top of page

IDEAS & PERSONAL

Ideas: Work

ALLURE

AS MUCH AS NAIL POLISH BECAME THE THING TO HELP ME SEIZE CONTROL OF MY PROSTHESIS, IT ALSO TAUGHT ME TO LET GO.

December, 2022

It's difficult replacing physical portions of yourself with mail-order parts. Even if you're personalizing everything you can on your prosthesis down to the lining, there will always be bits that feel extremely foreign.

8D2A767B-B708-4D69-A1B4-7456E6969177.jpeg
688124EB-5522-45A6-874B-B02B9AA4734B.jpeg

THE HUFFINGTON POST

MY ARM ISN’T "MISSING" AND I DIDN’T "LOSE" IT. IT WAS STRATEGICALLY REMOVED -- AND I'M DOING IT AGAIN ON FRIDAY.

December 2022

My confidence increased after the amputation. As soon as I woke up from surgery, I FaceTimed a friend and laid down the truth for her: “I look good with one arm.”

THE WASHINGTON POST

GO AHEAD AND STARE AT MY PROSTHETIC ARM. I KNOW IT'S AWESOME.

September 2022

I immediately changed into my Lady Gaga tee that appropriately read “Born This Way,” and I realized I had a dynamite opportunity before me. I was going to get a prosthesis, and it would be an extension of my most genuine, supersonic self.

2771C502-C53A-47A8-B3A6-79A7387417BB.heic
06F2C57F-7080-47ED-BC7A-C4BF8FD05810.jpeg

AMERICAN VULGARIA


THE NEW SUPREMATISM

June 2021

Like Kazimir Malevich, the Father of Suprematism, Lady Gaga devotes her pop art to the supremacy of pure feeling in her 2020 album Chromatica.

ALLURE


MAKEUP BRIDGED THE GAP BETWEEN MY MISSING ARM AND ME

April 2022

Post-amputation, writer Chloe Valentine Toscano found empowerment through adorning her scars.

FCBBB279-19F8-490A-A8E8-44341CD0C09C.jpeg
12A2E9E5-63DD-41FE-A849-7F8CE33CB9D0.jpeg

HUFFINGTON POST


I'M CUTTING OFF MY ARM THIS WEEK — AND IT'S A WISH COME TRUE

December 2021

"Tuesday, I’ll be seeing 'House of Gucci' with my best friend. Wednesday, I’ll be staring at my ceiling. And Thursday, I’ll be having my left arm cut off around 3 p.m."

ALLURE


DYEING MY HAIR HELPED ME ACCEPT MY PHYSICAL LIMITATION

January 2021

Chloe Valentine Toscano used to love experimenting with different hairstyles. But after an accident permanently paralyzed her left arm, she had to find new ways to make her look feel special.

886A21F0-F6B8-4277-8998-ECF41B1D063F.jpeg
1EA6FCB1-E9D5-44C7-830F-C975EC968843.jpeg

AMERICAN VULGARIA


LADY GAGA'S CHROMATICA IS THE "POCKET-FRIENDLY" MEOW WOLF OF POP

August 2020

Lady Gaga's Chromatica mixes the concepts of installation art and pop music to create a portable world-building experience.

SALON


WHILE TRAINING FOR THE TOKYO PARALYMPICS, MY BIGGEST TRIUMPH CAME IN THE LOCKER ROOM

August 2021

Until I swam in my first Paralympic meet, I hated asking for help. But in Para swimming, it's the norm

AE214C5A-82CB-4E73-B878-33654A24F0C5.jpeg
bottom of page