New reality TV show PUSH GIRLS on SUNDANCE

[~Lin]

I wasn't referring to the doodles and stuff, but the washing and such. The most I do is a french braid, and I leave it braided until my next shower. I just put something over it at night if I really care, or smooth the worst fuzz with water the next day. That way I don't really have to do anything again for days at a time. I don't know what would work best for you. That's what I meant about adapting the techniques. I know it's getting to be really difficult for me to do the braid as my hair gets longer, and I only have periperal nerve damage in my arms

sorry for such a long detour guys!

[crypticgimp]

I wasn't referring to the doodles and stuff, but the washing and such. The most I do is a french braid, and I leave it braided until my next shower. I just put something over it at night if I really care, or smooth the worst fuzz with water the next day. That way I don't really have to do anything again for days at a time. I don't know what would work best for you. That's what I meant about adapting the techniques. I know it's getting to be really difficult for me to do the braid as my hair gets longer, and I only have periperal nerve damage in my arms

sorry for such a long detour guys!

oic. i only wash my hair once a week. maybe 2x a week if i feel my mohawk needs it. most black people wash their hair 1 - 2x/week as ours can gt dry and we need the natural oils etc.

when i was doing all the chemicals/pressing etc my hair got washed and redone every 2 weeks. so yea. it's not the frequency of washing, it's the actual washing and taking care of curls. it's tiresome and having someone else do it is expensive. hence why i shave my head and forget about it. plus it's a good look for wicked high pain days!

[Curt Leatherbee]

Watched one of the 5 shows I have recorded last night. Really brought back memories of how prejudice people can be when it comes to employment, it can be very hurtful. That was one reason I always just ended up doing my own businesses when I was younger and not working for somebody else. The girl who is the model and quad is very pretty. I think this show will be good at attempting to get rid of peoples false perceptions of disabled people. I wish the show were on one of the more major networks like lifetime or NBC or something.

[LindaT]

I read a mentor from (Sheperd I think) did not like the part about not getting an office job. She said she knew quads that could faster than hell. (along those lines)
Am going out the door and can't source it right now, but thought it was a good point.

[Scorpion]

Eta: on YouTube look for "imbonnie", she's great

She sits so slouched, it was driving me crazy.

RE: Angela - I saw in an interview she said "I'm paralyzed from the neck down, I can't be left alone". First, she's (we're) paralyzed from the chest down, with some of the arms and hands paralyzed. Semantics, I know, but confusing if it's just written and you don't see her.

But what is sad is that someone has sold her a bill of goods; who told her that she can't be left alone?! She could feel so much more free if she'd hang out with some female quads who could show her how much more independent she could be.

I was glad to see in a preview that she's taking up her art again. not easy as a quad, but very worth while and rewarding.

[Eileen]

So, a para whose feet are never going to touch the lane floors rents bowling shoes? Why? I'm sure most of America is bright enough to wonder the same thing, and how absurd it was. Years ago I belonged to a para/quad bowling league and one of the few perks was NOT having to rent smelly shoes and wonder if they had been properly sprayed down between uses. Not a big deal, and certainly not as silly as many of the mixed messages in this show, but another "what?" moment for sure.

[crypticgimp]

So, a para whose feet are never going to touch the lane floors rents bowling shoes? Why? I'm sure most of America is bright enough to wonder the same thing, and how absurd it was. Years ago I belonged to a para/quad bowling league and one of the few perks was NOT having to rent smelly shoes and wonder if they had been properly sprayed down between uses. Not a big deal, and certainly not as silly as many of the mixed messages in this show, but another "what?" moment for sure.

it's like the idiots that wear bowling shoes while playing wii bowling. wtf is up with that crap? but i agree, perk is not wearing someone else's gross shoes bleh!

[Jim]

Why I Like Push Girls
James Weisman

http://www.spinalcord.org/why-i-like-push-girls

I’m 61. I’ve been a disability rights lawyer since I graduated law school 35 years ago. I have watched only minimal amounts of reality television. Why do I watch and like “Push Girls”?

First, I must confess that if I have good seats to any Broadway show I love it. I’ve met the Push Girls at a White House event – four beautiful women at the White House – what’s not to like. But I have watched three episodes of the show and believe “Push Girls” will make a valuable contribution to the disability rights movement.

We, in the movement, are missing a face that everyone can identify with. I’ve always felt that if Johnny Carson or Walter Cronkite were wheelchair users, or for that matter, if President Roosevelt didn’t hide his wheelchair use, the rights of people with disabilities wouldn’t have been so hard to get others to acknowledge. People with disabilities always seem to be somebody else’s friend, relative, lover or spouse when the media, the public or elected officials are considering rights issues.

