Michelle Colvard of Houston is the 2009 Ms. Wheelchair America.
The Houston Chronicle had a Q&A with the 2009 national winner of Ms. Wheelchair America, Texan Michelle Colvard, who is executive director of the Mayor's office for people with disabilities in Houston.
Colvard, who was born with spina bifida, says she wants to change misconceptions about women with disabilities: "They're two main ways that the media portray women who have disabilities. It's either kind of passive, needing help, victim,suffering. You hear a lot of those words, 'wheelchair-bound,' these negative-word connotations. ... On the other hand, women with disabilities who have done pretty well for themselves are put up on a pedestal. I think sometimes that's a bad thing, too."
Colvard explained that the competition is not a beauty pageant, but aims to challenge negative stereotypes of women with disabilities.
She says she wants everyone, but especially children, to see Ms. Wheelchair America as "a strong, confident, attractive woman who just happens to have a disability."
