Thursday, September 1, 2011
My Legs Gave Me Super Powers
Aimee Mullins is a perfect example of how the rhetoric of the body depends on the conversation we choose to have about it. Not only does Aimee exemplify all four categories we are looking at - shape shifter, cyborg, super hero AND femme fatale (if by femme fatale we mean dangerously beautiful and powerful), she also raises questions that challenge the way we think and talk about the body: What does a beautiful woman have to look like? What is a sexy body? What does it mean to be disabled? What is a prosthetic? I invite you to share your thoughts about any of these and/or other topics she raises. Also, to consider this - as much as Mullins does to advance the discussion about the body, are there limitations she leaves un-addressed?
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I particularly like the advantages she has, such as being able to switch heights. Even though she is considered to be disabled she has things that make her better than what is considered "normal." Also, its outstanding how she bettered her life and is now a motivational speaker. Very impressive.
ReplyDeleteI think that switching heights is one way Aimee exemplifies shapeshifter, but I think more importantly she has has the ability to shift the world's view of the disabled community completely, if only for a small moment. In this way she not only shifts the shape of herself physically, she also shifts everyone around her mentally.
ReplyDeleteI also think that it is amazing that Aimee can use her position as a public speaker to change the image we have of what a disabled person is. The part that I find that most amazing is that she was still a college level athlete (Wikipedia) and is probably faster than I am on foot.
ReplyDeleteWhat a meanningful presentation. And she is a beautiful woman! she has already recognized the human capacity, and to convert the message that we can decide how we respond to life even we have some physical limitation.
ReplyDeleteAgreeing with "Unknown" and Claire, I think it's awesome how she can change her heights. I've never considered being disabled to be a good thing, other than maybe getting to cut roller coaster lines at theme parks, until now. Who would have guessed that a disabled person could be put at an advantage. I also found it interesting how she let the children in without any adults to see their untampered reactions. Adults, parents in particular, influence young minds to think a certain way. It can't really be avoided, but it can be used as an explanation for why things are accepted or unaccepted in society.
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ReplyDeletei think Aimee did a great job showing what her life has been like after her disability. i don't think, however, that she did a good job showing how she overcame her struggles. this video would have been more inspirational if she focused on how she was able to overcome all her hardships immediately after her incident. i have a family friend who has lost a limb. it was a very difficult and long process for him to be able to overcome his disability. he had to overcome a lot of struggles just to perform day to day activities. but due to his will power and persistence, he became stronger physically and mentally. Aimee has the ability to inspire more people who are disabled by acknowledging that she herself has also suffered and struggled to overcome and not give up no matter what. it is important to stay hopeful and optimistic for the future and not to sit there feeling sorry for yourself. Aimee showed this it is possible to be strong and powerful even as an amputee. my friend taught me that it is important for one to be thankful for what they have because in an instant it can all be taken away.
ReplyDeleteActually I don't quite agree with Ahmad's idea.Surely that she didn't show how she overcome her struggles in this video, but I think she still has show the optimistic spirit in this video.I understand that after people become disabled,they will face a lot of struggle. But Aimee is trying to tell those people that if you become disable, don't think that is a disaster, cause that will make your recovery very painful. If you think this is a new chance of your life to create something special, then you won't be that painful in the rest of your life. She wants to tell us that maybe become disable is a good change in your life. In my opinion, no matter how you look outside, a person has strong heart like Aimee make she become one of the most beautiful woman in the world.
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ReplyDelete"People that society once considered to be disabled can now become the architects of their own identities." Stunning. Mullins has essentially initiated paradigm shift for all of modern society. What was once perceived as a weakness is now considered a strength. From her words we understand that a woman is not born beautiful, rather she must manipulate her most unique attributes to be so. That creativity, that feeling of having your outstanding efforts acknowledged - that is beauty, the beauty we see manifested in all women who challenge man's generalized assumptions, women just like Aimee Mullen.
ReplyDeleteIs she disabled? It's debatable. The meaning behind the word transforms depending on the person you talk to. Personally, I wouldn't say she's the slightest bit disabled. She has a gift. Not one that she can just throw around at her own leisure, but one that she has to work hard towards. But her efforts have their own rewards. Yes, her legs are prosthetic. I'm sure it would be upsetting to know that part of your flesh and blood, the body you were born with, is missing. But if you can train yourself to get past that, and make do with the resources the world has to offer (be it bionics or anything else), then you truly can conquer disability.
It was surprising that she doesn't even consider it a disability because she's completely gotten past it. In some ways it can even be an advantage as she says in the video, and it raises the question of if people would ever seek to have parts their bodies removed in order to better themselves (artificial, stronger legs/arms/organs and more).
ReplyDeleteAt her speech, Aimee told us that even she is disable, she still leads a amazing life and not feels too bad as we normally concerned about disable people. With the modern technology, she has even more choice for "legs". She reminds me my old neighborhood. When I was a child my neighborhood was a college teacher who lost one leg and her husband in a traffic accident. She not only kept teaching but also but also raised her daughter by her own.As a child I always curiosity about her half leg and like to touch it feel it. It seems too rule now but her always feeling happy and let me do so. I'm sure that both her and Aimee must spending a lot to overcome the difficulties and there heart remain strong and powerful to facing the everyday life.
