What is beauty, really? We frequently talk about societal notions?of beauty and we mostly agree that there are different definitions of beauty. Skinny, fat, short, tall, scarred, freckled, etc…We believe everyone is beautiful.
The nudes in photographer Olivier Fermariello’s series ?Je t?aime moi aussi? (I love you, too) aren’t typical nudes. They show us the beauty of bodies that society deems “distorted” and “deformed” — intimate photos of people with disabilities.
From Beautiful Decay:
People with disabilities in most cases feel the discrimination of not being considered entirely as a man or a woman: instead they feel treated either as children, either as beings belonging to a third gender, neutral with no libido. This project is about people, who are suffering from this kind of discrimination, but are not willing to give up their fight choosing a direct way to express themselves revealing their intimacy.
Beautify Decay asks these painful questions:
Do they make you uncomfortable, these images of men and women outside the norm? Do you want to look away? Do the portraits feel exploitative?
Should they make you uncomfortable, and if so, why? Beautiful Decay says no and the reason why they should not hits home to us as liberals.?The photos of the little woman, for example. She is an adult woman who is sexual and sensual.
The exclusion of images of people with disabilities removes them from the context of normalcy, both alienating and alien-making.
When I first saw these photos, yes…I was vaguely uncomfortable, mainly because it did feel exploitative to me. But the more I look at them (and I’m not leering at them), the more I see beauty and confidence. I see people who want to be seen as people. I see people who want to be understood.
You can view the entire series (some are not safe for work) at Fermariello’s website.
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Tiffany Willis is the founder and editor-in-chief of Liberal America. An unapologetic member of the Christian Left, she has spent most of her career actively working with ?the least of these? and disadvantaged and oppressed populations. She’s passionate about their struggles. To stay on top of topics she discusses,?like her?Facebook page,?follow her on Twitter, or?connect with her via LinkedIn. She also has?a?grossly neglected personal blog?and a?literary quotes blog that is a labor of love. Find her somewhere and join the discussion.
