Hi Listers!
I'm rather excited by the thought of photos of us going round the world for
political purposes, but John Homan writes:
> In real life parents invariably want to show their
>children in the best possible light. Particularly their disabled children.
Where in the post does it mention "disbled children"? Quite clearly, it
does not.
>The purposes of the rights movement are more likely to be to use thes photos
>as a political tool, a wake up call to society, a fright if you like,
So you believe "the rights movement" wants to frighten people? Why do you
think that? How have you extrapolated that from the original post?
>As political propaganda it is
>unacceptable to me.
Well, I relish the idea myself. I'm a double congenital amputee from Oz and
I've just recently posed for a series called "Intimate Encounters" which is
an exhibition of disabled people focussed on issues of sexuality and
intimacy. The series was launched in Sydney in February and has had quite
an impact, if media reports and comments I've had mean anything. Frankly,
I'm sick of hearing that we should hide away our faces and bodies, lest
anyone get any effect at all from our portrayal. If seeing my nude self is
a political statement, then so be it. And more power to it.
I work across a few media outlets here in Oz and I am so over dealing with
boring secrecy issues around us being seen. For some reason disabled people
seem to be more paranoid than others about how our images or words are used
by the media - it makes spreading the news about what's happening in our
lives so much more difficult. I know the argument revolves around past
practice of using us as medical models, but hey! Change is possible and
it's happening right now.
I've been photographed, X-rayed, used on posters and in TV documentaries
and I've accepted that I can't always control how those images are used.
Most of the feedback however has been extremely positive and
self-affirming. I would like to encourage any of us who want to be seen
publically to get out there and do it, because I do believe it opens up
opportunities for us and the general public to grow a little stronger.
Cheers!
Kath D
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