Women Warriors- Mama Cax
Mama Cax- The Ultimate Warrior Woman
Mama Cax was an activist and advocate in the fashion industry. Not only did she advocate for multiple differently abled models, having a prosthetic leg herself, but she also advocated for people of color. As a Woman of color herself, as well as a model with disabilities Mama Cax was making waves in the notion to change the modeling and fashion industry to make it more inclusive to those of all backgrounds, colors, and abilities.
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| Mama Cax before fame(4) |
Cax was Born on New York city yet grew up in Haiti. At the young age of 14, she was diagnosed with lung cancer and received the diagnosis of approximately three weeks to live. After surviving those three weeks, two years later she went on to undergo a hip procedure, but complications led to her not only losing her leg and gaining a prosthetic leg. During this time, she said that she lost a lot of her confidence.She then went on to and gained some confidence back. She went on to learn how to hand cycle and play wheelchair basketball, as well as run the New York City Marathon while using her wheelchair. (1)
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| Cax NYC Marathon (6) |
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| Chromat Show (5) |
Through social media,Instagram, Mama Cax addressed her problems with the underrepresentation of women of color as well as women with disabilities in fashion. She did this not only through her social media posts, but as making herself the poster for what women that were not being highlighted in the industry should look up to. This was done through her multiple campaigns and fashion shows. She showed not only women of color, but women of differently abled bodies that they too should be represented in the modeling industry. (3)
Mama Cax made herself a Warrior Woman
Cax was an uplifting advocate for people of many different situations. She not only is a woman of color in the modeling world, but she is a woman of color with a disability. She said on multiple occasions that she herself did not have someone like her to look up to. She wanted to pave the way for those like her to be included in an industry that is known to be extremely brutal if you are the skinny blonde, white model. Cax put herself on the line for others to be seen, so they never had to feel what she felt. Not only did she pave the way for woman of color and people that have disabilities, but she showed that a woman could make a change in a harsh industry.
Soruces
(1) https://www.nationalworld.com/news/people/mama-cax-model-disability-rights-activist-google-doodle-death-explained-4018427
(2) https://inews.co.uk/news/technology/mama-cax-google-doodle-celebrating-disabled-activisit-model-2135402?ico=most_popular
(3) https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2019/dec/20/boundary-breaking-model-mama-cax-dies-at-30
(4)https://www.tmz.com/2019/12/20/model-mama-cax-dead-dies-30-rihanna-tribute/
(5)https://pagesix.com/2019/12/20/model-activist-mama-cax-dead-at-30/
(6) https://www.popsugar.com/fitness/mama-cax-model-handcycled-2019-new-york-city-marathon-46858529
After the brief glimpse of her life that we got in class, I was intrigued and looking forward to learning more about Mama Cax. I am amazed at the sheer strength of her, to overcome so many obstacles that overlapped one another throughout her entire life. I think a lot about those who decide to become public role models. You said it yourself that she had to put herself on the line for others to be seen, and I think that is an incredibly tough role to fulfill. She was very successful in her short time, able to pave the way for so many others that may be like her. Thank you so much for sharing her story here.
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