7/4/2023 0 Comments Figleaf lingerie![]() Even insincere DEI can eventually lead to actual progress. Still, it may at times be better to have representation just to "check a box" than none at all. A few disabled people in high-profile positions can too easily be a fig leaf for systematic discrimination against less visible disabled job applicants, employees, or customers. It's also important to be on the lookout for DEI efforts that do harm by papering over bad practices instead of changing them, both in regard to disability and in other areas. And crass, stunt casting solely for notoriety is probably the biggest risk worth watching out for. Too much self-congratulation can ruin the normalizing effect. Cynical, rote representation without a real commitment to inclusion is always possible and unhelpful. That in turn makes disabled people’s needs and importance in society feel more significant and less like an afterthought.Īny particular iInclusion or representation campaign, like other corporate DEI initiatives, can of course be "ridiculous," but not so much for the reasons Owens suggests. Just a handful more disabled models can help shift people’s perceptions of how common disability is. But a little over 25 percent of Americans have some kind of disability, and far fewer than 25 percent of models have disabilities. Fashion modeling is a small, highly selective industry. When more disabled people are active in modeling, it makes disability itself seem less of a rare anomaly. More accurately reflecting the presence of disabled people in society. Seeing a doctor or a nurse in a wheelchair, a deaf actress, or a blind athlete gradually changes what people think disabled people can do, and can even help reset the mood around disabled people in general. Seeing disabled people perform well in other pursuits traditionally viewed as off-limits or “obviously” not suited to disabled people can gradually reshape those perceptions of disabled people as well. ![]() And deliberately hiring and featuring disabled models is a simple, direct way of demonstrating that disability is entirely compatible with beauty and sex appeal. Candace Owens’ assumption that the sight of a woman in a wheelchair is unattractive and therefore incompatible with modeling is a case in point. Seeing disabled people in jobs and activities that seem to contradict old, ableist ideas about disability can help change those ideas. Recalibrating old attitudes and boundaries. The hope for disabled people is that one or two high-profile disabled people can generate more opportunities for others, including possibly themselves. The same hope is more significant in other professions where people with disabilities have traditionally been seen as longshots, niche performers, or incompatible – like medicine, acting, and sports. ![]() It’s a pretty simple equation, though of course not very large-scale in an industry as relatively small as modeling. This increases the chances that people with disabilities might realistically make a successful career in fashion modeling. So again, what exactly do disabled people who care about these things hope they will achieve? Opening up career opportunities.Įvery casting of a model with a disability, especially a visible one, sets a precedent for hiring more. Representation happens when typically unseen people and unheard voices are proactively given a public platform – especially when otherwise marginalized people are able to "represent" people like themselves, rather than other kinds of people attempting to portray and speak for them. If nothing else they offer an opportunity to review the goals of disability inclusion and representation.įirst, what is the difference between "inclusion" and "representation?" Inclusion is the deliberate practice of making sure organizations and opportunities are fully open to all people, in this case focused on people with disabilities. On the other hand, whether or not Owen's remarks were ableist, offensive, inappropriate, or just clumsy and ill advised – whether or in what exact way Owens is or isn’t an ableist villain – her initial remarks suggest a fundamental misunderstanding, or possibly an intentional mischaracterization, of what inclusion and representation are for, particularly for people with disabilities.
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