Metamorphosis

Mikayla Hale

Metamorphosis. A complete and total transformation from one bodily form to another. What does that mean here? This book explores disability and the cyborg body through fashion, art, mobility aids, and the personal wisdom of disabled individuals. 

 

Looking at the metamorphosis of a disabled body from human to cyborg can mean many different things. For some, born disabled, it is less about the whole body transformation and more the experience and understanding that comes from growing up disabled. Whether it be going through experiences much different than your peers, experiencing bodily changes as disability progresses, or growing to love your body in a world that can be cruel to those who are different, metamorphosis is about growth, freedom, and autonomy. For others, those who become disabled later in life, it is about growing into and learning how to navigate a transformed body. Learning to accept these changes are key to finding the joy and freedom in them, rather than missing the abled body. Does the butterfly miss the caterpillar it once was? Maybe, but with its wings it moves in an entirely new way and has a new freedom it could have never known before. Decentralizing the medical aspect of disability, and rather viewing it as a beautiful human reality, opens up an entirely new world of fashion, art, movement, and autonomy.

Media

ABOUT THE DESIGNER

A young woman with long, wavy auburn hair and bangs, wearing round gold-rimmed glasses, smiles broadly as she talks on a patterned black flip phone held to her right ear. She is seated on a light grey studio background, dressed in a black mini skirt, a sheer pink long-sleeved bolero tied over a black top, and vibrant magenta tights. A small, bright pink handbag with silver hardware rests on the floor to her left.

Mikayla Hale

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