bowes-Lyon were cousins to Queen Elizabeth & Princess Margaret, the daughters of John "Jock" Bowes-Lyon, the Queen Mother's elder brother. They were committed to the Earlswood Asylum in 1941-- Katherine (15) and Nerissa (22). Both were listed in Burke's Peerage as having died by 1961 when Nerissa actually died in 1986, and Katherine died in 2014. At the tremendous loss of the sisters and their family, much of this episode was historically accurate. The Bowes-Lyon sisters were "hidden away" in an institution for most of their lives. (Read more here).
Rather than using her cousin's treatment to attack her mother (which was similar to how her family has slighted her for being different) and resume her everyday life, one would hope that Princess Margaret would have educated herself further after uncovering this dark family secret. After making the family aware, she could have used some of her (limited) power and resources, her privilege, to build a platform to give her cousins and others that had disabilities a chance at a better life- one full of love and a sense of belonging.
Countless examples throughout history and Pop Culture show this type of ableism and "shame" brought upon those that have disabilities and the families of those with disabilities. Ableism is defined as: discrimination or prejudice against individuals with disabilities.
This may include individuals with:
physical and/or mental impairment or differences
cognitive and/or sensory impairment or differences
developmental, psychiatric, or intellectual impairment or differences
chronic pain and/or illness
Individuals can be born with their disabilities and/or differences, or they can be obtained later in life. Disability is often conceived as a "loss of function," a "lack," or "abnormality," functioning from a deficit perspective and refers to the medical model of disability rather than an expression of ability. In some instances, this ableism goes even deeper into a discussion and/or belief of eugenics. We see this dangerous ideal of eugenics illustrated in so many different forms in Pop Culture, but just a few quick examples include:
The Harry Potter series, with the idea of "pure-blood" witches/wizards and "mudblood" a derogatory term used against witches/wizards of both magic and non-magic parentage.
Disney's Sky High, with the separation of the classes, labeled "Heroes," "Sidekicks," and Non-Supers, based upon their inherited-- or not, or acquired-- or not, superpowers.
Marvel's X-Men (based on Marvel comic books) with the idea that humans believe that the "mutants" (evolved, superpowered humans) are inherently evil, dangerous, and should not be allowed to function within society.
Ableism doesn't always appear so drastically as abandonment, abuse, outright discrimination, or eugenics, though. Sometimes, it sneaks upon us. In our word choice (using ableist language), preconceived notions, outdated terms or lines of thinking, being uneducated or just unaware, and even some common phrases that we have are harmful and ableist.
Throughout Pop Culture, there are various harmful stereotypes of disabilities and innumerable instances of ableism that happen all around us. A recent example is an interview with singer/songwriter Sia, talking about her new film, Music, and her making ableist comments about autism that many people believed were dehumanizing.
While as a whole, society has made leaps of change (click here to see examples of progression in Down Syndrome and Human and Civil Rights in the United States) to make the world a kinder, more accessible place for everyone (some small, positive examples being: closed captioning options are more readily available on most sites and forms of streaming, accessibility options for food services and ordering services, more accessible technology, rising popularity in learning sign language, vast improvements in ADA laws, society as a whole being more generally accepting of those with disabilities) there still is a long way to go, as what we know and learn about disabilities expands every day.
Once we have been made aware of ableism, educated ourselves, and adjusted our way of thinking and/or speaking (working to eliminate ableist language or actions), what are the next steps? What does the Bible say about those with disabilities? What does the Bible say about how we should treat people with disabilities in the Church? How can we go beyond welcoming those with disabilities and those different from us into the Church and genuinely building relationships?
While many passages from the Bible could be taken as an "ableist stance," based solely on the word choice and language used, we can see the true meaning if we explore the context and dig deeper. According to the Bible, we already know that we should approach every person, no matter their differences, with love, as a creation made in the image of God. We should strive beyond only inclusion, instead, creating a place for any and everyone to belong- not only within our communities, our churches, our familiar circles but also in the (big C) Church: coming together to all function as the embodiment of Christ (as illustrated in 1 Corinthians 12:12-26).
We all have our part to play, our piece of the whole that is the Body of Christ. Is it not our most important task, as followers of Christ, to 1) love God and 2) love people? Are we not called to just welcome people in, but to disciple, care about, and love them as we love ourselves? In Mark 12:30,31, Jesus said:
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.
We are currently in a season where many people, especially those who have disabilities and differences, feel alone, alienated, isolated, and disconnected from those around them and the Church- because of their differences, a previous hurt from someone within their community/church, ableism, and now an inability to have a physical connection with those around us due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
If we are feeling alone or disconnected, reach out! Make those connections, even if it's not physically right now. Someone might be struggling just as we are that we don't know about. The most important thing we as the Church can do right now? Reach out, welcome everyone with open arms and hearts. Be kind and genuinely love each other, despite any differences we may have, whether it be physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, political... Is that not what we were called to do anyway?
He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:8)
Resources
We’ve created a free downloadable PDF to explore the article deeper. It contains discussion questions about the topic in general terms that will give you a jumping-off point for beginning a conversation.
The second page contains a way to see the topic from a biblical perspective.
And finally, to go deeper into the subject, we have chosen a few curated resources to explore from other authors’ and thinkers’ research or perspectives.
Read. Engage. Enjoy!
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
Depending on how a gem is held, light refracts differently. At B+PC we engage in Pop Culture topics to see ideas from a new angle, to bring us to a deeper understanding. And like Pastor Shane Willard notes, we want “…Jesus to get bigger, the cross to get clearer, the Resurrection to be central…” Instead of approaching a topic from “I don’t want to be wrong,“ we strive for the alternative “I want to expand my perspective.”
So, we invite you to engage with us here. What piqued your curiosity to dig deeper? What line inspired you to action? What idea made you ask, “Hmmm?” Let’s join with our community to wrestle with our thoughts in love in the Comment Section! See you there!