hellomynameismaddy:rmcdonnell:Early in September, I was asked to be a part of a project to break
hellomynameismaddy: rmcdonnell: Early in September, I was asked to be a part of a project to break down societal barriers on disability identity and sexuality. I said yes to the project before I had even really thought about what it would mean to be a participant. Was I ready to answer questions that society had about me? Do I even have answers? These are thoughts that had passed through my mind before, but I’ve never had to address it head on. Just the thought of being in such a vulnerable state made my heart race. I needed to confront these barriers and see my body and identity in a new light, outside of my own perceptions. I knew that this was something I wanted to do for myself. And essentially for others later on in my life who ever doubt me, or want to say that beauty is what I am not. I had an image in mind when doing this photo shoot, but what ended up being captured came out beyond my expectations. I wanted to show off my scars and imperfections that I have tried to hide for years. Some of my pictures capture my ‘sticks&stones’ tattoo which still holds so much value to me. There are still times when I look at these pictures and automatically want to critique every flaw that I see, but I feel that my confidence will come with time. Image description 1: A picture of a young female with a gazing expression, wearing a sparkle gold tank top and a black skirt, sitting in a purple wheelchair, with a black background. Her legs are angled outside of the chair and a scar appears on the right side of her thigh. Image description 2: A picture of a young female with a curious look, wearing a black bra and a black skirt, sitting sideways in a purple wheelchair with her back facing the camera and a black background. Image description 3: A picture of a young female smiling, wearing a black dress, standing behind her purple wheelchair holding on to the back rest with both arms, with a black background. Image description 4: A picture of a young female with her back toward the camera and her face turned away gazing into the black background. The light focuses on her back, with her hair swept to the right side, and a tattoo in cursive writing reading ‘sticks&stones’. Image description 5: A picture of a young female laying on the ground with her head propped on her left arm. Her purple wheelchair is placed in front of her, with the wheel facing the camera. This creates lines and shadows on the young females glowing face. Rosie!!!!!!!! Really beautiful! -- source link