There has been a huge outcry after a parent in Scotland reported that images of her daughter (who has complex special needs) have been removed from school class photos in an apparent attempt by the photography studio to offer a more ‘normal’ version of the class photos for parents to purchase. As reported by the Herald of Scotland, the mother pointed out she felt her child had been erased for the sake of optics. It’s heartening to see that many other parents have agreed with her that this was simply cruel and inhumane, and have refused to order the school photos this year.
To me, this incident has brought up serious problems people with special needs face everyday. For example, I’ve seen how ‘looks’ are perceived as a critical factor when hiring new employees, especially in the hospitality industry— put another way, it means that many otherwise-qualified candidates ‘just don’t look right for the job.’ This is especially the case with so-called customer-facing or guest-facing roles, and with positions of authority such as senior managers. For example, could an excellent candidate who might need the use of a wheelchair become a general manager of a hotel? Even in my limited experience in the workplace, much of it working in hotels, I can see that there are systemic restrictions put on candidates with special needs and disabilities. Even though it would seem unfair to hire a candidate over another based on their looks, this seems to be happening everyday under the metric of being more ‘presentable.’ My sincere hope is that stories such as this will at least spark a serious conversation on disability discrimination and perhaps help shift societal perceptions on what persons with special needs and disabilities are capable of achieving.
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