ReplyDeleteI like how Aimee has not mentioned anything about her prostatic legs being a problem. She tries to inform and change people's perspectives about the idea of being disabled. Many people, including myself, would have considered a missing leg as a disability prior to watching this video. This just shows how she inspires to create a new image for people in a similar situation as her. That situation does not have to be just a missing leg, it could be any other condition that people consider as a disability. She also talks about how she turned her prostatic legs into a form of art through modeling. The styles displayed in her modeling pictures are new to me and appear more appealing to me then if other models, without prostatic legs, would have looked in my opinion. This also goes back to the point she said about having an advantage. She truly brings hope to so many people with her example.
ReplyDeleteI want to add on the fact that she really works hard to show that her legs are an art form. That was especially meaningful to me; How she made what everyone else would consider a devastating loss into something beautiful. She has a versatility that I'm sure other models are jealous of. It's very inspiring how positive and optimistic she is. It's something everyone can relate to.
ReplyDeleteAs it is mentioned right under the video, Aimee exemplifies all four categories. What I like is the different legs that she uses, and the designs that become art, as mentioned above. By using all the types of legs, this becomes another element of shape shifting. Not only is she shifting, but so are her legs. Its nice to see that she is not focused on having prosthetic, but actually how good her legs look.
ReplyDeleteI want to first jump back to those comments of Ahmad and Hanpei regarding the lack of information on how she overcame her struggles. I personally agree with Ahmad that there wasn't a whole lot of evidence on how she overcame her struggles. You could argue, however, that the whole video was about how she overcame her struggle, assuming the struggle in question was changing peoples’ views on disabled people. I feel that her goal while speaking was not intended to tell about her struggles of overcoming her disability. It was merely to change peoples’ attitudes about what it means to be disabled.
ReplyDeleteThe difficult part of this video is placing her into a category. As Mrs. Huntman stated in her introduction, Aimee can easily be placed in to all four. Looking upon the past few posts, it seems that the category of shape shifter comes up a lot. I feel that she is demonstrating the idea of superhero. It appears to me that she is accomplishing many things that ordinary people cannot do. She is able to stand up with confidence and show people that she is no different from the rest of them, and she has a large impact on peoples' views.
Ed left a really profound summary upon which I'd like to expand.
ReplyDeleteAimee's lack of natural legs, which until very recently would have been considered a disability, is now her gateway to success. Her lack of legs doesn't hamper her at all; rather the variety of prostheses she has augments her performance in athletics and, to some extent, acting. Through her disability, through her prostheses, she is superior in quite a few ways to many "regular" people. In my opinion, this makes her a superhero.
However, she fails to address a few limitations. First, Aimee was athletic before needing prostheses. It cannot be said whether or not someone who was not an athlete would have had the same drive and success in aesthetic appearance as Aimee. And second, her range of legs must be VERY expensive. Without grants, insurance, and what have you, many amputees could not afford the range of prostheses that Aimee owns.
Being confident, Aimee is so active and so happy in the life. Also she is pretty successful both in the career and in her life. Normally, disabled people lose confidence to some degree but Aimee is really an exception. She is a beauty, definitely. She is an example of femme fatle even though she is disabled. Her question was impressive:"What is beautiful? What is disabled?" Will I think she is disabled when I see her running or acting freely in the studio? Will I think she is a disabled person who needs sympathy when I see she is even much more confident than many ordinary people? The answer would be no, obviously. Health is not only related to body but also to one's heart. No person who doesn't have any confidence can be called healthy. Aimme's question reminds me a lot.Actually, in history, many great people were disabled. Roosevelt was an example.
ReplyDeleteI really like her comment about Pamela Anderson having more prosthesis in her than Amy did. This causes a shift in the mind because Amy can alter herself with beautiful legs and an ideal height at will. Women in our culture today will have implants and plastic surgery to attempt to obtain the ideal body, but nobody refers to them as handicapped. I found that comment very interesting.
ReplyDeleteI also like how she is using her position as being an athletic, beautiful woman, to ideals that society values, to get peoples attention on the advances in prosthetic technology today. Beauty is determined by society and Amy is a great example of what beauty is today, and this gives her even more power when she is trying to change what people think about when they think of people that are handicapped.
I really like how Ed addressed the fact that she didn't address her life at the point of overcoming her disability. It would have been nice to hear about what she had to battle as she took on these challenges of being "handicapable" rather than handicapped. I do however agree with Hanpei that she does seem to address how she has overcome her struggles throughout the presentation more subtly with what she has accomplished and how she has overcome what people think of when they think of someone who is handicapped.
I agree with Claire. Switching height is not only for getting taller, but also for enjoying different views from different levels. Most people think she is disabled, however, she believes that this should be an advantage which normal people could not have. This new thought against the traditional point and helps many people who have physiological defect to move to the light side of the world. When God closed a door, he would always open a window. She found the window and made herself a happy life.
ReplyDeleteI do not agree with Jerry. God may close a door, but it depends if the person wants to move on or does not. Some people cannot move past their obstacle. Aimee demonstrates a tremendous woman that looked past all of her difficulty and strive to be better. She uses her body to inspire others that have the same problem. She has strive through so much and wants to change the views of the world. But not everyone is like Aimee. She is one of the rare few that could possibly look past all of the tragedy and move forward. Others are stuck in their current state. Aimee is the prime example of someone that can be sexy and strong in society since society has placed such an emphasis on "beauty". Aimee brings beauty to a whole new level.
ReplyDeleteI am worried about how painful she is when she "wear" her fake legs. However I like her confidence. If I were her, I even won't be brave enough to face other people.
ReplyDeleteI want to change my height too, but I don't want to change my height in that way. I was so curious what made her disabled.
ReplyDeleteShe can be considered as shape shifter and superhero.
ReplyDeleteShe has superior public speeking skills.
ReplyDeleteI am so jealous
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