Thread by @shengokai

From a pop-culture and disability perspective, there's a problematic continuity with the whole "find your power" line in #ProjectPower and narratives like Limitless where the drug is used to enhance human capabilities beyond the norm. (1/n)

In my view, these narratives are the conflation of the concerns about doping in sports and popular belief that stimulant medicines like Concerta and Adderall "enhance" cognitive abilities. The concern itself is grounded in the belief of an "unfair advantage."(2/n)

And an "unfair advantage" conferred by the use of the drug. In popular culture, this narrative is reorganized to present the drugs as enabling people to "find their true power," or "find out what they're capable of," through medical intervention. (3/n)

Which is shitty because it leads to popular myths that Adderall or Concerta will provide the same cognitive benefits to neurotypical folks as it does to people with ADHD, which is NOT the case. However, people come to believe this narrative, with pernicious effects. (4/n)

Specifically that a given medical adaptation provides people with disabilities an advantage because of the ways that it enables us to navigate the world better than we normally would. In reality, it makes it easier to adapt to a world not built for us. (5/n)

But also, there's something here that should be said about a drug that grants superpowers developed as a weapon, rather than as an attempt for medical intervention re: disabilities, which says something about our world. (fin)