User:LilyArvizu/Evaluate an Article

For the Wikipedia assignment, I chose to work on the “Inspiration porn” page. I am looking forward to editing this page because I think Inspiration porn is a big problem in today's society and I hope I can do my part to change people’s mindsets on this. I first learned about Inspiration Porn in Professor Remy’s class called Disability and American Life. It was the first lesson she gave on the first day of class and it really struck a chord with me. Ever since her lecture on it, I am quick to identify Inspiration porn. Once you are attuned to it, you realize it is everywhere and is very problematic for the disabled community. I hope by editing the wikipedia page, more people will be able to identify what inspiration porn is and understand why it is problematic and ableist.

The first thing I noticed about the wikipedia page for Inspiration porn is that the definition is only one sentence. It is very simple and not all encompassing at all. Many wikipedia pages have an entire paragraph for the definition, while Inspiration porn’s definition is a simple sentence. It is defined as “the portrayal of people with disabilities as inspirational solely or in part on the basis of their disability”. I think this definition could be elaborated upon and I do not think it captures what inspiration porn is completely. It goes on to mention Stella Young, whose Ted talk I watched last year in Professor Remy’s class. I am glad the page mentions her because I think her Ted talk is the first time many people heard what Inspiration porn is.

The next part I do not like is the “examples’ section of the page. I think it is ludicrous to only have one simple example for Inspiration porn. There are about a dozen other examples of Inspiration porn so that people would be able to identify it. By only giving one small example, people will not be able to identify Inspiration porn because they will only look for that one example, which the page says is “Examples of inspiration porn often involve a photo of a child with a disability taking part in an ordinary activity, with captions like "your excuse is invalid" or "before you quit, try". While it is a valid example, I think giving more than one would be extremely useful.

Next, there should be a lot more than one or two sentences for the “Criticisms” part. I think this section needs to be elaborated on. I could write paragraphs on the issues that come with Inspiration porn. There is so much to talk about on this subject because it is such a prevalent issue. The “criticisms” section unfairly glosses over the matter and does not encompass the problems with it entirely. Also, there should be more examples in pop culture. There are hundreds of examples of inspiration porn in the media and in pop culture. I can think of a couple dozen off the top of my head, yet this article only gives one example that most people have not heard of. It should mention tv shows, movies, and celebrities that contribute to inspiration porn. Instead, they only give one example of one show from one episode. This does not give readers a clear example or idea of what inspiration porn is or help them identify it in the media.

I also noticed that there are hardly any sources listed at the bottom. Many wikipedia pages have several pages of sources while this page barely has a paragraph. Whoever wrote this page, did not invest themselves enough or do enough research. There are several textbooks for disability studies and far more reference that could help write this article in a better way. Overall, this wikipedia page is lackluster and I am looking forward to editing it.