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Health spoke with Carol Glazer, president of the National Organization on Disability, a non-profit that focuses on increasing employment opportunities for Americans with disabilities, to weigh in on the photos.

“Any effort to bring the wheelchair into mainstream media in a positive way is good. It’s often a misconception that women who use wheelchairs aren’t able to be sexy or even have sex, so to the extent that Kylie Jenner is portrayed as sexy while sitting in a wheelchair is not all bad,” she says.

“However, we are concerned that this portrayal of Jenner—who is not disabled—as an inanimate object and using the wheelchair as a prop, is unfortunate. Instead of being depicted as a prop, wheelchairs should be shown as helping women live free and independent lives.”​

“We very much appreciate and recognize the value of celebrities who are portrayed as people who use wheelchairs or as people with disabilities,” said Glazer, whose nonprofit group has teamed up with stars ranging from the late Christopher Reeve to “CSI” actor Robert David Hall. “On the other side, the portrayal of Kylie Jenner in these photographs is as someone who is an inanimate object, and a portrayal alongside inanimate objects.”

Glazer, who doesn’t use a wheelchair, but cited her own disabilities ranging from hearing problems to severe arthritis, said she was fine with Jenner’s expression of sexuality, but added, “We hope that the next step here, in the media, is to bring into the mainstream really sexy women who are wheelchair users — not just Jenner, who is using a wheelchair as a prop.”

“[The cover photo] leaves an unfortunate impression,” she said.

HUFFINGTON POST BLOG By CAROL GLAZER, President, National Organization on Disability

In a race for talent, companies are now realizing that people with disabilities are a largely untapped pool that, as a result, has seen unemployment rates remain stubbornly high when compared to the general population. So when an employer the size of Starbucks plants a flag and says it is going to make this a priority, others are likely to follow.

My experience has been that this kind of an effort only succeeds if it is backed by a strong leader who chooses to make disability hiring a priority. That was certainly the case at Walgreens, where former executive Randy Lewis, whose son is autistic, spearheaded one of the most successful disability-hiring initiatives in recent years. At Starbucks, that person is Deverl Maserang, who heads up the company’s global supply chain organization. For leaders like Randy or Deverl, this is not about charity. It’s actually quite the opposite. They need talented men and women who can perform at high levels of productivity. They’ve simply decided not to allow the typical stereotypes to stand in their way of finding outstanding employees who can contribute to the overall success of their organizations.

Health spoke with Carol Glazer, president of the National Organization on Disability, a non-profit that focuses on increasing employment opportunities for Americans with disabilities, to weigh in on the photos.

“Any effort to bring the wheelchair into mainstream media in a positive way is good. It’s often a misconception that women who use wheelchairs aren’t able to be sexy or even have sex, so to the extent that Kylie Jenner is portrayed as sexy while sitting in a wheelchair is not all bad,” she says.

“However, we are concerned that this portrayal of Jenner—who is not disabled—as an inanimate object and using the wheelchair as a prop, is unfortunate. Instead of being depicted as a prop, wheelchairs should be shown as helping women live free and independent lives.”​

“We very much appreciate and recognize the value of celebrities who are portrayed as people who use wheelchairs or as people with disabilities,” said Glazer, whose nonprofit group has teamed up with stars ranging from the late Christopher Reeve to “CSI” actor Robert David Hall. “On the other side, the portrayal of Kylie Jenner in these photographs is as someone who is an inanimate object, and a portrayal alongside inanimate objects.”

Glazer, who doesn’t use a wheelchair, but cited her own disabilities ranging from hearing problems to severe arthritis, said she was fine with Jenner’s expression of sexuality, but added, “We hope that the next step here, in the media, is to bring into the mainstream really sexy women who are wheelchair users — not just Jenner, who is using a wheelchair as a prop.”

“[The cover photo] leaves an unfortunate impression,” she said.

HUFFINGTON POST BLOG By CAROL GLAZER, President, National Organization on Disability

In a race for talent, companies are now realizing that people with disabilities are a largely untapped pool that, as a result, has seen unemployment rates remain stubbornly high when compared to the general population. So when an employer the size of Starbucks plants a flag and says it is going to make this a priority, others are likely to follow.

My experience has been that this kind of an effort only succeeds if it is backed by a strong leader who chooses to make disability hiring a priority. That was certainly the case at Walgreens, where former executive Randy Lewis, whose son is autistic, spearheaded one of the most successful disability-hiring initiatives in recent years. At Starbucks, that person is Deverl Maserang, who heads up the company’s global supply chain organization. For leaders like Randy or Deverl, this is not about charity. It’s actually quite the opposite. They need talented men and women who can perform at high levels of productivity. They’ve simply decided not to allow the typical stereotypes to stand in their way of finding outstanding employees who can contribute to the overall success of their organizations.