Exploiting disability or promoting diversity?

Push Girls, an American reality show that premiered on April 2012 features the lives of four women who have been paralyzed by illness or accident and chronicles the day-to-day challenges they face in their lives.

Lady Gaga sparked a huge outcry from disability activists after performing in a wheelchair as part of her live show in Sydney. The Roman Reed Foundation, which promotes spinal cord injury research, took to its Twitter page to write: ‘Dear @ladygaga how about using your celebrity status 2 try 2 get us out of wheelchairs. Instead of cruising one. Cool?!’

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2014423/Lady-Gaga-slammed-disability-groups-performing-stage-wheelchair.html#ixzz2zcJX9i6R
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Outrage: But this was not the first time Gaga had used a wheelchair as a prop - and she wasn't the first star to do so either

Lady Gaga also used wheelchair and crutches in her “Paparazzi” music video (2009).

Lady Gaga performing at the VMA Awards

Photo-editorials

Emily Blunt with crutches in the Los Angeles Times, shot by Ruven Afanador

Vogue’s February 1995 issue, model Nadja Auermann shot by Helmut Newton

i-D‘s Winter 2010 issue, model Abbey Lee Kershaw shot by David Bailey

References:

http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2010/01/22/lady-gagas-disability-project/

http://exposingableism.wordpress.com/2010/01/24/disability-in-the-media-lady-gaga%E2%80%99s-disability-project/

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/07/14/3269089.htm?section=justin&site=financial-crisis

http://uk.eonline.com/news/252298/lady-gaga-s-disabled-mermaid-wheelchair-bit-sparks-controversy-and-egg-attack

http://www.sundance.tv/series/push-girls

“Push Girls”: Exploiting Disabilities or Promoting Inclusion?

http://fashionista.com/2013/11/nadja-auermann-and-abbey-lee-kershaw-brace-themselves#awesm=~oCax519VG7GTy7

http://nahtschatten.wordpress.com/2010/09/12/trend-invaliditat/

Disability “Chic”

Says it all !!!!!

Orthopedic inspired in design but not orthopedic in their effect

References:

http://runtelldat84.wordpress.com/tag/disabilty-fashion-2013/

http://www.modabot.de/disability-chic

Debbie Van Der Putten, model with a physical disability

Source: http://debbievanderputten.wordpress.com/3-portfolio/

Tanja Kiewitz recreates famous Wonderbra ad

Tanja Kiewitz, a model from Belgium without a forearm recreates Eva Herzigova’s famous Wonderbra ad to raise awareness of disability issues. The picture reads “Look me in the eyes…I said the eyes.” But this time instead of the model showing off a lingerie, Kiewitz is seen showing off her left arm.

Reference:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/20/handless-model-tanja-kiewitz_n_770127.html

Imme van der Haak- Beyond the Body

“Imme van der Haak’s work focuses on altering the human form by affecting its figure with just one simple intervention. For her project, Beyond the Body, photos of the human body were printed onto translucent silk which created the possibility of physically layering different body’s, ages, generations and identities.”

http://www.immevanderhaak.nl/index.php?/product/beyond-the-body/

Beyond the Body, A perception of appearance and identity, 2012

Photo credit: http://www.dezeen.com/2012/06/25/beyond-the-body-by-imme-van-der-haak/

http://www.immevanderhaak.nl/index.php?/product/beyond-the-body/

André Kertész- photographic distortion

Photo credit: http://www.lanciatrendvisions.com/en/article/at-the-origin-of-distortion

LUCYANDBART

“The Lucy and Bart collective are made up of British Lucy McRae and Dutch Bart Hess. They describe their work as an instinctual stalking of fashion, architecture, performance and the body. Translated to physical pieces, the duo use unexpected materials like foam, shards of wood and even balloons to create mindblowing ensembles that do much to distort the body.”

The Magic of Lucy and Bart, http://www.dazeddigital.com/fashion/article/6040/1/the-magic-of-lucy-and-bart