Originally Posted by
Uncanny X-Man
No one is saying a big deal needs to be made out of it... but waving it all away like it's nothing is dismissive and, frankly, lazy writing. What you wrote in your previous posts makes a lot of sense to me... because you took the time to discuss it and explain it. If a writer chooses to have a character make a choice that's arguably controversial, or do something you wouldn't necessarily expect of them, it's a writer's job to take my hand and walk me through the journey. That's why we read about these characters after all, because we are invested in them and want to know why they do the things they do.
I don't have first-hand knowledge with missing legs so I'll make an example with what I know: when Bobby came out as gay, several pages were devoted to what was going on in his head, why he kept it hidden all these years, etc. As a gay man myself, I knew exactly what he was going through, could relate to the decisions he made and the reasons why he kept it a secret all this time, and didn't strictly need it to get it spelled out over several pages. Because my own personal experience allowed me to relate.
In that case, like in Shan's case, the writer was taking the character on a path most readers wouldn't necessarily expect them to go. And yes, missing a leg and being gay are 2 vastly different things, however in both cases it's the writer's job to sell readers on a character's decision when it's particularly controversial or it's something most people wouldn't understand. Just like I didn't expect Bobby to suddenly make out with boys with no explanation, as a reader I'm invested in understanding Shan's decision to keep a prosthetic leg. If the writer doesn't take me through that journey, I can't just accept it: perhaps my mind is too small but I can't put myself in the shoes of, well, every single person who has something different from me. Pretending that readers can do that and feigning offense when someone says "I don't understand why she would do that" is frankly terribly dismissive and lazy.