Reading the article reminded me of the time when I broke my arm. As a child, I broke my arm after jumping off my cousin’s bed and ended up with a pink cast on my arm. I hated the fact that I had a pink cast because it drew pity from people, which made me uncomfortable. I did my best to hide it by wearing a jacket wherever I went.
The author of the article points out that ‘the priority for design for disability has traditionally been to enable while attracting as little attention as possible,’ and it was about trying not to project the image of ‘disability’ after all. Interestingly, the article uses eyeglasses as an example of how perceptions can shift. Once a plain and purely functional aid for a disability, eyeglasses have evolved into a fashion statement, celebrated for their aesthetic value and the personal style they add.
According to the article, the eyeglasses were also once functional aid for a disability that tried to “camouflage” the disability by making the eyeglasses “invisible pink plastic glasses”. Now, we do not think at all that a person has poor eyesight or visional problems just because they wore glasses. This is because eyeglasses also serve as a fashion statement. Reading this article, I realized that “fashion” and “disability” are not two separate concepts that could never be integrated.
I thought that this shift in how eyeglasses are perceived and other examples in the article showcase the importance of projecting a positive image rather than trying not to project an image at all. And this made me think that this could transform aids from something that people feel they need to hide, as I did with my pink cast, to something they want to showcase.
Reflecting further on this concept, I realized that it is the mindset surrounding disability that often defines it. By adopting an approach that values visibility and style, I believe that we can challenge and change the stigmatizing attitudes that suggest disabilities should be concealed. We can shift from a mindset that views disabilities as deficits to one that recognizes them as a part of human diversity to be accepted and embraced.