Kylie Jenner Uses A Wheelchair For Fashion

By Isabelle Garreaud on December 5, 2015

Photo captured by Steven Klein for Interview Magazine

If you have been on any social media site in the past couple days, you probably are aware of Kylie Jenner’s controversial photo.

In case you don’t “keep up with the Kardashians,” Kylie Jenner is the 18-year-old daughter of Kris Kardashian and Caitlyn Jenner (formerly known as Bruce Jenner) and is famous as a reality-TV star. It is not surprising that she is once again headlining the news and the trending on social media sites, but this time it’s not because of her infamous lips.

In the December/January cover photo for interview magazine taken by the photographer, Steven Klein, Kylie, an able-bodied teenager, poses in a wheelchair with an expressionless face.

This is one photo of many for the magazine’s photo shoot, but this is the photo getting the most attention and backlash. A lot of times I think society is too sensitive and people should not get so worked up as they do (cough cough, Starbucks’ red cup), but this is a different situation. It is insensitive to use wheelchairs as a fashion accessory or prop; they are not something people choose to use, they are something you become confined to because you either can’t walk at all or can only walk a small distance.

Although it may not have been intentional, Kylie and anyone else involved with the shoot come off as being ableists by using a wheelchair for her own personal gain. It’s not even a standard looking wheelchair, because if someone as famous as Kylie Jenner is going to be seen in a wheelchair it has to be retro and expensive looking (remember the one Lady Gaga used after her hip surgery?).

Being in a wheelchair should not only be considered cool if the wheelchair is gold, and the user is in a provocative outfit and has the ability to leave it behind after the photo shoot. A day in the life of a handicapped person is not easy, and on top of their physical problems, they have to deal with discrimination and stereotypes.

My mom has multiple sclerosis and there have been times when she needed to use a wheelchair to get around, but she will avoid it at all costs because she does not like the looks people give her. It isn’t fair for people like my mom to be looked down upon or even avoided while Kylie Jenner in a wheelchair is considered fashion. The reality TV star is already privileged enough with her fame and fortune, and although she may have problems in life, being handicapped isn’t one of them.

What makes it worse is how the photo is being justified; the wheelchair is supposed to symbolize her “limitations” as a star. But the thing is, being in a wheelchair does NOT make you limited — it allows you the freedom to move around. If you can’t walk, a mobility device gives you more independence because, without it, you wouldn’t be able to go anywhere without someone’s help.

There are a lot of different ways you can symbolize your limitations for artistic effect, but sitting in a wheelchair is not one of them. You wouldn’t do a photo shoot wearing hearing aids or using a blind person’s cane if you were in fact not hearing impaired or blind. There is a line when it comes to artistically expressing yourself and you need to figure out if your portrayal is offensive to a certain group of people. Hopefully, Kylie Jenner has learned her lesson.

 

What College Students at Fordham University are saying about it?

 “My immediate reaction is this feels insensitive. She seems to be using someone else’s disability to talk about herself in a kind of selfish way.” –Caroline Eng

“There are other ways to artistically represent your struggles with fame without capitalizing on a group that you’re not a part of (people who use wheelchairs)” –Anonymous

“To me, this has an ableist undercurrent, but so do many things, people just know that it’s OK to attack Kylie Jenner on issues but they’re not genuinely interested in fighting overall ableism.” –Mackenzie Harte

“It’s atrocious to people who actually have to use wheelchairs and are disabled.” –Laura Gerkis

            “There are other ways to portray limitations without mocking people who have to be in wheelchairs” –Kyle Newman

“It’s wrong for her to use a wheelchair to show the supposed ‘limitations’ of her fame when so many people are actually disabled and need this to get around.” -Carolyn Guerrero

“She is making a point at the expense of people who are physically disabled.” -Sophia Nolas

            “She’s belittling those that actually have a disability. Poor, poor Kylie, she so rich she needs a wheelchair to carry her money.” – Sara Garcia

            “Her attempt at making a visual with deep implications just came out very insensitive and frankly stupid.”-Mike Figueroa

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