Aimee Mullins is an accomplished athlete, a motivational speaker, an actress and a model. Aimee Mullins is also a double amputee who wears prosthetic legs the way some women wear a new pair of expensive shoes, a drop-dead piece of jewelry or the latest pair of body-hugging designer jeans: with attitude; exuding confidence and leaving you wanting more.
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OH Yes! My parents used to say ” Attitude is everything!” It is!
An amazing woman. Truly.
My only problem with super-achievers like Aimee is that sometimes people think things like, “well, if SHE can do anything, how come YOU can’t?”
Penn & Teller, among my favorite celebrities, did a segment of their show Bullsh*t on the subject of handicapped parking. I was a bit upset that they chose to use as examples of why handicapped parking, in their view, is bull, young para-athletes who win races and pump iron and play wheelchair hockey and basketball — instead of weak, elderly, little old ladies with osteoporosis and walkers. For them, handicapped parking is definitely NOT bull and anyhow, those para-athletes can choose to not use it…
Aimee Mullins is an athlete who happens to not have lower legs. That she is able to accomplish much and with such pizazz is to her credit and I certainly don’t want to suggest that it is anything but incredible. I just don’t want her example to give the impression that every handicapped person could actually be that physical if they only improved their attitude. (I haven’t heard the talk, yet, by the way — no speakers on this computer.) Her upper body is healthy. Not everyone’s is. We all have to work with the capabilities we have, and we can work to push that envelope, but for some the constraints are different.
But those carved lega are stunning! I want to see them on! (I can’t bear heels of ANY height on my feet, the pain is incredible. Maybe not having toes would give me an advantage I never thought of in the vertically challenged department!)
WOW! That’s a powerful woman.
I think people who can turn adversity into personal power are wonderful. I think people who classify people as either/or have no clue as to what life is…someone who can force themself up off a couch that pain has forced them into is no less brave or heroic than this woman. But it still is very inspiring to see the heights that some people are capable of.
And geez louise! How friggin cool are those legs?
She is so impressive. I have never heard of her – thanks so much for sharing these with us.
I discovered your blog some days ago and I have to thank you also for the daily muse – it is a gift, it is the way I am starting every morning into a wonderful day.
Hugs
Manuela
It’s a nice sunny day here in California, so I’m pretty sure that when I broke out in goose bumps it was from listening to Aimee talk, and not because I needed to turn the heat up. Courage, spirit, presence…she has more in the little toe she lost than most of us find in a lifetime.
Let me also share this with you – another stunning example of spirit & beauty: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnLVRQCjh8c)
[...] jeans: with attitude; exuding confidence and leaving you wanting more.” Read and view more at Daily Art Muse. Bugworld, an interactive generative vermin installation. (via dwt) Related Link: Moccu Lab: [...]
Wow. I’m feeling mixed about this.
I have to agree with Sherry Bailey — it’s the exception, not the rule, to have innate characteristics that attract Steve McQueen’s attention. Also, while I am totally jealous of Mullins’ ability to change height, given the choice, I’d choose to keep my legs.
But Mullins is absolutely right: form and function and aesthetic should not be compartmentalized. We can think differently about prostetics and wheelchairs to improve the lives of people who need to use these aids, and to improve their lives to give them abilities the rest of us don’t have.
And finally, WOW what spirit and achievement this woman has.