DECEMBER 10, 1999
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THE UNIVERSITY OF VICTORIA DECEMBER 10, 1999 |
by Patty PittsLast month, social work student Susan Anderson got an early Christmas present, celebrated her 25th wedding anniversary in style and broke several stereotypes about people with disabilities — all by sending a pro-active e-mail to a Toronto-based TV show. After viewing another ‘makeover’ segment on the Life Network program Images, Anderson questioned why women with disabilities were never chosen for the trio of guests who regularly received hair and makeup tips and wardrobe advice. “I suggested the show do a segment on women with disabilities in the workforce,” says Anderson, whose inherited form of arthritis requires her to use a wheelchair. “They sent me an answer referring to doing a show on ‘handicapped clothing!’ I wrote back saying, ‘No! What would be best is to integrate persons with disabilities with the regular features.’” The next invitation offered just that. Anderson was booked as one of a trio of women to receive a makeover for mature students heading back to school. Then, a guest on an earlier scheduled show cancelled and Anderson and her husband Dennis headed for Toronto a week earlier than planned. While the show didn’t cover the cost of the airfare (Anderson cashed in some points and her husband travelled at a reduced rate as her companion), it did pay for their ground transportation, the makeover, an anniversary |
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| dinner and the outfit of clothes chosen for Anderson.
Within hours of arriving in Toronto, she found herself in a beauty salon having her hair coloured and being outfitted by a clothing consultant. The next day she and her husband (he received a makeover, too) were taken to the studio for their on-camera haircuts and to meet the show’s host Adrienne Gold. At each step of the way, Anderson challenged long-held views of people in wheelchairs. “Everyone was terrific, but the members of the crew, the director, the hairdressers — none of them had ever worked before with someone in a wheelchair. The neatest thing was that none of the other women I appeared with knew I was in a wheelchair before we met in the studio for the first time. I was being included as any other woman would and I was doing something to raise awareness about people with disabilities.” The show aired for the first time on Nov. 15 and it likely won’t be the last time Images includes a person with a disability in its line-up. “I made some more suggestions to the host, such as including a woman with a visual impairment in a show on choosing complementary coloured clothing. Let’s keep the awareness thing going!” |
