“I lost my legs but I can still dance”: Kat Hawkins opens up about feeling kindness for her body
By Stylist Team
After being diagnosed with meningococcal septicaemia at 18, Kat Hawkins had to have a double amputation.
Following the loss of both of her legs to the disease, she thought she would never feel comfortable in her own skin again, but eventually, she learned to accept her body through dance.
“I didn’t want to feel disabled, I didn’t want to be disabled. I would hide my legs, and I was too embarrassed to tell people I was an amputee.
“I would see myself in the mirror and feel sick at the sight of my own body.”
Over time, Kat learned to think about her body in a new way – she began to develop “body neutrality”.
“It takes a long time, because we don’t always know how that looks or how that feels, because society has taught us, especially women, that there is a capital to their bodies that can be leveraged.
“Unlearning that and thinking about the body in a completely different way is a hard thing, especially when you do live with a marginalised body.
“But we need to be less body-centric. Our bodies, abilities or looks are not what make us the people we are; we’re so much more than that.”