Stuttering is not just for one day (The importance of stuttering representation)

I firstly just want to mention that this post was inspired by Stamma's campaign; No Diversity Without Dysfluency.

This is an important campaign for people who stutter and a movement that I am proud to be a part of. Why can’t we have people who stutter on TV, in film, on the radio or as storytellers, when there are quite a lot of people who stutter in society? As a child, almost every person I saw on TV who stuttered was often the butt of a joke or depicted as a weak character. What sort of impact do you think this had on how I felt about my stutter? Or in relation to The Kings Speech, why does every character who stutters need to overcome their stutter? If we, as consumers of media, learn to accept that stuttering is not a character a flaw that needs to be fixed or something to be made a joke of, then we, as a society, can learn to accept that stuttering is simply just another way of talking.

For those who don’t already know, I recently completed a four-year degree in English, Media and Cultural Studies where I, in my final, wrote a thesis titled ‘Analysing the Representation and Construction of Stuttering in Film and Television through the framework of Disability Studies.’ My thesis focused in on how stuttering is represented and constructed in film and in reality tv and how very often it is seen as a character flaw, something which needs to be fixed before you can live a full life.
*Sarcastic Tone* Because how else can you live in a world of fluency when you are not fluent???

Photo by Donald Tong from Pexels

My key argument throughout my thesis was ‘that by assuming that people who stutter can only find their voice with the help of abled bodies, their agency is essentially taken away from them before they even begin to speak.’ Therefore, if stuttering was accepted as just another way of speaking, similar to having an accent, people who stutter would not be subjected to having their agency taken away by those who are fluent. Which, in the short and long term, will have a positive impact on those who stutter. We all deserve the right to speak!  I believe that, in some cases, ‘an individual’s struggle with accepting their stutter is often a consequence of how stuttering is represented in film and television, which can result in stuttering stigma.’ Therefore, if an individual sees someone who talks like them in a film being made the butt of the joke, more often than not they will feel like they are the butt of the joke in their everyday life.

And furthermore, if a fluent person sees someone who stutters in a negative light on the TV, almost automatically this creates ‘stuttering stigma’ which ‘is when stuttering becomes associated with a negative social identity, and stereotypes begin to emerge, which can cause prejudiced emotional reactions among the public, making them feel uneasy around people who stutter.’ And sometimes this uneasiness can turn into the bullying of someone who stutters and consequently, this becomes harmful for the individual who stutters. The cycle is endless and we NEED to end this cycle.

I truly believe that in order to provide full, respectful and appropriate representation of stuttering in the media, ‘no form of film and television, should be made or produced by a representative without the full and direct participation of members of the stuttering community.’ Essentially, media that portrays people with a stutter should collaborate with these individuals in order to create an informed and respectful representation of them.’ It’s a team effort and we are all in this together! Its not enough to accept that stuttering voices are present in society, we need to be given a place in society among everyone else...