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bent on demonstrating these women's self-empowerment—a self-
empowermentbasedtoalargedegreeonlooks.
Theprogram'swebsiteisabitmoreambitiouswhenitstatesthatthe
show's heroines simply (or not-so-simply—as especially the program's
critics on social media argue) don't "let their wheelchairs define them"
("EpisodeGuide"n.pag.).Thesewheelchairsmayneedpushingbutthe
PushGirlsdon'tallowanyonetopushthemaround.Inthisspirit,oneof
them enters a dance competition of able-bodied people ("Watch Me,"
S1E2),anotherone,in "Escapeto Mexico"(S2E8),takesherfriendson
an adventure trip south of the border. In the Season Finale (S2E11), the
girls go hod-rodding on a car racetrack. Seasoned with a heavy dose of
the usual twists and turns of romance and occasional drama, and also
sexual innuendo (in "Sex ED," S2E6, Auti & Angela lead a sex
educationclassforthenewlydisabled),theseriesalsoreturnsrepeatedly
to the travails of living a self-determined life. In "Fired Up" (S1E6),
Chelsie Hill considers stem cell treatment so that she might regain the
ability to walk, and in "Living in the Fast Lane" (S1E8), Tiphany is
hauntedbythememoriesofthecaraccidentthatleftheraparaplegic.
Criticalresponse to this docu-serieshasso far been overwhelmingly
positive, calling it "an example of progressive television" (Ellis 98).
Showing four disabled women living a satisfying, even exciting, life
may help dispelling "the sloppy wheelchair stereotype," asFox News
noted("'PushGirls'RealityStarsSeektoDispelthe'SloppyWheelchair
Stereotype'"n.pag.).Unsurprisingly,itisarguedthattheprogramoffers
"an intimate glimpse into the challenges wheelchair-using women face"
(Kuster n. pag.), and the stars themselves seem to reinforce the popular
belief discussed above that there is indeed something redemptive about
life with a disability, a saving grace, in their case, sex appeal. On the
programand off,in their"reallife," they arepresentedaspushingaside
(as the show's title implies) all obstacles deriving from their physical
impairment and enjoying a terribly exciting life. In an interview,one of
the stars of the show, Tiphany Adams, delivers what sounds like a
"supercrip's"credo:
When something feels scary, I think it's preparing [me] for a huge
breakthrough. It's going to [bring me to] another level that I need. A
higherlevel.Forme,whenthe accident [happened], it was just, bang:
'Letmelivethroughthis.Letmelivethroughthis and I'll do something