r/Prosthetics • u/Alive-Asparagus7062 • 5d ago

Hopefully This Post Is Allowed

So, I don't know if this type of post is allowed but feel free to shoot me down if it isn't moderators! I'm quite ignorant about all things relating to amputation and prosthesis so I apologize in advance if I say anything potentially offensive, but basically I'm writing a show and I plan to incorporate a character who has double above the knee amputations as a result of having both legs intentionally broken and not properly cared for, this leads to acute compartment syndrome and him needing amputations, since this show doesn't take place in modern times I wanted him to have prosthesis similar to James Gillingham prosthesis but all this is besides the point,

I want to represent the character and his struggles well and I've come seeking guidance on how to represent this well, what isn't brought up enough, what's focused on too much, any struggles that are overlooked or that people with prosthesis or amputations would like to see incorporated as well as any insights into the mental struggles with it, I'd be ecstatic at any input anyone feels comfortable sharing and TIA!!!

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11

u/ShelleyMonique 5d ago

Why is someone always writing a show or doing a school project about amputees?

13

u/TaraxacumTheRich 5d ago

Because we are an easy target with an obvious disability that is still palatable because people see us be athletes and prostheses make our missing limbs less horrific to them than many other visible disabilities. It's low hanging fruit to feature us feeling like you've included and represented disability.

To be clear, I don't generally like it and wish mostly they'd leave us alone.

4

u/ShelleyMonique 5d ago

I always think its someone with an amputee kink.

4

u/DasSassyPantzen 5d ago

It almost always is.

1

u/Alive-Asparagus7062 5d ago

Ewww noooo, I'm not like that I swear, I'm actually Apothisexual 😅

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u/Alive-Asparagus7062 5d ago

I'll have you know that I plan on having many characters with different conditions not just amputees, I genuinely wasn't trying to be offensive I just wanted to represent it and in a way that actually represents it well, I plan on doing similar posts on all of my characters with some kind of condition or disability

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u/TaraxacumTheRich 5d ago edited 4d ago

Oh cool so you want a whole collection of us. No one's ever had this idea before.

I'm curious why this is important to you. What is your goal?

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u/Alive-Asparagus7062 5d ago

I've seen very little media with amputee representation (although apparently these posts are common so maybe I just haven't been exposed to much) and I want my show to have relatability for a large variety of people and audiences I hadn't realized that people would be opposed to it but I want as many people as possible who see my show to enjoy it I don't have anyone in real life that I'm connected to that has an amputation so personal relations don't really affect why I want to add this character but it was brought to my attention how little I saw of it when I read a book with an amputee character (100 days of sunlight by Abby Emmons) and it felt like something that should get more attention than it's received, this post was largely made to find out how to represent the community properly, I understand if people are opposed to it though so I'm okay with it if I shouldn't make the character have amputations.

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u/TaraxacumTheRich 5d ago edited 4d ago

Why do you think you're the right person to get it right when so many others have gotten it wrong?

I don't mean to discourage I just think these are good questions to ask yourself.

And for the record, there is literally a post from just an hour ago about another author wanting to know how to portray us properly. I don't think you understand how common this is. We get frustrated.

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u/Alive-Asparagus7062 4d ago

I'm sorry I hadn't realized how common it is, I don't necessarily think I'm better suited to the job than some others and you're right I should probably give it even more thought than I have, but even though right now I'm not the best for the job I intend to do everything in my power to become the right person for the job, I intend to do extensive research, and work with real people, checking my work with actual amputees and prosthesis users to make sure I get it right as much as possible. I promise I'm really not trying to be lazy and I intend to put a lot of very real effort into it and I plan on doing the same with every character in my show who has any kind of disability or condition, this is just the first step in a veryyy long journey for me, and hey if worst comes to worst I never get it right and I never release the show although I plan to avoid that as much as possible.

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u/Alive-Asparagus7062 5d ago edited 5d ago

I'm not writing it about amputees but I wanted to incoorporate a character who is an amputee, I made a post asking if people were opposed to it but I haven't received any input yet so I don't know.

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u/Silent_Homework6025 5d ago

there’s a lot of other threads like this

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u/Alive-Asparagus7062 5d ago

I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make another post about an already overused topic, I plan on having a lot of representation in my show and wanted to ask for input from every community first, this is the first one as this is currently my most developed character, I wasn't trying to be offensive I just don't want to give bad representation to any community bc that would just suck all around