The Truth about Albinism

                When searching for media outlets for days all I could find were stories similar to these:
       
                                         

Until after much searching I began to find stories like these (Both of these are articles. Links can be found to the full stories below)

Portraits of Albinism: Letting Inner Light Shine

Albinism is a genetic disorder that causes little to no pigment in the skin, hair or eyes of the individual. One in 17,000 people in the United States have Albinism, however the media in the US focuses mainly on those with Albinism in different parts of Africa, specifically Tanzania. Witchdoctors in this area hunt men, women and children who have Albinism and use their body parts as ingredients in their potions. Their skin and hair are used to make every day items such as shoes and bracelets. Men who have HIV and AIDS rape the women with the belief that if they rape an Albino woman they will be cured of their diseases. Although these horrific events take place on the other side of the world, stories containing these events dominate the media concerning Albinos in the US. The media takes “a picture is worth a thousand words” to heart with these Albino people. Many news stories simply have to show a picture of the Albino individual to get the attention of the audience because they look so different. 

For the Albinos in Africa this constant media exposure has helped them tremendously not only by gaining awareness about the issue but having helping hands come to their rescue. But in the states this exposure has the opposite effect, in fact it is crippling to the Albinos that live in the states. Because the only media exposure Albinos have in the US is centered around the tragedy of the witchdoctors in Africa, many people automatically associate Albinos in America with this tragedy that most of them have never faced before. And in doing so many Americans can lose sight of how beautiful and normal Albinos are. They are treated inhumanely, as a rare delicate “thing” rather than a human being with the same capabilities as any other “normal” person.

Deadly Hunt: Albinos in Africa is one of the first videos I found when I google searched “Albinos in the United States.” In this video one of the first things shown is an Albino woman without arms. It is later explained that her arms had been chopped off by some witchdoctors that hunted her down. Information similar to this is so easy to find, but what is hard to find are stories such as the “Portraits of Albinism: Letting Inner Light Shine.” This woman took pictures of Albino women and children to illustrate why Albinos are beautiful. And it was the few media outlets that I could find that depicted the Albino people as being normal happy individuals. While I understand the importance of raising awareness in America of the tragedies of Africa, it is sad to me that the only stories that Americans are exposed to, is that of sorrow. How can Albinos ever have a chance at a normal life in America if all we ever see are horrific stories victimizing these people? A stereotype is being formed through the media that all Albinos are helpless and can never live a normal life. And they never will if we see them that way and consequently treat them that same way.

Here are some more media coverage on Albinos:

News Articles: 

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/17/health/17albi.html?_r=0

http://www.albinism.org/publications/what_is_albinism.html

http://www.vice.com/read/the-tanzanian-albino-hunt

Photography:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/pictureshow/2012/11/21/165652046/portraits-of-albinism-letting-an-inner-light-shine

The Fashion Runway:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/16/albino-models-africa_n_2488212.html