The Origin Story of Love Disabled Life
A few years ago, I saw a segment on the TV news magazine show 60 Minutes. In brief, it was about how an advertising campaign finally brought years of civil war in Columbia to an end. At that moment, a lightbulb went on in my head. It made me think of marketing and advertising and the power of those mediums in a whole new way related to disability. And from there, Love Disabled Life was born.
According to the website statista.com, The United States is the largest advertising market globally, with ad spending amounting to $242.54 billion. Billion, with a B! Why do companies spend so much? Well, because as much as we like to think we aren't influenced by things like advertising, we are. If advertising was a money-losing venture, companies wouldn't do it. Everyone likes to pick on the tobacco industry, and since my father died of lung cancer, I will too. The CDC reports that in 2019, Phillip Morris profited $30 billion, but they only spent $8.2 billion. That is a pretty good return for a product that LITERALLY KILLS PEOPLE.
Let's face it. Disability has an image problem. Between the biases, ableism, and discrimination that happens both on institutional and personal levels, combined with the internalized oppression that lurks deep within the psyches of disabled people themselves, it isn't a surprise that disabled people are defaulted to a "survive" vs. "thrive" status quo.
But does it have to be that way? I don't think so. And I have some pretty ambitious and aspiring ideas about how there can be a new approach to creating a more equal and inclusive future for disabled people.
Creating this platform and launching this campaign has been a creative challenge and test of my ability to start my life as an entrepreneur. Learning as I go and working to balance all this new work into my current life, including home responsibilities and volunteer commitments, has definitely had its ups and downs. Besides my North Star Vision, what keeps me going is I genuinely love what I am doing. When you hear motivational speakers throw around the word "passion," I have to believe that is what I am feeling. Combining my writing, design, and marketing skills for a purpose and a cause that is such a part of my DNA means more than I can put into words (and I'm a writer!).
As with any new company, I'm starting by creating content. I am writing blogs and articles for the Love Disabled Life website that talk about disabled life from a fresh and personal perspective. I've also created an Etsy shop to be a marketplace to sell t-shirts, tote bags, and the like that feature positive disability identity. Some of my favorite designs also highlight some real talk on disabled life. Add in the social media accounts I'm working to grow, and I've got a lot on my plate at the moment.
But even though I am busy now, it doesn't mean that I don't have big goals for the future of Love Disabled Life. Expanding into other mediums, writing a book, public speaking, and ultimately creating an ad campaign, or several, inspired by the life-changing work done in Columbia years ago, are all projects I have in mind to grow Love Disabled Life.
If you would like to support Love Disabled Life, you can do so by subscribing to this blog, signing up to join my email list, or buy something in my Etsy shop, and please share with your friends and followers on your social media accounts. Thank you so much!