(Inspiration) Porn Clip of the Month: Kodi Lee

Not that kind of porn! INSPIRATION porn. This segment responds to the response to Kodi Lee's success on America's Got Talent.

Disclaimer

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Transcript

Boris: If you’re listening to this in the office, it’s time to turn it up because we’re talking about porn. Inspiration porn, specifically. That’s portrayals of people with disabilities as inspirational or exceptional based solely on having a disability. Inspiration porn reinforces harmful concepts and perspectives that keep people with disabilities sidelined and excluded, often from their own stories. To help break down the influence of inspiration porn, we here at the Access Aisle present to you – the Porn Clip of the Month.

 

Clip:

Kodi: “I’m Kodi – I’m Kodi Lee!”

Reporter: It’s a moment that just makes you feel good.

Kodi’s Mom: “He’s blind and autistic”

Reporter: 22 year old Kodi Lee, shocking the nation with his singing on America’s Got Talent.

Doctor: There’s always hope as far as hidden strengths

 

B: Before I get into this I wanna be forthcoming about few things: one, I don’t watch America’s Got Talent. I’m not sure that I agree with its premise. And two, there’s a pretty big chance people are not gonna like my hot take on Kodi Lee. For those listeners I also offer takes in mild and lemon pepper variety. But back to Kodi Lee or really, the response to Kodi Lee. This young man with Autism and a visual disability caused a giant wave of dialogue about how we in America talk about disability thanks to his participation in the America’s Got Talent competition where he used his musical and vocal talents to get Gabrielle Union to use her Golden Buzzer. I don’t care at all about the second half of that last sentence but I care a great deal about how people like the doctor in the clip we just played talk about the talents of people with disabilities. Kodi Lee is not talented in spite of his disability. Kodi Lee is not talented because of his disability. Kodi Lee is talented AND he has a disability. He can be both. We don’t have to cheapen the hard work and talent it takes to develop that kind of skill by bringing it down with that tired trope of “look what the disabled kid can do!” He can do a lot Becky. And if you take your head out of the sand of what he can’t do, you’d get to notice the whole world of things he can. Becky.