By RANDY COHEN
Published: September 26, 2008
I have a fledgling photography business, mostly shooting aspiring models. I am a full-time wheelchair user. When I mention that in e-mail messages when booking a shoot, I get a lot of cancellations — a model suddenly remembers a prior engagement — or just out-and-out no-shows. Is it ethical not to say up front that I have a disability? — JACK HENIFORD, YORK, S.C.
You have the same ethical duty to alert people that you are a wheelchair user that you have to warn them that you are African-American or gay or a fan of lite jazz: none. (Well, maybe this last, if you intend to play that carbonated treacle during photo sessions.) If people find these things off-putting, that’s their problem, not a prejudice you must cater to. Being a wheelchair user is not germane to the task at hand.
Strictly for your own convenience, without regard to the delicate sensibilities of any aspiring model, you might choose to say something to avoid last-minute walkouts, but that is a practical consideration, not an ethical obligation.
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