Disabled woman praises wedding dress shop for featuring mannequin in wheelchair
‘Seeing a wheelchair in a shop window made me feel represented’
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A wedding dress boutique in Portishead, Bristol has been praised for featuring a mannequin in a wheelchair in its shop window.
The mannequin was spotted by Beth Wilson, who’s required the use of a wheelchair for the past five years.
She promptly shared a photo of the mannequin on Twitter, and has been flooded with positive responses from people commending The White Collection Bridal Boutique for its inclusive display.
Wilson explains to The Independent why the mannequin had such a huge impact on her as a wheelchair user.
“I think most disabled people experience inaccessibility often when they go out, I know I do, pretty much every time I go anywhere. The world isn’t designed for us,” she says.
“This is the first time I’ve seen a wheelchair in a shop window like this (mobility shops not included) and it was so surprising to see and made me feel represented.”
There are approximately 13.9 million people in the UK who are disabled, according to disability charity Scope.
However, many may feel as though they're being ignored by the mainstream media, which is why having a wedding dress modelled on a mannequin in a wheelchair is particularly significant.
“So often disabled people feel invisible because we don’t see ourselves in the media much and especially not modelling beautiful clothes," Wilson says.
She's also commended the boutique for adorning the wheelchair with beautiful foliage, as she frequently feels as though mobility products like wheelchairs are painted in a negative light.
"Mobility aids are often portrayed as negative things that people want to hide when actual mobility aids like wheelchairs give us freedom," she says.
Wilson's tweet about the mannequin has garnered more than 20,000 likes. "No okay this makes me cry a little," one person commented in response.
Laura Allen, who co-owns The White Collection Bridal Boutique with her sister Sarah Parker, tells The Independent that the decision to place a wheelchair in the window display was a very simple one.
"Our thoughts of having one of them in a wheelchair was 'why not?' And we didn't really think too much about it," she says.
"We haven't shared any images of the window or spoken about it at all but the window seems to have spoken for itself!
"We love the fact that it's so simple compared to our window display before yet it portrays such a powerful message of inclusivity."
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments