Photos Of Badass Women With Cystic Fibrosis

Since being diagnosed with cystic fibrosis (CF) seven years ago, Canadian photographer Ian Pettigrew has used his medium to bring greater awareness to the many faces of adults living with the disease. His latest project “Salty Girls” is a photo series documenting the many ways that women living with cystic fibrosis are beautiful, powerful, and hella sexy. CF is a genetic disease that currently affects 70,000 people worldwide. The life-threatening illness causes the body to produce abnormally thick, sticky mucus that interferes with normal lung and digestive function. (People diagnosed with CF also have unusually salty sweat, a symptom that gave the Salty Girls series its name.)

The Salty Girls project is an offshoot of another project by Pettigrew called "JUST BREATHE: Adults with Cystic Fibrosis," which aims to raise awareness of the many adults who live with CF, a condition that was once largely associated with children. On the Salty Girls Facebook page, Pettigrew explains,

While I was doing the [JUST BREATHE] portrait project, I ended up photographing a disproportionate number of girls to guys (i'm still wondering what the real reason is for this). Anyways, most of the women involved were roughly between the ages of 20-40, typical for an adult with CF I guess. Then someone actually said one day, "This project is just turning out to be a bunch of hot chicks with CF".

Thus the idea of a side project dedicated to showing how beautiful those fighting CF truly are.

Pettigrew cites recent viral photos as inspiration, writing,

I also saw a girl in the news who was a model, posing in her bikini with a colostomy bag as she has Crohn's Disease, and shortly after that the Canadian model with the skin disease vitiligo being interviewed by Tyra Banks. I just thought well, it's time for a model with CF! I know what these woman go through on a daily basis; everyday it's a struggle living with CF. And, to the uninformed, it is the invisible fatal disease.

The resulting photos feature more than 60 women with CF proudly showing off their bodies, scars and all. On Pettigrew’s website, one unnamed model describes the experience of being photographed as empowering, saying,

It took a huge amount of courage for me to be able to expose my body for Salty Girls. When I look at my body, all I see are my scars: from meconium ileus, transplant, chest tubes, g tubes, picc lines, to self-harm scars. I pick out every single thing I find wrong with my body, and compare it with other women's bodies. This led to countless of body image issues. […] And today, I take a stance… I will learn to appreciate, love, and nurture my body the way it should be.

To see more of the project, visit Pettigrew’s website. You can learn more about CF at the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Images: Salty Girls/Facebook (14)