Disability on My Mind

In the piece "Disability" by Nancy Mairs, Mairs mentions how she never seems to find anyone on television or in commercials who represents her. She goes on then to explain how she's really just like any other women her age, and doesn't understand why advertisers or screenwriters might be put-off by putting a disabled person in their commercial or program. She finds their arguments less than sufficient, and goes on to rebuke them.
However, one thing she stated stood out to me. She said that whenever there is a disabled person on TV, their disability tends to be their main character point. But isn't that self contradictory? She is looking for someone to relate to on television based solely on one part of herself, her disability.
I am a swimmer, and it takes up a large amount of my time. You could even say it is one of the defining features of who I am, but I don't go around watching TV and saying that I can't relate to any of the characters just because they don't swim. Just like I can relate to a guy even though I am a girl, or someone with blue eyes even though mine are brown. If Mairs searches for those attributes she has in common with characters, instead of solely the presence of a wheelchair, maybe she'll begin to feel a little less underrepresented. Because really, the first step to inclusion, is trying to include yourself.
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