One of the exciting things about a long career is the opportunity to meet some remarkable individuals. Having been both a pediatrician and a medical geneticist, I have met some “giants” in both fields and was excited to hear and learn some of their expertise in the field. Usually the folks were incredibly knowledgeable and humble and quick to show their compassion in their care of others. I was excited to meet them and to take the lessons forward in my career.
I wanted to highlight someone who is not a physician but has had a unique impact on my life, both professionally and personally. He qualifies for what I consider to be a force of nature – someone who is full of energy and who people consider to be both unstoppable and unforgettable. And for me, his message has been profound.
Rick Guidotti, an internationally renowned fashion photographer, has been all over the world for elite clients in the fashion world. One could say that he was at the top of the photography world, photographing the world’s most beautiful women. Yet something changed.
Over a quarter of a century ago, Rick saw a shy young woman who has a genetic condition known as albinism. Folks with albinism have a marked decrease in pigmentation in their hair and skin and often tend to avoid social interactions. Rick, however, saw stunning beauty just waiting to be focused and shared with the world. He recognized the beauty in diversity and the strength in diversity. His subsequent photographic essay in LIFE magazine (still a giant in the publishing industry back then) featured people with albinism and “addressed stigma, discrimination, prejudice, hatred and exclusion simply because of a physical difference.”1 Rick turned his focus to children who tend to be pushed to the sidelines in today’s society.
He titled his work “Positive Exposure.” His efforts are now channeled through a non-profit organization, Positive Exposure, celebrating the beauty and richness in human diversity. I encourage you to review his website – www.positiveexposure.org.
In the decades that have followed, Rick has gone from group to group taking pictures and showing each of these children and families their beauty and emphasizing that they are special. Rick passionately tells his audiences that all children want to be seen, they want to be heard, they want to be loved and they want to feel that they belong. While in Rick’s presence, they certainly are!
Now I have said that Rick is a force of nature. Of course, his message is a deeply emotional one. People that have been considered as different due to their physical appearance need strong advocates. Rick has traveled the world photographing so many marginalized children and adults and spreading his message with an unparalleled fervor. I have had the good fortune to hear him multiple times in front of varied audiences. Each time I learn something new and am reminded that I can do better. You do not walk away from a Rick Guidotti talk without being deeply moved, affected to recognize your own failings and the need to be more accepting and loving of all.
Rick at work!
The dramatic tagline that Rick has adopted says so much about him – CHANGE HOW YOU SEE, SEE HOW YOU CHANGE. He desires to spread his message far and wide. If you view others with a different lens (a more accepting lens, a more tolerant lens, a wider lens), you will change what you see or, more precisely, change how you see. As a consequence of that alerted perspective, you will see how you have been changed. I guarantee it will be for the better.
It saddens me to see how diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives are demonized as some sort of socialist activity. They are intended to improve our society, to be more accepting and more tolerant of others. The fact that these programs are attacked speaks to the erosion of our basic compassion for others. Saying that these efforts seek to indoctrinate others only lets me know that fear mongering has become too prevalent and too much the norm in some circles.
To recognize the diversity in our society, to seek more equitable solutions to inequities, and to include more folks in our society is really the only way that all children can be seen, be heard, be loved and feel that they belong. A society that rejects such an approach will be in decline in my estimation.
The force of nature known as Rick Guidotti has a powerful message for us. I hope that his platform continues to expand and that more and more people listen and seek to CHANGE HOW THEY SEE and subsequently SEE HOW THEY HAVE CHANGED. My thanks to Rick. Never lose your passion and you will continue to be unstoppable and unforgettable.