We all deal with issues every day. The train is late when we’ve got an important meeting, we spill coffee on our white shirt, or our hair simply isn’t cooperating for that interview in five minutes. Enter Jess Quinn. An inspiring woman who turned what would seem like a setback to many into an empowering beacon of hope and survival for herself and others.
Jess’s journey began when she lost her leg to cancer at the young age of nine. As a child, she didn’t realise the gravity of what she was going through until the implications hit her later when her leg had to be amputated, making her one of the first successful patients in New Zealand to have a rotationplasty.
Contrary to what we’d all believe, Jess received significant sympathy from peers and was fortunate to have wonderful friends once her life changed overnight. A year following her surgery, Jess was fitted with her first prosthetic leg, but that was not the end of her story. Jess subsequently spent the following year learning to walk and the next eight years learning to love her new body. It was at the age of 17 when Jess decided it was time to put on her first pair of shorts since her prosthetic leg was fitted. It was at this moment that Jess had the realisation that cancer had already taken so much of her life, why let it continue to win?
Bouncing back into life signified Jess taking circumstances into her own hands after eight years of extreme self-consciousness. Life does go on; she’s a courageous testament to this phrase. Her primary motivation lies with everyday activities that are possible for us to action in a few quick seconds.
Her newfound determination helped her ace boxing, swimming, and the bonus: dancing. She quite literally took the latter to the next level by achieving third place on Dancing With The Stars in 2018, coming incredibly far in her journey from self-consciousness to self-confidence. So next time we’re looking for an excuse to skip Monday night’s Pilates session or afternoon run, let’s think again.
Media and pop culture have only just started discussing inclusivity, body positivity and female empowerment. Jess is a huge advocate for self-acceptance and aims to educate others who have faced similar experiences and insecurities by widening the lens of society’s narrow beauty standards.
Let’s start with photoshopping; yes, it’s been happening for years. However, she knew that didn’t make it right. Jess took a petition advocating for transparency to The Project Australia in 2019 after a magazine photoshopped her own images from a photoshoot.
There should be no universal beauty ideal everyone has to conform to, and Jess took a much-needed step towards this change. This woman practices what she preaches. Many resonate with her story and have given themselves another chance at happiness as she firmly believes that we’re worth more than our physical appearances.
That’s not all. She signed up with the US modelling agency Natural Models, which came with a slew of brands waiting to work with her to help her represent body positivity. She also published her first book ‘Still Standing – What I’ve Learnt From A Life Lived Differently,’ which allows readers to delve deeper into her story and it truly makes us appreciate what we have just that little bit more.
Jess’s journey from insecurity to self-assuredness is a powerful reminder that we all face battles, both internal and external. Is it easy to become self-assured? Perhaps not. However, accepting imperfections is a lot healthier than feeding them with negativity.
