Although I should be studying up on finals at the moment, I couldn't resist posting this extremely neat site I just ran across. It's actually part of a group exhibit for CONTACT 2010, which I have yet to look up more information on. Anyway, it's called American Able .

Through spoofing American Apparel shoots, they want to reveal how invisible women with disabilities are in advertising and the media. We at WSAC have discussed the problems with American Apparel's advertising before, and this is just another piece of it: "[they claim] that many of their models are just 'everyday' women . . . However, these women fit particular body types . . . are highly sexualized . . . and appear to be able-bodied."

"Rarely, if ever, are women with disabilities portrayed in anything other than an asexual manner, for ‘disabled’ bodies are largely perceived as ‘undesirable.’ In a society where sexuality is created and performed over and over within popular culture, the invisibility of women with disabilities in many ways denies them the right to sexuality, particularly within a public context."

It's not just an attack on American Apparel, but the way in which mass media has decided to handle women with disabilities. This is a topic I have yet to hear much about. I would love to learn more!