Thoughts on Romantic Disability

What makes a disabled person into a romantic figure in literature, films, plays, musicals, and other means of entertainment? What draws us to the underdog and makes us love them romantically? I haven’t a clue as to what the human heart likes, desires, or is conditioned to, but this is the subject of my blog. I have no scientific research behind this but would like to start a conversation. I watch a lot of movies and still can’t manage to cram everything in but got to thinking about the romance in figures that we see, that we (me) are attracted to:

Sketch of Quasimodo in "Hunchback of Notre Dame"

• In "Hunchback of Notre Dame" I wanted so much for Quasimodo to get the girl Esmeralda, but I didn’t see how that was going to work out in my mind because the great looking guy usually wins.
• In the film "Dracula" the one with Gary Oldman, Vlad the Impaler turns very unusual with pale skin and weird eyes and crawls up buildings but has unrelenting lure for the heroine. Humm.
• In the TV series "Beauty and the Beast" Vincent has a mane of hair all over him but still has human qualities, and he is the love interest.
• In the Disney film "Beauty and the Beast" Vincent again has a temper, looks like a lion, isn’t exactly handsome, but we all still believe that Belle will fall in love with him, and we all hope that she will.
• In Bronte’s "Jane Eyre" Rochester’s disabilities softens his somewhat arrogant nature and Jane stays with the man she loves.
• In "The Shape of Water" an amphibious creature and a janitor fall in love. I haven’t seen the movie, but the romantic lead figure looks appealing, and again a scaly character pines for a woman.
• In "Avatar" the alien creatures have big fangs, large ears, large eyes. These folks are covered in scales, feathers, yellow eyes and so much more, yet we believe in the romance. Why is that?
• In "Forrest Gump" Lieutenant Dan is a feisty alcoholic, and yet we still love him and find him attractive, even without two legs. Maybe this is due to good casting?
• In "The Station Agent" the protagonist was born with dwarfism, has a sarcastic temper, but a warm heart when he wants to use it. He shows sentimental sides and has affection for his female counterpart and she reciprocates.

So I didn’t do massive research into this topic, but it brought up the notion that movies, books, dance, etc. can bring us into the evolution of who we love and are attracted to. Maybe Hollywood and filmmakers do know how to create love stories using people with disabilities, they just don’t tap into the reality nearly as much as they could without using costumes to disguise it. I know there is a mile-long list of films involving people with disabilities, but these folks are usually very attractive according to modern standards.

What would have happened if Princess Leia fell for Jabba the Hutt in "Star Wars?" That would be something.

Is this because we don’t want a hero who is physically imperfect?