As I write this, 22 years after the passage of the ADA, the hotel industry is organizing to force the Obama administration to withdraw a requirement that hotel pools be accessible to wheelchair users. Push Girl Mia, a swimmer, puts a face on the pool issue. Undoubtedly, returning Iraq and Afghanistan vets who use wheelchairs will do the same when they realize that our country respects and appreciates their service until they get to the hotel pool.
The Push Girls, by letting us into their lives, demonstrate that people with substantial disabilities, in this case spinal cord injuries, laugh, flirt, shop and cope with their disabilities well despite healthcare, access, family and relationship issues.

The episode I watched last night introduced us to a new Push Girl, Chelsie, 22 years-old, who was taken by the older Push Girls on a shopping trip to buy her first pair of heels as a chair user. They felt they were doing something for Chelsie that was not done for them – they had to find their own way. On the same half hour episode, Angela, a quadriplegic, discusses why she separated from her husband of 10 years, most of that time spent in a chair. It was poignant and gave the audience insight into how quadriplegia affects financial and emotional well-being.

Having been around people in wheelchairs for most of my life, it does not surprise me to see the women party and dance, but I have a feeling it will enlighten the uninitiated.

For the Push Girls, life’s both a bitch and a ball. Every well-adjusted person knows this about their own life but might not have realized the same is true for wheelchair users.

James Weisman
SVP & General Counsel
United Spinal Association

[Patton57]

Can someone help me understand why hotel pool access is high up on the disability advocacy list? I just don't get it. Is this the current battle line for disability advocacy?

I stay in hotels several days a month all over the place and have never once thought man I can't believe I can't get in the hotel's pool. And I love to swim.

If I can get to and in the bed and into the bathroom then I'm usually a happy (hotel) camper unless I pay more than $100/night.

[sherocksandsherolls]

Love this review! I like this James Weisman's style and writing! He is a positive force for good who also has a positive and giving outlook. Well done!


(still only been able to see 1st episode...urg!)

Why I Like Push Girls
James Weisman

http://www.spinalcord.org/why-i-like-push-girls

I’m 61. I’ve been a disability rights lawyer since I graduated law school 35 years ago. I have watched only minimal amounts of reality television. Why do I watch and like “Push Girls”?

First, I must confess that if I have good seats to any Broadway show I love it. I’ve met the Push Girls at a White House event – four beautiful women at the White House – what’s not to like. But I have watched three episodes of the show and believe “Push Girls” will make a valuable contribution to the disability rights movement.

We, in the movement, are missing a face that everyone can identify with. I’ve always felt that if Johnny Carson or Walter Cronkite were wheelchair users, or for that matter, if President Roosevelt didn’t hide his wheelchair use, the rights of people with disabilities wouldn’t have been so hard to get others to acknowledge. People with disabilities always seem to be somebody else’s friend, relative, lover or spouse when the media, the public or elected officials are considering rights issues.

As I write this, 22 years after the passage of the ADA, the hotel industry is organizing to force the Obama administration to withdraw a requirement that hotel pools be accessible to wheelchair users. Push Girl Mia, a swimmer, puts a face on the pool issue. Undoubtedly, returning Iraq and Afghanistan vets who use wheelchairs will do the same when they realize that our country respects and appreciates their service until they get to the hotel pool.
The Push Girls, by letting us into their lives, demonstrate that people with substantial disabilities, in this case spinal cord injuries, laugh, flirt, shop and cope with their disabilities well despite healthcare, access, family and relationship issues.

The episode I watched last night introduced us to a new Push Girl, Chelsie, 22 years-old, who was taken by the older Push Girls on a shopping trip to buy her first pair of heels as a chair user. They felt they were doing something for Chelsie that was not done for them – they had to find their own way. On the same half hour episode, Angela, a quadriplegic, discusses why she separated from her husband of 10 years, most of that time spent in a chair. It was poignant and gave the audience insight into how quadriplegia affects financial and emotional well-being.

Having been around people in wheelchairs for most of my life, it does not surprise me to see the women party and dance, but I have a feeling it will enlighten the uninitiated.

For the Push Girls, life’s both a bitch and a ball. Every well-adjusted person knows this about their own life but might not have realized the same is true for wheelchair users.

James Weisman
SVP & General Counsel
United Spinal Association

[addiesue]

Can someone help me understand why hotel pool access is high up on the disability advocacy list? I just don't get it. Is this the current battle line for disability advocacy?

