Summary Of Prosthetic Power By Aimee Mullins

When watching “Killing us softly,” a documentary of advertising’s image of women, I found that aspects of the film were similar to my own experiences. As the video explained, girls learn early on that looks matter. From elementary to adolescence, I experienced negative judgement and bullying. In elementary I was always labeled “fat”, “ugly”, and was even teased for having a scar under my eye. From then on I was always concerned about my weight and appearance. At such a young age, we are convinced that if we do not have the perfect body type or desired physical characteristics, we must change ourselves. An example in the video, would be how the media and pop culture advertise the “ideal image of beauty.” From these messages, girls get the idea

While reading “Prosthetic Power” by Aimee Mullins, I was inspired to hear her story. With a prosthetic leg, Mullins didn’t see herself as different from anyone else. Her collection of prosthetic legs brought her variation in height, and she found it fun that she could control that. She said that a prosthetic limb could “stand as a symbol that wearers have the power to create whatever it is that they want to create in that space” (wv 211)This means that it can be used to represent one’s own identity coming from a state of empowerment. After reading this article, I thought about my grandmother, who also had a prosthetic leg because of a surgery that went wrong. People would stare at her leg and make her feel ashamed, when in fact she had nothing to be ashamed of. I remember a time when we were entering a restaurant and she needed help stepping up onto the curb. A young woman was sitting outside and as I helped my grandmother up, she gave us a dirty look. I was very offended by the amount of ignorance presented in this situation. From this event she did not feel empowered, instead depressed and insecure. In her article, Mullins also said that if we want to uncover the potential in our humanity, “we need to celebrate those heartbreaking strengths and those glorious disabilities we all have.”(WV211) If my grandmother was still alive today I would love to share this article with her. People with disabilities need to be recognized just as any other human