2. Early Life
• Aimee Mullins was born in 1975 in Allentown,
Pennsylvania.
• At the age of 1 she was diagnosed with fibular
hemimelia, meaning that she was born without the
fibula bone.
• The fibula bone, also known as the calf bone, is
located on the lateral side of the tibula.
– The top connection
is made right below
the level of the
knee-joint but does
not form any part of
the knee.
– The lower point of
the bone form the
lateral part of the
ankle joint.
3. An Operation
• The fibula bone is used not to carry the weight of the
person but to provide balance and stability to the leg.
• The doctors gave a depressing diagnosis of Mullins
being unable to walk and being confined to a wheelchair
for the rest of her life.
• It was consequently decided by her parents that the best
the chance at a mobile life.
– The operation occurred on her first birthday
• By the age of 2 she
had learned to walk
on prosthetic legs.
She began her love
of sports enrolling in
anything physical and
always with in the
group of “able
bodied” children.
4. The Beginning
• Aimee Mullins attended school with “able bodied”
children and graduate high school with honors. She
later became 1 of 3 students in the US to receive a full
scholarship from the Department of Defense.
– At 17 she was the youngest person to have/hold top
secret security clearance at the Pentagon.
• She attended the School of
Foreign Service at
Georgetown University, and
began training for the US Team
for the 1996 Atlanta Games.
5. Training
• She began training with Frank Gagliano, and became
the first woman to compete with a disability in the
NCAA league.
• It was here that the Cheetah legs were born. Mullins
was the first to wear them and considered the official
“guinea pig” for the project.
• Wearing the legs Aimee Mullins set a World record in
the 100 meter, the 200 meter, and the long jump.
6. The Cheetah Legs
• The Cheetah Flex-Foot is
a trademark for “a stored-
energy foot prosthesis
containing a J-shaped
plastic beam that acts
like a spring when the
wearer walks or runs.”
• Each leg is cut from a flat
sheet of pressed carbon
fiber, and molded into a
fluid J-like curve that
connects at the base of
the knee and runs all the
way to the tip of toe, and
where it curls up. hoe.
7. Cheetah Leg Components
• The “Full Length Toe Lever” helps
improve walking symmetry and reduces
impact to the limb.
• The “Proportional Response” are the heel
and foot components that are customized
to the user’s weight and level of impact
thus reducing the fatigue of the user.
• The “Active Tribal Progression” aids in the
vertical force that is placed through the
heel. It helps reduce the need of the user
to actively push the body forward
allowing for a more natural and reduced
walking effort.
8. Cheetah Legs cont.
• The carbon-fiber blades
act like giant springs
helping to mimic the
mechanics of biological
feet.
• They absorb the
runners energy only
returning about 80%
back to the athlete.
• The blades require 25-
30% less energy to run
at the same speed as
with biological legs
9. Sports Illustrated Issue
• Soon after her success on the track Aimee Mullins
landed a 10-page feature in the inaugural issue of
Sports Illustrated for Women.
• She became interested in the issues regarding
body image and how fashion impacted the outlook
of the public.
• "In athletics, the idea of
possibility is presumed," she
says. "It's not 'if,' it's 'how.'
And that is how artists, and
fashion designers, and
musicians see the world. It's
not possibility, it's potential.”
- Taken from SI Issue.
10. On the Runway
• 1999, she made her
runway debut in London
under the invitation of
world famous fashion
designer, Alexander
McQueen.
• For the show Mullins
wore hand carved
prosthetic legs made
entirely out of wood.
• The event landed her the
covers of ID and Dazed
and Confused.
• She was then named one
of People’s Magazine’s
“50 Most Beautiful
People in the World”
11. Running on High Tech Legs
TED Talk, Feb 1998
If experiencing problems Click on circle to have the video straighten itself
out
12. Reflection
• Its nice for her to describe the first meet that she went to with
her seemingly out-of-date prosthetics and the looks that she
received from the other athletes. While it is easy to quickly
point out the biases and outlooks from the “able” community to
the “disabled” community, it is another thing to have the
discrimination within the “disabled” community because one of
its members does not have the latest and most high tech
options of equipment on the current market.
• Her relationship with the coach is a very unique one as he is
looking at her as a challenge and not in the way of
“how can I work with what you have” focusing largely on the
disability, but rather a large scale of “what can you as an
individual achieve.”
13. Reflection
• At 6:30 she tells the most awesome story of her on the track
and the blunt encouragement she receives from her coach.
Though no one in her life “pitied” her it is obvious that tough
love can be used by all.
• At 13:00 she begins to remove her “pretty legs” and the
audience really gets a chance to see what is going on
physically. It is interesting to know that the gaze is solely on
her but since she is in control of said gaze it doesn’t have the
harmful affects as one unwanted and in public.
• Here she changes her legs to the Cheetah ones and I quickly
realize that I too am staring at her during this process.
Through this video I am allowed to watch her and get a bit of
education on the application of the legs, the components and
how she as an individual lives with them.
14. How My Legs Give Me Superpowers
TED Talk, Mar 2009
If experiencing problems Click on circle to have the video straighten itself
out
15. Reflection
• I feel that it is through this discussion that Aimee Mullins
addresses many of the things that we discuss in class. Her
“social experiment” involving her “bag of legs” with the children
is further proof that biases and this fear of the disabled is
something that is taught and learned, not an innate component
of the human psyche.
• She mentions that the children would be “trained” to see her
disability. When during the experiment they are the first to see
the potential in her circumstance. I feel that in her lecture and
what we’ve discussed in class there is a huge weight in being
able to “un-train” what we have learned about disability and like
these kids much of it will have to come from exposure to the
different bodies society has. If it is something that you have
seen before there is no reason for you to stare in the same
judgment.
16. Reflection
• At the 3:50 mark Aimee Mullins describes the disabled “look”
and that because she is disabled people are surprised at how
attractive she is. Yes she “doesn’t feel disabled.” Through
much of the reading that I have done on her she is very willing
to admit that her “ability” is what makes her unique and sets
her apart. And most importantly that at time it is in fact the envy
of others. The scenario is an interesting one as we’ve had
numerous discussions on the idea of “fixing” individuals in
class and how some wouldn’t take it. It is evident that Mullins
wouldn’t.
• Later on in the work she speaks on how the “conversation with
society is changing.” While I feel that she has gotten the better
half of the conversation, we have read in class and spoken of
our own accord how disabilities are discriminated against, I
think that she has managed to tap into a new outlet. Her art
legs allow for her to again, control the gaze of the population,
and channel the views of artists to help redefine herself as an
individual.
