Posted on 05/19/2015 8:58:49 PM PDT by kathsua
18-year-old Madeline Stuart has Down syndrome but refuses to let that stop her from her dream of becoming a model. On her Facebook page she said she is pursuing modeling to “help change societies view of people with Down Syndrome.”
According to Buzzfeed, the woman’s mother, Roseanne Stuart, said her daughter has struggled with her weight throughout her life but recently picked up dance, swimming and cheerleading. Roseanne said, “I think it is time people realized that people with Down syndrome can be sexy and beautiful and should be celebrated.”
Roseanne said that culture is much more accepting of people with disabilities now than when her daughter was first born. She said, “Things were a lot different 18 years ago. I remember having her in a [stroller] when she was a baby and small-minded people telling me she should not be out in public. Even her doctors said Madeline would never achieve anything. But things are changing every day and people are more accepting of what they don’t understand yet.”
Additionally, Roseanne explained that her daughter has become very confident despite her disability and she constantly reminds her that she’s perfect just the way she is. She said, “I have made a point of never letting anyone be critical of her. [I tell Maddy] every day how amazing, funny, smart, beautiful, [and] wonderful she is. It’s that confidence — and beauty, both inside and out — that Rosanne wants others to see. People need to see how she shines, how her personality just bursts out.”
She concluded, “People with Down syndrome can do anything. They just do it at their own pace. Give them a chance and you will be rewarded beyond your greatest expectations.”
As LifeNews previously reported, earlier this year Jamie Brewer became the first woman with Down syndrome to walk the runway during New York’s Fashion Week. Brewer said, “Young girls and even young women … [see me] and say ‘hey, if she can do it so can I.’ It’s a true inspiration being a role model for any young women to [encourage them] in being who they are and showing who they are.” She added, “Take the risk. Take the chance. Put your heart and soul into it, because when you put your soul into it, you will become what you’ve always dreamed. You, yourself, will become a legend.”
TODAY.com reports that Jamie is most recognized for her acting roles as Addie in “American Horror Story: Murder House,” Nan in “American Horror Story: Coven,” and Marjorie in “American Horror Story: Freak Show. However, she has also worked as an advocate for people with intellectual disabilities; and at 19, she was elected to the State of Texas ARC Board and worked on the Executive Board and Governmental Affairs Committee.
Although it is true that culture has changed a lot in regards to accepting children with disabilities, many women still believe abortion is the best solution when faced with a fetal abnormality. In fact, 90% of women who receive the prenatal diagnosis that their child will have Down syndrome end their life through abortion. This statistic should remind pro-lifers that our work in protecting the disabled is not finished. It is critical that we pass legislation to protect unborn babies with Down syndrome, as well as children with other disorders.
Over @ the other place I mostly “hang out” at, the question was posted: “WYB?”
I don’t think anyone’s answered it yet. I find this whole thing to be in piss poor taste. But, everyone’s thinks they’re a “special snowflake”...
Phil Hartman: Male victim of female induced domestic violence. RIP.
Exactly.
The keywords and the negative comments on this thread are good fodder for the libs.
She’s got guts.
And sometimes, guts are enough...
(Paraphrasing Gunny R. Lee Ermy)
I wish her luck and good fortune. How many people with much lesser issues don’t even bother to try to overcome...
I know folks with Down’s Syndrome children, ranging from mild to seriously disabling. It’s definitely challenging. When I coached baseball, I had two kids with Downs on the team one season; they had more guts and determination than some of the other kids.
I wasn’t aware that I was prejudiced against people with Downs Syndrome, until this gal became a supermodel....
It is. Maybe I'm a big meanie but if you ask me, people around her are exploiting this girl for their own ends and should be ashamed of themselves. A lot of "nice" people, including here, are gonna indulge this out of compassion. As this comes from Life News we see they want to use it as an argument against abortion (that will convince no one).
But this girl is opening herself up to ridicule. Avoiding ridicule is actually sometimes a fantastic reason not to do something. It's the reason I put pants on before I go get the mail.
I don't think it compares at all to having DS kids play Little League, which (should) allow all kids regardless of talent a chance to play and have fun because that's what it's meant for. This young lady is an adult now, doing a very adult thing in the adult world. Feminazis may disagree, but every girl is not a model. And that's perfectly ok.
Here's a quote about her mom "Maddy's mother Rosanne told Daily Mail Australia that she has always made a point of telling 'her every day how amazing, funny, smart, beautiful, wonderful she is'."
Now, people with DS are generally very sweet so it won't go to their head as much but parents do too much of that, telling their kids how awesome they are so they grow up really entitled and conceited and don't thrive in the real world.
I'll reiterate though that it's great this motivated her to get healthy and lose weight.
” I’ll reiterate though that it’s great this motivated her to get healthy and lose weight. “
On this I agree, and I’m glad for her success as well.
But she is no beauty, and most little league kids will never hit 300 in the major leagues.
DS folk vary greatly in the degree of disability, and how they look as well. This one looks fairly normal, compared to many. I hope she isn’t badly exploited, but she probably will be, knowing the media.
Modeling is a very catty and superficial business, based almost solely on physical looks. My concern for the young lady is that someone is bound to criticize (or worse) because she has DS because of her entrance into this superficial industry (and I’d hate to see that hurt her personally and psychologically). If she’s in it to fill a niche segment aimed exclusively at those with DS, I don’t particularly see a problem. Mainstream, however, is going to be far more daunting.
RE “...I hope she isn’t badly exploited, but she probably will be, knowing the media...”
She already is being exploited by them.
But I wish her well, and I admire the Hell out of her spunk.
People with MUCH less difficulties in life do nothing more than whine and complain about tough things are.
We should all have the kind of balls this kid has.
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