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#ThriveTV Twitter Chat Recap

During our #ThriveTV Twitter chat on March 9th, 2016, we discussed how people with disabilities are portrayed on reality television.

Check out some highlights below, and feel free to keep answering the questions and joining in the convo using the #ThriveTV hashtag!

Get the Details:

Highlights

Here are the top tweets from Zach and the Thrive community on disability in reality TV!

The Topic

On March 9th, 2016, we chatted about disability representation on reality TV. There have been contestants with disabilities on all the big-name shows like The Amazing Race, Survivor, Dancing With the Stars, and The Bachelor. Recently, reality shows centered solely on the disability experience are popping up; Born This Way, Autism in Love, and The Undateables are trending. Are these shows exploitative or do they help normalize disability in the public sphere? What are some of best portrayals you’ve seen? We talked all this and more - check out the highlights above!

picture of Zach sitting in a chair, smiling, wearing a blue dress shirt

We were excited to have Zach Anner, an award-winning comedian and reality star with cerebral palsy, take part in our chat! He has a popular YouTube channel, and starred in a reality show on the Oprah Winfrey Network called Rollin’ With Zach. He also hosts a morning show on Rainn Wilson’s Soul Pancake called “Top of the Monday,” only reporting good news. Zach answered questions along with everyone, and we also put him on the spot to get his insider’s take on reality TV!

Cover of Zach's book, set against a yellow background and a banner that reads "Win a Copy!"

We also gave away copies of Zach’s new memoir, If At Birth You Don’t Succeed to a few lucky chat participants! We still have a few copies left - make sure to use the #ThriveTV hashtag when answering the chat questions to be automatically entered.




How This Works - It's So Easy!

Old black tube TV with static imageWhile the live chat with Zach is over, you can still participate and get your tweets featured in our recap. Just answer the questions below on Twitter, and end your tweets with #ThriveTV - then you're all set!

Here is an example of how to answer the questions:

Q1: What is your favorite TV show? #ThriveTV

To answer, you can use this format:

A1: The Amazing Race! #ThriveTV

As long as you include the hashtag, we'll see your tweet!

The Questions

Q1: What are some reality shows that currently feature people with disabilities, or have featured them in the past? #ThriveTV

Q1.5: This question is for Zach – what are the best things about working in reality programs? Why did you choose this medium? #ThriveTV

Q2: Which reality show has the best representation of disability? Why? #ThriveTV

Q3: How do you think the editing on reality TV influences the way audiences view disability? #ThriveTV

Q3.5: Zach, how did you feel about the editing on your “Rollin’ With Zach” show on OWN? #ThriveTV

Q4: Have you seen negative stereotypes of disability portrayed on reality TV? #ThriveTV

Q5: How can we make sure people with disabilities are portrayed as realistically as possible on reality TV? #ThriveTV 

Q6: Some have said certain reality shows exploit people with disabilities – do you think this is true? Why or why not? #ThriveTV

Q7: Which reality shows would you like to see more people with disabilities? #ThriveTV

Q7.5: Zach, what are your future plans for shows? What are you looking forward to working on? #ThriveTV

Q8: Now we turn to you – do you have any questions about disability on reality TV, or any questions for Zach? #ThriveTV

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