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My family cultivated the best in me, so I grew up believing my disability was an asset.
Getty Images. Design by Bella Geraci.
Perhaps it is this vantage point that the industry struggles with marketing the beauty of disability.
The beauty industry created a fantasy that society still feels pressured to make a reality.
Two years later, I got excited whena photoof a plus-size model with her belly exposed went viral.
Felicity Ingram for Olay
This is also when I realized no beauty company had focused on disability.
As that standard falls out of favor, disability is still an afterthought in the diversity conversation.
We are in factthe largest minority in the world.
My photo for Yahoo Life’s International Day of Persons with Disabilities shoot.
When considering disability representation, we must include all ethnic groups, gender identities, and age brackets.
It is the largest minority in the world.
One of the first major models with a disability, Mullins modeled for Alexander McQueen in 1999.
A still from Wet n Wild’s Breaking Beauty campaign featuring Mama Cax (second from right).
Mercado, an actor and model with spastic muscular dystrophy, made a splash inDieselandTargetads, even modeling forBeyonce.
Mercado’sOlay #FaceAnything campaignis one of her favorites because of how little makeup she had on.
it’s possible for you to write your own journey and your own rulebook."
Photos from Dove’s #ShowUs project.
But that seems about it and I’m not only underwhelmed, I’m flummoxed.
The fashion industry has not only acknowledged disabled bodies but also started to innovate and design for them.
I never heard from them again.
Featuring wheelchair users is so important.
According to the World Health Organization,65 million people globally need or use wheelchairs.
So, when casting a person in a wheelchair: yo ask people whoactuallyuse wheelchairs.
They wanted me to dance in the chair and do a 360-degree turn or wheelie.
I never heard back from them again.
This is why it is important to represent a fully diverse range of disabilities.
The general public otherwise remains ignorant to the vast spectrum of disability, whether visible or invisible.
When seated, my Cerebral Palsy is not obvious.
My photo for Yahoo Life’s International Day of Persons with Disabilities shoot.
We need to work together to eliminate this jot down of stigma and ignorance.
Her prosthetic or any mention of disability is not on display, even when she speaks.
A still from Wet n Wild’s Breaking Beauty campaign featuring Mama Cax (second from right).
So what can be done?
And what does the future hold?
Then everyone should be represented."
I couldn’t agree more.
That kind of change also requires everyone.
We need allies as I had with my homemade Dove video.
Photos from Dove’s #ShowUs project.
This brings us back to Dove.
However, this only motivates me.
Read the rest ofThe Beauty of Accessibility.
