My body bothered me.
I did not take off my pants so easily to cover my different legs.
I had a hard time going out to buy clothes having to adjust to those tiny changing rooms and the lack of accessibility.
I looked at my scars and only saw imperfection for a body that didn't fit in the world.
Being a teenager was hard, but inhabiting a non-hegemonic body was much more
.
In this Women's Month there are many discourses around diversity but little is taken up with the inclusion of women with disabilities in gender issues.
In this context,
the bodies that do not follow certain rules seem to be "in bad shape"
and that is why they are victims of naturalized violence.
And while movements such as body positive have recently emerged, aiming at the acceptance and recognition of all bodies and showing real beauty,
women with disabilities, doubly excluded (by condition and gender)
, continue to be absent from these discourses and representations, remaining outside areas as everyday as fashion or maternity, strong taboos to be eradicated.
On the other hand, women with disabilities face
different forms of naturalized violence,
both in terms of access to sexual and reproductive health and through the doubts of society regarding our capacities and decisions.
So, it is no coincidence that women with disabilities today are still absent in the field of diversity.
Historically, the person with a disability was conceived from failure and failure, a vision closely aligned with the
hegemonic medical model focused on disability as a problem of the person
.
The body of people with disabilities, especially that of women, did not speak of beauty but quite the opposite: of imperfection.
This perception has especially harmed many women who have built a negative and devalued identity based on
not fitting in with those ideals of a harmonious and functional body
.
The exclusion and discrimination towards those different bodies is not something new and currently it continues to happen.
Far from that, it is a socially and historically installed vision, but one that needs to be deconstructed in order to move closer to
an increasingly inclusive perspective that takes all bodies into account
and avoids all forms of oppression and stigmatization.
Today, for a woman to have a disability is something that continues to be "wrong" for society because it does not obey the "normal body" that walks, sees and hears, has two arms or moves differently.
That path that began the current of the body positive to raise the acceptance of all women and all bodies is still
far from incorporating women with disabilities
, even when certain brands bet on representation in advertisements or we can see some images in the very sporadic social networks.
While
the absence of women with disabilities as consumers in advertisements
that directly target this audience continues to be evident, other brands are betting on their incorporation as part of their more inclusive outlook.
However, representation is not everything.
In fact, body diversity goes far beyond visibility:
accessibility in shops and changing rooms
, inclusive products that take particular needs into account (for example, pregnancy tests for mothers with disabilities).
They are also
trained salespeople
who know how to act in the presence of a person with a disability, for example helping the person with motor difficulties to try on a garment.
Designing, in addition,
comfortable or adapted garments
from the well-known brands themselves that must include all people in the offer of their products.
In this sense, it is essential that brands and companies commit to broaden their perspective to incorporate
coherence between what they say and do
.
Claiming and naturalizing the bodies of women with disabilities is something that cannot wait and seems to be one of the keys to continue freeing ourselves from labels and prejudices.
When breaking mandates seems to be the norm, it is worth asking:
how many women with disabilities do we see in leadership positions in the workplace?
How many in fashion magazines, on the networks and in advertisements linked to maternity?
That women with disabilities are made visible, represented and that they can also be seen as a beautiful and empowered woman for society is one of the greatest challenges in pursuit of a
truly inclusive
but fundamental society if we bet on a true diversity that accepts and celebrate all bodies without exceptions.