I stay in hotels several days a month all over the place and have never once thought man I can't believe I can't get in the hotel's pool. And I love to swim.

If I can get to and in the bed and into the bathroom then I'm usually a happy (hotel) camper unless I pay more than $100/night.

I am with you on this one. I see the access to the pool as important, but I just want a room with 2 beds so I don't have to sleep with both my kids and possibly my boyfriend. It got a little crowded at times.
New hotels are going up constantly with the same crap. 2 beds in standard room and one in the accessible room. Even more infuriating when you get a one bed room and you still can't use the shower. I choose sleeping and bathing first over swimming.

I want in the pool with my kids too, just as much as I want to be able to get into the park and push them on the swings. We have a LONG way to go.

[Lizbv]

umm no it doesn't... unless the government got to it in the past week!

ep 3: http://www.vidbux.com/vm9rofq41eik

sorry to hash this back up but are we able to watch episode 2 anywhere?
thanks all

[cass]

what a superficial, vapid review. first, they're good looking and he's met them (wow, i almost stopped there). hotel pool access?? how about a bed that isn't 8 inches higher than my chair? how about shower access? and shopping for heels? yeah, that was top of my to do list post injury.

geesh.

[Cripply]

absolutely fabulous piece

June 3, 2012
By NEIL GENZLINGER

“Push Girls,” a reality show about five attractive women in wheelchairs, is likely to engender a number of reactions in viewers, not all of them helpful to the cause of illuminating the lives of people with disabilities. From the premiere, showing Monday night on the Sundance Channel, it’s not entirely clear which of those reactions the series’s creators are going for. But the intent seems to be good, and if they can find the elusive line between voyeuristic and didactic, the show could become something of a milestone for a lot of people who have felt invisible for a long time.

In the first episode we meet four Los Angeles friends — Angela Rockwood, Auti Angel and Tiphany Adams, who were paralyzed in car accidents, and Mia Schaikewitz, whose paralysis resulted from a medical condition. (Chelsie Hill, who was also injured in a car accident, will be added to the group later.) The “push” in the show’s title doesn’t refer to assistance these women need to get around. It’s push as in boundary pushing.
The show quickly makes clear just how independent these women are, with shots of Ms. Adams driving, Ms. Angel grabbing something off a high shelf at a grocery store and so on. And it just as quickly answers the two questions that many able-bodied people unfamiliar with this universe immediately have (and, yes, sometimes still bluntly ask): How did you end up in that chair, and can you still have sex?

The accidents and Ms. Schaikewitz’s condition (a ruptured blood vessel in her spinal cord that, she recounts, “paralyzed me from the waist down over the course of a half-day”) are summarized, but the four women we initially meet seem long past the brooding stage. As for sex, various boyfriends and, in Ms. Adams’s case, a girlfriend, are introduced, and Ms. Angel, who is married, is contemplating trying to have a child.
“Being 42 and in a wheelchair, most people don’t think that I can have a baby,” she says. “But I physically can. I just don’t know if I’m ready to give up my career and my independence.” (She was a dancer before her accident and still is.)

The premiere episode tends to lapse into a “You go, girl” mode typical of shallow treatments of disability, with fist-pumping and treacly background music. It’s a tone that subtly demeans, suggesting that simple things like having head shots taken (Ms. Rockwood is trying to restart a modeling career) must be applauded because, golly, for someone in a wheelchair to do anything other than sit there is a triumph.

A little of that may be necessary to hook an audience that has come to expect this treatment whenever a person with a disability turns up on television, but the faster this show sheds that tone and its preoccupation with sex, the more useful it will be. There are numerous other things we’d like to know about these interesting women besides the particulars of their love lives: their finances, their experiences on the job, their journey to get to the confidence level they seem to have achieved, their hopes for new technologies and medical breakthroughs.

Another challenge for “Push Girls” is dispelling the impression that these women are representative. Certain viewers might well look at them and conclude, “Gorgeous, smart, independent; I guess the disabled-Americans problem has been solved, so I can go back to not thinking about it.”

The reality, of course, is that vast numbers of people in wheelchairs aren’t young and independent, are in poor physical health, don’t have money and can’t even get interviewed for jobs. The show needs to make sure to convey that it is about five unique and engaging individuals who can shed light on some aspects of the disabilities universe but aren’t that whole universe.
__________________

[fuentejps]

love the show. good stuff. althou angela isnt a good representation for a quad. she seems needy and lazy. but the rest rock.