There has always been an overprotection involving people with disabilities and it is very nice to know that there are people who care about our well-being. However, people have become accustomed to taking actions that, even unintentionally, end up perpetuating a behavior that diminishes the figure of the woman in a wheelchair.
I see that many people are amazed and delighted with the fact that I, a woman, in a wheelchair, with muscle atrophy, go out in stylish clothes, with well-done and sometimes extravagant makeup. What they don't know, after all, is that in addition to PCD, I'm an artist. I hear phrases like “How beautiful she is. She gets all dressed up, wears makeup”, said in a tone of extreme surprise. Many times I let out a wide smile and a prayer for the light of wisdom to fall on that person.
The typical pat on the head followed by comments like that is not the kind of recognition we seek. We accept compliments, yes, who doesn't like to be complimented? However, it is important to remember that we, wheelchair users or not, with disabilities or not, are people and we are responsible for our actions, for our choices and we have complete freedom to dress the way we like the most when we look in the mirror.
Through our clothes, accessories, makeup, we express our tastes, preferences, our ideology, our way of life, our struggles, our dreams. This is not something that should come as a shock, quite the contrary, it is something so natural that it makes me think that people believe that a person with a disability lives enclosed in their limitations, that being in a wheelchair is synonymous with a bucolic life with no prospects.
We talk so much about self-love, autonomy, expression and, even so, society is still surprised by a woman who lives with her limitation in a friendly way, who enjoys her own company, who accepts her body and is not attached to it. to standards. We are not eternally children. Therefore, there is no reason to infantilize anyone for having a different physical condition. Makeup is free, dress as you wish, feel sensual, like any adult woman.
In addition, I would like to emphasize the importance of addressing the aforementioned person directly, if he or she is with you. This is a very old rule of etiquette, which should always be used, but many still insist on addressing those who accompany the person with a disability, as if they were not able to understand. Let's spread a world with less prejudice and more respect!
And finally, I humbly say: my love, we are not cute! We are beautiful, wonderful and full. We are women.
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Amanda Lyra - Singer, songwriter, producer and presenter, wheelchair user and founder of Solyra Project . Follow her on FACEBOOK It is INSTAGRAM .
Paloma Santos is an illustrator, wheelchair user and feminist. "In my work as an illustrator I try to represent female diversity". Follow her on INSTAGRAM and like the page on FACEBOOK .
