Copyright: ShannonMurray.co.uk
Think back to the last time you saw a disabled model photographed on the catwalk or become Britain’s Next Top Model – the sad reality is that you probably can’t.
For years there has been talk of where disabled models fit into the fashion industry but aside from the occasional TV series or documentary, the media isn’t actually getting anywhere in improving the representation of disabled people.
Back in 2008, the BBC made a positive step towards highlighting the lack of disabled models when it launched Britain’s Missing Top Model – a TV programme that featured physically disabled models wanting to make it in the industry.
The winner Kelly Knox landed a Rankin photoshoot and went on to become a professional model, but the show was criticised for its fixation on the women’s disabilities rather than their talent.
Last year, Gok Wan’s How to Look Good Naked… With a Difference brought disabled women into the limelight once again – this time to discuss their body insecurities like the able-bodied women who usually go on the show.
Gok said of the programme on the C4 website: “These shows go beyond clothes and haircuts; they carefully and compassionately illustrate that all women, without prejudice, deserve to feel good in their own skin. It is hard to believe there are still taboos around discussing disabilities when so many people in the UK are living with them.”
Copyright: ShannonMurray.co.uk
The show spurred on presenters and disability campaigners Nikki Fox and Natasha Wood to approach Debenhams with the idea of featuring a disabled model in their campaign. This actually led to Debenhams becoming the first retailer in the UK to break the taboo of using a disabled model in its photography campaign last February.
Shannon is paraplegic and has been in a wheelchair since she was 14 after a diving accident on a family holiday left her paralysed. While this may have stopped most people in their tracks, it spurred Shannon on to fulfil her dreams.
She continued to attend drama school, despite being discouraged to follow an acting career, and won the UK’s first ever disabled modelling competition – Model in a Million – in 1994, the first competition to find disabled people to model. She then went on to land her first role as the female lead in a short film for Channel 4 in 2000.
“From a very early age all I wanted to do was be an actress. I attended drama school from the age of 7 but when I had my injury aged 14 I thought it would mean the end of any acting ambitions.
“My mind began to change when in 1994 I won the UK’s first ever competition for disabled models. It was launched by the Sun newspaper and generated a lot of publicity at the time, which in turn led to more offers of television work and that was how I fell back into acting. I also returned to drama classes at the Central School of Speech & Drama so I could continue to stretch my abilities.”
Shannon recalls receiving good feedback from the public after the photography campaign for Debenhams – a success that led to her modelling the retailer’s autumn 2010 range in store windows nationwide.
“I have received very positive feedback from disabled people who were really pleased to finally feel represented and acknowledged on the high street. But also from able-bodied people who thought there needed to be greater diversity in retail advertising,” she says, “though I did have to log in to one online forum where people were speculating that I was pretending to be disabled!”
While Shannon’s appearance in the Debenhams campaign has certainly raised her profile – “I still find it funny when people recognise me” – she says that her biggest challenge of improving the representation of disability in the media is still ongoing.
Although programmes such as Gok Wan’s How to Look Good Naked… With a Difference are definitely a step in the right direction, there is no getting away from the fact there shouldn’t be the need for a “different” version of the ordinary show.
“There is still a lack of development of disabled talent on screen and as a result there are very few well-known presenters or actors in the industry,” Shannon says. “Too frequently disability only features within factual entertainment or observational documentaries as an exposé on living with an extreme disability.
“There needs to be more incidental casting of disabled actors and presenters across all genres, not just disabled programming.”
So what would be Shannon’s advice for budding actresses and models trying to break into the industry, whether disabled or not?
“Always have a back up career. It is impossible to generate a secure living from modelling: a good education is the most important goal but I encourage everyone to chase their dreams.”
While the last year’s experiences have been fantastic for Shannon, she says that her plans now focus around working towards improving disability in the media.
“I would like to continue to raise the profile of disability in other aspects of the media and help other disabled people have a voice in the industry and society in general,” she says.
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