Disability advocacy gets dose of sex appeal

It’s not every day that I find myself clicking on Facebook ads for disability forums, but it’s hard to ignore the Disaboom.com banners featuring actress and model Angela Rockwood. For one thing, she’s gorgeous, and she obviously has no qualms about discussing her sex life. But she’s also got a hell of a story, one that makes you wonder how you haven’t heard of her before. A New Mexico native of Thai-German descent, Rockwood devoted her youth to everything from martial arts and fitness training to fashion design and acting. In 2001, as she was preparing to marry 21 Jump Street star Dustin Nguyen, Rockwood was paralyzed in a car crash that killed her bridesmaid, actress Thuy Trang of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Today, after years of struggle to recover from paralysis, Rockwood is an inspiring spokesperson—along with her husband—for the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation. Will all this make me an avid reader of Disaboom.com? Probably not. But if the goal was to challenge perceptions about disability, this more than gets the job done. The campaign is by the agency Cowboy.

—Posted by David Griner

January 15, 2008 in Griner | Permalink