A series of photographs spoofing the often racy advertisements from clothing retailer American Apparel is questioning traditional ideas of beauty in a most provocative way.
The photos are of Jes Sachse, a 25-year-old Canadian college student with a rare genetic condition known as Freeman-Sheldon syndrome. She has unique facial features, a curved spine and her right leg is a bit shorter than her left, but Sachse is not lacking in attitude.
The series dubbed “American Able” includes 13 recreations of actual American Apparel ads. In one called “Tight,” Sachse appears in a leotard to strut her stuff before an oversized window. In another ad called “Workout,” Sachse is shown wearing nothing more than a headband and green shorts.
The work produced by Sachse’s friend, photographer Holly Norris, 21, is appearing in Toronto subway stations this month on more than 270 electronic screens as part of a photography festival.
“What I hope comes of this is that people can view disability differently and see that people with disabilities are sexual,” Sachse says. “So many people are trying to come to my aid and protect me from being exploited and they want to prevent disabled people from living their lives.”
The project began nearly two years ago as an assignment for a women and popular culture class that Norris was taking as an undergraduate at Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario. Norris thought it would be fun to spoof American Apparel advertising, because the company claims that models in its print ads are just normal, everyday girls, though they all seem to share similar body types.
“This idea of who is beautiful and what’s sexy that we see in the media all the time isn’t necessarily what beauty is to me or to you,” says Norris, who received permission from American Apparel to display the work publicly.
As a child, Sachse says she was taught to deny that she was different. But over the years she instead developed pride in her body. Most of the clothing used in the photos actually belongs to Sachse who says she likes to dress stylishly.
“I look confident in the photos and I look just how I feel about the work, about the idea, about my body,” she says.
This is an awesome article, and I am so glad to see inclusion at its finest- simply being treated the same as everyone else. Confidence is Sexy on everyone who wears it, and Jes wears it well! My hats off to Jes and her friend Holly, who are in my opinion, artistic and social geniuses!
Pretty COOL Sachse. – I believe a person is better by just being- “YOU”. Go Girl. – Your pics were inspiring, honest, and also just pretty neat. – Joe
This could be a way to show people that disabled people want to explore their sexuality just as well as they do. I know I sure would love to.
Disability is not sexy and neither is ability. However, there are sexy people with disabilities, and Jes is an example. Good for her for being confident about her ability and not focusing just on her perceived disability!
Sachse, you are fighting for all those who are not like everybody else. What great parents you have to
raise you as “normal” You are beautiful and it shows in every picture. You are inspring and look a lot nicer
than some of those skinny looking same models we see on a regular basis..
Sachse, you are beautiful. I think society’s idea of what constitutes as ‘sexy’ is skewed. It doesn’t reflect the diversity of the women who exist.
I blogged about this topic recently.
More work like this needs to be done in order to destigmatize all things disability! It is about time that people are able to recognize the uniqueness and beauty that comes from a variety of disabilities. Bravo!
A special thank you to Holly Norris for creating this feature art. Ms. Sachse is a beautiful example of how courage, confidence and individualism outrank elitism, sameness, and following the crowd. Art of this nature goes a long way in reducing stigma by demonstrating to the general public that individuals with disabilities often have other abilities that shine when encouraged.
Fabulous photos!
No disabilty cannot be sexy: it is in and of itself strictly an abstract concept; now a person with a disability can certainly be sexy, but as a person with a disability, I find abstract fetishism of disability as a universally applied concept bothersome on a personal level. This is mainly an issue with the headline, and less so for the story’s actual subject, whom I applaud. I know I wish I felt more sexy in front of a camera sometimes, self-assurance outside of a camera lens is hard to capture when one is terrible at responding to the ‘Everybody smile for the camera’ call…..I think I’m damn awesome in the mirror, possibly having a stroke in most every photo!
Sachse, I think you look fabulous and am inspired by your confidence and attitude. You go girl! Beautiful pics Holly!
i can simply say good for her she obviously doesnt suffer from the self-esteem issues i do as well as the anxiety and chronic nervousness especially central to issues such as sexuality and celebrating diversity, perhaps societies commonly held notions of what is sexy and what isnt could do with some tinkering
Amazing! I recently began dating a man who is a C5-C6 incomplete quadriplegic. I think he is incredibly sexy! Whenever I get near him, I just want to cuddle with him! It isn’t his disability that makes him sexy but him!