22 Oct The Lack of Stuttering Representation

STUTTERING INCLUSION 

Although there are many people who stutter, there is a lack of representation on various platforms such as media, literature, education, employment and others. I started stuttering at the age of twelve and have only met two other people who stutter since then. Other than that I have not been around enough people like myself who stutter. The only time I have seen stuttering in the cinema was when I watched the movie Little and saw JD McCrary’s character; Issac, stutter. When I first saw his character I was excited to see someone who spoke just like me on screen. During the movie as I watched Issac’s story unfold, I felt many different emotions. I felt excitement and sadness, I related to the character because I saw myself reflected in him. This was also the case when I read Tending to Grace, but this time I connected to the feelings that the main character Cornelia had about her stuttering and the trials and triumphs she went through. 

Sadly, I have not gotten more experiences similar to the ones that I had and this is true for many people who stutter, they don’t get to see a lot of other people who speak like them on a regular basis. It’s hard when you feel so different from everyone else. To protect yourself, you hide and create a wall around you. You live in the bubble and don’t try to communicate with anyone outside it. You become so fixated on your insecurity of stuttering.

However, people who stutter often forget that there are millions of others around the world fighting the same battle as them, but because they don’t see it so they feel as though they are alone. That is why there is a great need for people who stutter to see themselves represented on various platforms. It will help to boost their self-confidence and show them that they can live a great life even though they stutter. This will also show them that it’s okay to stutter and to be authentically themselves. More representation of stuttering will also inspire and help people strive to fulfill their dreams. Seeing someone successful like the baseball Astros star George Springer who stutters, will show people that they can go after their dreams and achieve great things even with a speech impediment.  

We also need to start a dialogue about the portrayals of speech impediments. It should not be stereotypical to people who stutter or should be about overcoming the challenge of stuttering and “miraculously” becoming fluent. These will show negative and false narratives to people who stutter and will affect how they perceive themselves. It is true that some people can grow out of it but it shouldn’t be the only thing that they aspire to become. The portrayals of the impediment also shouldn’t just talk about the journey to accepting one’s stutter. Even though that is very important, society believes that this is the only part of our story which it isn’t. Our stories are very diverse and we should be able to see that in whatever medium we are looking at. It is important to show people that people who stutter living great lives because it will allow them to see that they can have a speech impediment and still live a happy, healthy life.  To tell these stories society also needs to open up more room for people who stutter to create the narratives that they want to see. It’s also important to have positive portrayals of stuttering because it will educate people who don’t stutter and It will also teach them how to treat people who do. In general, people with disabilities who are interested in acting don’t usually get that many roles because of their situation or because there aren’t many roles for them. However, to be more authentic, genuine and real directors should cast people who stutter and not use fluent actors. 

I am simply just one of the millions of people who stutters who want to see themselves represented in the world.  In our society people fear anything that is different and not “normal”. People who don’t stutter don’t have the patience to listen to us speak and tell our stories, this makes us feel like we are invisible and that our voices don’t matter. The world isn’t only made up of fluent people, there are many other voices. Some people have lisps, some people have stutters and others are fluent and clear.  Our voices matter and we should be able to see that represented.