Kanya Sesser, of Los Angeles, is breaking through the boundaries of the modelling industry by posing in bras and underwear in revealing photos that display her missing legs, but not a disability.
The aspiring model, who is of mixed origin, was abandoned on the steps of a Buddhist temple in Thailand when she was just one week old and brought to Portland, Oregon at age five by her adoptive parents, is hoping to use her career to show that different is sexy.
Kanya shared: 'It's something fun and it shows my story - I'm different and that is sexy. I don't need legs to feel sexy.'
The beauty said she has modeled for big brands like Nike and many others in her budding career.
READ: How To Tell If You Have Restless Leg Syndrome
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After beginning her modeling career at age 15 by posing for a number of sports brands, Kanya said she was then scouted by underwear brands.
She revealed: 'I enjoy making money from it and I love showing people what beauty can look like.'
And she isn't lying. Despite her missing limbs, she is not missing out on any money. As a lingerie model, Kanya is averaging about $1,000 a day doing shoots for magazines, online web portals and print.
"These images show my strength," Kanya said of her modeling shots, which show her posing in lace thongs and bras in range of seductive positions.
Kanya, who loves extreme sports and hopes to compete in mono-ski competition at the 2018 Winter Paralympics South Korea, said she never intended to be a model, but 'it just happened' for her.
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Why someone is born without certain limbs is still widely unknown. However, most cases show that the first three months in a pregnancy are when most birth defects occur because that is when the organs of the fetus are beginning to form. One common cause is amniotic band syndrome, which occurs when the inner fetal membrane (amnion) ruptures without injury to the outer membrane (chorion). About 750 are born each year (about 1/4 of those are African American births). Fibrous bands from the ruptured amnion float in the amniotic fluid and can get entangled with the fetus, thus reducing blood supply to the developing limbs to such an extent that the limbs can become strangulated; the tissues die and are absorbed into the amniotic fluid. A baby with congenital amputation can be missing a portion of a limb or the entire limb, which results in...
... the complete absence of a limb beyond a certain point where only a stump is left is known as transverse deficiency or amelia. When a specific part is missing, it is referred to as longitudinal deficiency.
Amelia is the birth defect of lacking one or more limbs. It can also result in a shrunken or deformed limb. The complete absence of an arm or leg in amelia occurs as a result of the limb formation process being either prevented or interrupted very early in the developing embryo: between 24 and 36 days following fertilization.
Kanya refuses to use a wheelchair and gets around mainly on her skateboard.
Recently, the model revealed that she hopes to continue modelling as she trains for the Paralympics. She's also writing a book about her courageous journey from orphan to model.
'I like expressing myself in a different way than people usually see,' she shared, adding: 'This is just who I am."
