Originally published in print March 2019.

Organised by Courtney McGrath.

Photography by Niamh Barry and Aoife Breen.

Models: Courtney McGrath, Jane Madden, Niamh Ní Hoireabhaird, Róisín Hackett

 

Selma Blair, a US actress who has been diagnosed with MS, stepped out onto the red carpet of an Oscars party last week (February 2019) in a stunning multi-coloured gown and matching, custom-made cane.

It didn’t take long before tweets and articles began to crop up about how Blair was ‘defying her disability’ by looking beautiful and stylish. Since when were ‘ability’ and ‘beauty’ mutually exclusive?

Rarely, if ever, are people with disabilities so visible. It’s even more rare for the style and beauty of a person with a disability to be recognised.

Myself and my friends were moved and inspired by this. We all identify as proud, disabled women with a love for fashion.

The idea for this shoot emerged when Courtney McGrath, Jane Madden, and I were on a trip to London Fashion Week last month (February 2019). Courtney was struck by the lack of diversity of the models: “I wanted these photos to capture the idea that not all disabilities are visible and we are all beautiful while having a disability, not despite it.”

Courtney was born with mid-frequency hearing loss which got progressively worse until she underwent an operation for cochlear implants when she was 16. Cochlear implants are medical hearing devices that provide direct sound signals to the brain. Cochlear implants are often confused with hearing aids, but the two have different functions.

Courtney told me how she used to go to any lengths to hide her hearing aids whilst in secondary school. Usually wearing her hair down or perfectly styled to hide her hearing aids, she wasn’t comfortable with her disability, and always just wanted to be “normal”.

 “College has taught me to be proud of who I am,” continued Courtney, explaining how she finally came to accept her disability. I met Courtney and Jane only a few weeks ago, but we’ve become quick and close friends. 

Jane agrees with Courtney’s comment, saying that she is now more proud of having a disability and being herself. Jane finds confidence in her style. I think we all relate to this.

Jane’s disability, Dyspraxia, isn’t necessarily visible, but it is no less real. Jane spoke to me about the appearance of most models in the fashion industry, saying, “more advertising campaigns and accessible clothing showing disabled women or even normal sized women would make women more confident within themselves, without a doubt.”

Community and allyship have really proven their worth to me in the past few months. These three girls have thought me so much about embracing my disability and that I’m allowed to take pride in myself.

Róisín Hackett, also featured in the photo shoot, experienced an injury to her spine when she was 17 and developed Cauda Equina syndrome, which affects the motor and sensory functions of her legs. Hackett then began using a walking stick, and researching blogs and Facebook groups to find somebody like her.

 Hashtags like #CripplePunk, #ChronicallyFabulous and #BabewithaMobilityAid caught Róisín’s attention, and she began to interact with other disabled women and post her own pictures of her and her cane.

 “I try and be the person I needed to see when I was 17 and struggling with my new identity,” says Róisín, before going on to praise Selma Blair for being so open about her diagnosis.

 The internet allows us to live beyond our means and connect with other disabled people. Our disabilities are vastly different, but we are similar. Not only are they my friends, they’re my role-models also.