Beneficial Blindness: Literary Representation and the So-Called Positive Stereotyping of People with Impaired Vision

Abstract

Though a critical response to negative stereotyping becomes intuitive for people who strive to be unprejudiced in their attitudes, so-called positive stereotypes remain frequently unchallenged or even unnoticed. On this premise the paper examines the “positive” stereotyping of people with impaired vision that is perpetuated by Anglophone literature. The resulting myth is found to be somewhat paradoxical, for far from being positive, the idea of beneficial blindness can serve only to diminish the talent and achievements of people with impaired vision. The paper is relevant to disability studies as well as literary studies because it is through critical reading that the myths and stereotypes of “blindness” are defused. Indeed, it is a deficiency in the taxonomy of approaches to literary studies that has enabled the myths and stereotypes to flourish for

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