2 years ago, we received an email from an incredible and gorgeous woman who push her boundaries and decided to talk to us about her disability. She wanted to use boudoir photography as a gift for her 35th birthday, a way to celebrate and treat herself.
Meet Katie
“I wanted to have a photo shoot to celebrate me finding beauty within my own body.
It took me a while to reach self-acceptance. In high school, I remember there was always this pressure society laid out for us that implied that the definition of beauty was to be thin and flawless. I was also a teenager with a physical disability.
I remember being at a mall, shopping with my friends and someone saying to me “You are very pretty, for a girl in a wheelchair”. It really got me to thinking that not only does my physical features go against social norms but so does my disability.
Have we built up such an image in our heads about the ideal look of beauty that we can’t think outside the box?
Why is there a box in the first place?
Why is my attractiveness contingent on the status of my abilities?
Years pass, my body changes, as naturally as a woman’s body would do. I started to carry myself with more confidence as time went by. I made a decision a few times along the way to choose a healthier eating lifestyle. My weight fluctuated here and there, but I continued to maintain a positive image of myself and I chose to become more active.
As a young woman with a physical disability, exercising routines had to be modified. I started including weekly swimming sessions, seeing a physiotherapist to see how I could optimize increasing my range of motion, and I use a hand bicycle three times a week. In addition to exercise, I found and implemented a diet that suited me, personally. I was able to eat healthy and still eat the foods I enjoy.
Now that I was on a good path, it was time to focus on pampering myself. Display to the world, how I am feeling on the inside.
“Yes, as a curvy woman with a disability,
I embrace and celebrate my sexuality.”
But I wasn’t always brave enough to share it openly on such a public platform. I am ready to challenge what people expect.
I am Katie, I’m thirty-five years old, single, curvy, sexy and beautiful.
Thank you, Juliette and Fanny, for helping me to bring out a side of me I wasn’t sure existed. I have a feeling the journey has only just begun…
“You are not invisible! You are worthy!”
A big part in making my decision to do a shoot comes from this breathtaking piece of poetry by my dear friend Forest Blakk: SWIPE RIGHT
