As has been widely reported, Christopher Reeve died over the weekend. Whether or not one agreed with his emphasis on funding for research to cure injuries such as his own (instead of increased funding for service such as personal attendant care), the disability community will mourn his passing. Reeve was perhaps the single most visible American in a wheelchair. Never before have people with physical disabilities had a celebrity in their midst. No, FDR doesn’t count because he deliberately concealed his disability from the public. Reeve became an icon of sorts because he presented such two sharply contrasting images to our mass consciousness. There was his Superman persona–a vivid symbol of the quintessentially American notions of strength and masculinity. And then there was the Christopher Reeve in the wheelchair–frail and dependent, but still with a certain charm and grace. While I may not have agreed with some of his political priorities, I think it’s good for our community to have icons. Not role models, icons. Icons can be the touchstones that enable the rest of us to define our own experience of disability. We may not get another icon for some time.
That’s why I’m glad Christopher Reeve was here and that’s why I’ll miss him.
