Intimately’s Founder on Invisible Disabilities

Dear All Women,

My name is Emma and I am the founder of Intimately. I truly believe that every woman, no matter her ability, should have a fun, relaxing and accessible shopping experience. I have tried to curate a few of my favorite brands of lingerie that are cute and practical and fit many different women’s needs. I realize we have many more types of undergarments to curate and I hope to bring that to you soon.

I wanted to briefly talk about a topic that has come up a lot as I have begun to launch this project: visible versus invisible disabilities. Frequent questions I get asked are why isn’t every model in a wheelchair? Or why are you using images of able-bodied women?

It is crucial that the fashion industry represent all sizes, colors, shapes and abilities and we definitely need more women who live in wheelchairs and use crutches or other aids to be represented. We also need to recognize that some people live with a disability that cannot be seen (i.e. MS, Lyme disease, fibromyalgia, and other types of chronic pain or post surgery pain). We are all on our health and self love journey and must remember that not everything is visible from first glance or from outward appearance. I hope we can facilitate more discussions about this on Intimately and hear more stories of self confidence and love from all different women. Best,Emma Butler