Sure, we see ourselves reflected in roles on TV and in the movies occasionally. Many times they even use those of us who are actually disabled performers for those portrayals, but have you noticed there is only a few types of disabilities represented? That’s because Hollywood is very selective in its choice of disabled actors. (Read: the more disabled you are the less likely you are to see somebody like you on TV.)

Why is that? Insiders say it’s because it is a look business. Pretty sells. It’s the reason why those who are aesthetically pleasing are cast as lead characters and those who aren’t aren’t. A casting director told me straight out that there are more deaf people on TV because it is a “pretty” disability. According to their narrow minds, the viewing audience finds it easier to identify with a hot looking deaf girl than with someone who is a high level quad or has severe CP.

But is Hollywood where we point the finger?

You’ve seen it. The preference generally goes to those of us who are the most ablebodied. Sure, nobody talks about it, but it’s there. In fact, you’re probably guilty of engaging in it yourself. Think back to the last time you were in a group of disabled people. Did you fall into the same trap many ablebodied people do? Did you associate more with those who have your disability or one that is less disabling, and avoided – maybe too strong of a word – didn’t go out of your way to talk to those less disabled than you? If you answered yes (like I did), you’re caught up in the disability pecking order.

This dilemma is not exclusive to us though. In Spike Lee’s film “School Days,” he examines the pecking order among African-Americans, and the “racism” that exists between lighter-skinned blacks and those with darker pigment.

Have I as a quadriplegic actor experienced it? First hand, more times than I can count. Often I’m not even considered because of preconceived notions about working with a quad. The more ablebodied you are the more you’re considered and the more you work. There are even a few disabled actors at the high end of the function level, passing themselves off as ablebodied. They play judges, behind-a-desk workers and the like. They build up impressive resumes playing “normal” people. Do I blame them? Hell, no! Hollywood’s a tough town. I’d do it in a heartbeat. Am I jealous? Of course, I’m human.

So the pecking order is alive and kicking. What can we do about it? Scream, yell, or pound our crutches? We could, and further the angry gimp stereotype, or we can work from the inside, show off our talent, and hope to be discovered. That sometimes works.

For me, my best defense of it is the knowledge that this monster exists. It’s a fact. There is a pecking order. I can either deal with it or get eaten up by anger and self-doubt. I chose the former, and leave the latter to the martyrs.

Jim Troesh has been an actor and writer in Hollywood for more than 20 years. His credits include numerous movies, TV episodes and 3 1/2 years as “Scotty” the quadriplegic lawyer on Highway to Heaven starring Michael Landon. He is a past president of the Media Access Office, and the former national chairman of the Screen Actors Guild/American Federation of Television and Radio Arts Performers With Disability Committee.