Mom Fights Back After Kid Is Rejected From Ad Campaign “Because He Has Down’s Syndrome”

More info: Facebook (h/t: huffingtonpost)

After her son, Asher, who has Down syndrome, was turned down by a nearby model agency because he didn’t fit their requirements, Megan Nash, a mother from Georgia in the United States, decided to challenge the norms of the fashion industry. Nash began her crusade to alter how the advertising industry views individuals with disabilities by posting Asher’s images on Facebook in the hopes that it would attract the notice of the apparel company OshKosh B’Gosh. Since then, thousands more people have shared her story and backed her cause, making her activism a viral phenomenon.

Nash was informed by the local model agency that she had submitted images of Asher to that they could not accept him due to his “special needs.” This rejection gave Nash the will to combat the stigmatization of persons with impairments in the fashion business. She is adamant that people with disabilities should be afforded the same possibilities as everyone else and a chance to appear in advertisements. To express her irritation, Nash told HuffPost, “My first thought was how in the world does she know they don’t want a child with a disability if they haven’t even seen his picture?”

She decided to take matters into her own hands and post pictures of her son on social media as a response. The images gained attention from media sources and Facebook pages supporting people with Down syndrome after going viral rapidly. More than 111,000 people shared Nash’s tweet, underscoring the demand for more diversity in advertising.

Nash’s Facebook post caught the attention of OshKosh B’Gosh, who responded by inviting Asher for a photo shoot. This was a significant milestone in Nash’s fight for inclusivity and a substantial step towards creating a more diverse representation in the fashion industry. OshKosh B’Gosh’s decision to include Asher in their advertising campaign was a breakthrough for individuals with disabilities and a move towards a more inclusive society.

Nash’s goal to alter how the advertising industry sees persons with impairments transcends his cause. It aims to remove obstacles and promote diversity in society. Inclusive advertising can encourage a greater awareness of impairments, normalize them, and increase possibilities for those with them. As Nash said, “People need to realize that babies, children, and adults with disabilities deserve to be in advertisements just as much as a typical person does.” Giving everyone a fair chance to be heard and seen is the goal.

The promotion of inclusivity in advertising by Megan Nash is a lovely statement of the value of diversity and representation. Many others have been inspired by her initiative, which has also helped remove boundaries that have existed in the fashion business for far too long. We hope that more companies start representing people with disabilities more inclusively after OshKosh B’Gosh’s lead. Nash is leading the push, and while the battle for diversity in advertising is far from complete, it has brought us one step closer to a more varied and inclusive society.