Thursday, December 26, 2013

Wheelchair Santa

Color illustration of Santa Claus in a wheelchair, looking angry and shaking his fist
Yesterday I Tweeted that I’ve been looking for a good “wheelchair Santa” picture for years. Then it occurred to me that I’ve never actually just done a Google Images search. Surely, I’ll find something good, right?

Well, there were a lot of pictures, about half of which could be properly described as related to the theme of Santa Claus in a wheelchair. But seriously, this is the most on on topic picture I could find, and it’s awful. Santa's in a wheelchair all right, but he’s grumpy! He’s a grumpy, bitter, cripple Santa. Thanks a lot. It’s good to see that kind of positive disability representation in a beloved cultural icon.

On the bright side, there’s clearly an opening for a fun, interesting, or empowering photo or illustration of a wheelchair Santa. Let’s get on that, shall we? We’ve got a year 'till next Christmas.