6/5/2012

In ancient Greece, nudity was the great equalizer in the Olympic Games. The Greek tradition of athletic nudity began in 720 BC, as a way celebrate the achievements of the human body. Olive oil was also used by the athletes to keep their skin smooth and provide an appealing look.

Sadly nowadays, the Japanese aren’t happy with that Olympic tradition…more so for the upcoming London Paralympics of 2012.

Japanese Amputee Athlete Raises Some Eyebrows With Her Controversial Fundraising Calendar
Giant Robot News | 03, June 2012
… Maya Nakanishi is currently training in preparation for the 2012 London Paralympic Games to be held August 29 till Sept. 9, the biggest paralympic event ever…Nakanishi, now 26, found herself scrimping to make her athletic dreams come true…During the worst times, Nakanishi found herself living in her car. But Maya lost a limb not her resolve.
Earlier this year, she decided to publish a calendar featuring photographs of her posing semi-nude wearing nothing but her rose-pink prosthesis, raising quite a few eyebrows across prudish* Japan. Some people went as far to criticize Maya for “humiliating disabled people” by baring her disability ...more...

Purchase Maya’s calendar at Amazon.co.jp .

*Note that the Japanese are not at all “prudish” about nudity, but have a far darker reason for objecting to Maya’s calendar.
In Japan people with disabilities, especially women, should be invisible and traditionally have been hidden away by shame-filled relatives [Marshall (1998), Stibbe (2007)†]. My friends visting from the West often remark to me (on crutches) after a long day of sightseeing in Tokyo that I was the only independent handicapped person under the the age of 70 that they saw all day.

See more photos of Maya in the Comments section …