“People, when they say: ‘You’re an inspiration’, they mean it as a compliment. And I know why it happens,” Australian disability activist Stella Young told the audience at TEDxSydney in 2014.

“It’s because of the lie, it’s because we’ve been sold this lie that disability makes you exceptional. And it honestly doesn’t.”

Young explained that the ‘inspirational’ memes circulating online, featuring images of people with disability, were only reinforcing that. She called them “inspiration porn”.