Great British Bake Off: were you pleased that Briony’s impariment wasn’t mentioned?

Sam_Alumni
Sam_Alumni Scope alumni Posts: 7,605 Championing
in Everyday life
Over on Disability Horizons website, writer and Bake Off superfan Raisa debates whether Great British Bake Off contestant Briony William’s impairment not being mentioned was a good thing.



She says:
If I’m completely honest, I’m extremely conflicted by the fact that nobody mentioned Briony’s disability. She probably wanted it to be that way, I’m guessing. Part of me thinks that not disclosing it means it is not a big deal, making disability ‘normal’. It stopped her from simply getting votes or pity and meant that she could just get on with the baking itself.

But the other part of me wishes someone had said something at the beginning, to show disabled people that they are being represented on TV in a positive way. I hadn’t even realised Briony had a disability until she mentioned her “little hand” during cake week. I would have liked to have felt solidarity with her from the very beginning, instead of it being treated as a minor detail. Because, at the end of the day, this is a huge milestone for TV, to have someone with a disability on such a high-profile show.

Read the whole article here.

What do you think? Were you pleased it was mentioned or do you wish they had said more about it? How do you talk about your own impairment?

Comments

  • Ami2301
    Ami2301 Community member Posts: 7,879 Championing
    I have not watched GBBO but reading Raisa's post got me thinking. I cannot judge what the contestants intentions were but I too am conflicted.

    On one hand, if I were in Briony's shoes, I would not have mentioned having a disability because the public's attitude can change in a flash which would likely result in the contestant receiving votes based on sympathy; not their ability.

    Then again, honesty is the best policy and I would have wanted others to see that we can do it too! We are not different, we are all human!
  • Sam_Alumni
    Sam_Alumni Scope alumni Posts: 7,605 Championing
    edited November 2018
    Briony did a podcast with BBC Ouch that you might like to take a listen to :)

    She also gave these tips:

    Don't be a martyr
    If you're kneading dough: "You don't have to be a martyr and knead on a worktop if that's not possible. If you've got a stand mixer I would recommend you use that because it will do the kneading for you.
    "That doesn't mean you're any less of a baker, it just means that you're using equipment."

    Grab yourself a marble rolling pin
    Using a marble rolling pin is very useful when you want to roll pastry very thinly.
    "They're so heavy that they do a lot of the work for you. You have a lot more control over what you're doing because you can use one hand to do it. They sound really expensive, but they're not."

    The bottle trick (really useful for separating egg whites)
    Crack an egg into a mug. Then, using an empty plastic bottle, squeeze the air out and hold it over the yolk.
    "When you let the air back in, it sucks the yolk back into the bottle and then you're left with the egg white."


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