The letters “Xue” and “Li” in her name, which was given to her by the orphanage staff, stand for snow and beautiful, respectively. Due to her albinism at birth, she was given this name.
Due to a genetic condition called albinism, a person’s melanin levels are reduced and they develop pale skin, hair, and eyes.
She was given a loving home after being adopted by a family in the Netherlands. She was asked to model for a designer in Hong Kong when she was 11 years old for a photoshoot where he wanted to portray various types of beauty.
In an interview with the BBC, Abbing said, “She called the campaign ‘perfect imperfections’ and asked if I wanted to join her fashion show in Hong Kong. She continued, “That was an amazing experience.
Numerous nations around the world discriminate against people who have albinism. They may even be “hunted” in some cases due to the mythical medicinal value of their bones. Abbing has remarked, “I’m lucky I was only abandoned.”
Sometimes albino models are used as props to portray angels or ghosts, which, according to Abbing, “makes me sad.”
However, Abbing had the good fortune to work with a London-based photographer who treated her with the respect that any model deserves. The outcome was a gorgeous photo shoot. Even Vogue Italia purchased one of the images from it for use in its June 2019 issue.
It took a while for me to understand why people were so excited about the magazine because, at the time, I didn’t know what an important publication it was, says the author.
Abbing faces challenges unique to being a model. She has 8 to 10% vision, making it painful for her to look directly at camera flashes. But her desire to advocate for those who lack conventional beauty, like herself, keeps her going.
Although more people with disabilities or differences are being featured in the media, she said in the interview, “There are still models who are like eight foot two and skinny. This is great, but it should be normal.”
Maybe I concentrate more on people’s voices and what they have to say because I can’t see everything clearly, she said. Therefore, I place more value on a person’s inner beauty, she claims.
She aspires to change the world and inform others about her condition. In order to raise awareness of albinism and to emphasize that it is a genetic disorder rather than a curse, she wants to use modeling. Since being “an albino” implies that you are defined by your albinism, it is preferable to refer to the subject as “a person with albinism.”