These Photos Are Helping to Change the Face of Beauty
Katie Driscoll is a mom on a mission to get companies to include models with disabilities in advertisements. Driscoll, a photographer and mother of six, including a daughter with Down syndrome, founded the organization Changing The Face Of Beauty with fellow special needs parent, Steve English, to put the pressure on advertisers.
The campaign has had a lot of success, with 30 U.S. companies hopping on board so far. There’s been an outpouring of support via social media.
“The response to the campaign has been unreal. It gives me hope for the future,” Driscoll told The Mighty in an email. “I believe globally we’re changing the way people look at models as well as people with differences and that makes me so very happy.”
The organization created the hashtag #ChangingTheFaceOfBeauty and encouraged people everywhere to tweet photos of the beautiful children in their lives who are so underrepresented in the media.
These are some of the photos helping to change the face of beauty:
Its time. #changingthefaceofbeauty #imready for #15in2015 pic.twitter.com/d9zqnM5Hyx
— Katie Driscoll (@5boysand1girl6) January 17, 2015
@TOMS Check out how much #Gellibean loves her Toms! #ootd #toddlerstyle #15in2015 #changingthefaceofbeauty #inclusion pic.twitter.com/6nN5wsUtZX
— Mish Aventajado (@mommanmanila) January 18, 2015
#iamready #15in2015 #changingthefaceofbeauty Kelly is ready! Hey Justice how about using a cutie like me? pic.twitter.com/HCpYEhLjTS
— robbin Lyons (@Robbinwiupdown) January 4, 2015
@StubbornMiss #changingthefaceofbeauty #15in2015 #ImReady @greenbloodedts pic.twitter.com/2sWpyRyvOf
— Mish Aventajado (@mommanmanila) January 14, 2015
#15in2015 #changingthefaceofbeauty #Carters We want you to include more models with Special needs! pic.twitter.com/E0LRMHsCUo
— Brooke Michele (@daly_brooke) January 12, 2015
Love! RT @mbarker1301: #giggleCUTIE in his #uppaBaby from @giggle #15in2015 #changingthefaceofbeauty pic.twitter.com/8B139lr53D
— giggle (@giggle) January 11, 2015
#imready #ChangingtheFaceofBeauty #downsyndrome pic.twitter.com/U0l7ut7VKD
— JM Gerhart-Rothholz (@jmgerhart) January 8, 2015
@RedFishKids We challenge you! #ChangingtheFaceofBeauty #ImReady http://t.co/EgibJ9qvhu Piccourtesyof @peekaboobeans pic.twitter.com/521GeRh2rW
— Krista Ewert (@kristadawne) January 8, 2015
The face of your next media campaign? #changingthefaceofbeauty #imreadyUK #15in2015UK @Tesco @mothercareuk @FatFace pic.twitter.com/aQRleGcr55
— Sari (@earth_to_sari) January 7, 2015
@childrensplace We want YOU to include models with disabilities in 2015. #15in2015 #IMREADY #changingthefaceofbeauty pic.twitter.com/g6k1swLGWY
— Tammy_Gilles (@tmg3177) January 5, 2015
@giggle We’re ready! Join @5boysand1girl6 for #15in2015 Lets do this! #giggleCUTIE #changingthefaceofbeauty #IMREADY pic.twitter.com/FxEH1N5zMM
— Mandy Barker (@mbarker1301) January 4, 2015
Thank you @E60 for reminding the world that our kids matter, too. #changingthefaceofbeauty @American_Girl #IMREADY pic.twitter.com/zMom3Vzh8a
— Etoya R. White (@eminent1914) December 27, 2014
#imready #15in2015 2gether we can @changingthefaceofbeauty @taylorswift13 @OldNavy @Carters @MyFOX9 @ian_leonard pic.twitter.com/2q4IaHSGTx
— Jodi Aschoff (@MnJodi) January 2, 2015
@oeufbegood Carter says #imready to help with #changingthefaceofbeauty will you commit to #15in2015 #t21 pic.twitter.com/I3HQFSRWfF
— Stacey Calcano (@SSCalcano) December 30, 2014
#changingthefaceofbeauty campaign to get 15 retailers to use models with special needs. #IMREADY #15in2015 pic.twitter.com/55XVv5FFyH
— Rachel Bhatia (@rachelgb28) December 29, 2014
@Burlington #IMREADY Are you? Different, not less. Include kids of all abilities. #15in2015 #changingthefaceofbeauty pic.twitter.com/w5XMa3c7Yb
— Wyatt Banks (@FightLikeWyatt) December 26, 2014
Breanna is trying to change the face of beauty! #changingthefaceofbeauty #15in2015 #IMREADY pic.twitter.com/BDT3FFec79
— Stacey (@cpbmom1) December 24, 2014
Hey @Macys #IMREADY for you to hire models with disabilities in 2015. #15in2015 #changingthefaceofbeauty #DSDN pic.twitter.com/Hqmqa1kC2w
— Katie (@katieart11) December 24, 2014
#theellenshow We need your help. Do you want to see beauty of all abilites in advertising? #changingthefaceofbeauty pic.twitter.com/OQqIEeScUr
— HRodriguezPhoto (@HRodriguezPhoto) November 20, 2014
Shouldn’t we see more faces like this in the media? #changingthefaceofbeauty @TheEllenShow pic.twitter.com/C7FkYHuiTl
— Megan Mennes (@maemennes) November 15, 2014
Thanks @BuyCostumes for supporting #changingthefaceofbeauty #mightyacornfoundation and our beauty, Olivia. pic.twitter.com/fKzhCLnCUV
— CVI Community (@AnnaAult) September 26, 2014
Different is beautiful. Superb via @5boysand1girl6
http://t.co/jibyonn2dY #backtoschool #ChangingtheFaceofBeauty pic.twitter.com/N9bF0Mv5W3— Juliet Revell (@Juliet_Revell) August 14, 2014
To participate, tweet photos of the beautiful people in your life using the hashtag #ChangingTheFaceOfBeauty.
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Melissa McGlensey is the former News Editor at The Mighty. Her writing can also be seen in Ms. Magazine, on the Ms.Magazine blog and in The Huffington Post’s Good News, Comedy and Impact sections. Melissa is also a New York City comedian who does sketch, improv and stand up. She is passionate about social justice, politics, Thai food, literature, disability rights and more. She is currently in a long-distance relationship with her cat, Sneakers, who lives in California. You can follow her on twitter at @OhHeyMeliss.
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