Contemporary American Family on Stage: Disability Justice and Access Intimacy in Stephen Karam’s The Humans

Traditional family dramas have long relied on disability and queerness as metaphors to depict the dysfunctional states of American families. Although Stephen Karam’s The Humans borrows elements from the canon with its portrayal of a family tested by secrets, resentments, and illnesses, it diverges significantly from the tradition. As this article demonstrates, the portrayal of disability and caretaking in The Humans is not stereotypical since it places access intimacy, a term disability activist Mia Mingus has coined, to the center as a trope that keeps the family together and gives them strength to be resilient in the face of drawbacks. In the presence of access intimacy and reciprocal care, the bond that connects family members to each other is strengthened. This article argues that although Stephen Karam is not a disability rights activist, his play The Humans contributes significantly to the disability justice movement with its focus on access intimacy within the family.