People often hold stereotypical notions about disability, assuming people with significant disabilities offer little in terms of friendship or contribution. Some are even repulsed by that person’s physical appearance. Such responses, evident within the Christian community as well, fail to acknowledge the inherent worth of the person as created in God’s image. Obviously harmful to the disabled, such attitudes also trap able-bodied persons within a normate bias, making difficult the successful inclusion of persons with disabilities in classrooms, churches, and communities. Beauty and the Beast is used to challenge these perceptions and point to the beauty of the disabled, made visible through “wholesight.” Personal acquaintance and anecdotal descriptions of persons with disabilities illustrate such beauty.
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