Debunking disability: media discourse and the Paralympic Games

Newlands, Maxine

Abstract

[Extract] Newwspaper headlines about Paralympic athletes have previously depicted the Paralympic Games with an emphasis on disability over athleticism. Headlines such as 'Public is often blind to some athletes' (The Globe and Mail, Canada, 1993); 'Ready, Willing and Disabled' (Washington Post, 1995); or 'Landmines claim limbs but athletes stand united' (Sydney Morning Herald, Australia, 2000) are just a sample of previous story headlines about Paralympic athletes. The problem many scholars have found is with how language is used by journalists to represent Paralympians is often couched in either medical terms or a 'disabled-hero' (Hardin & Hardin, 2008) discourse with a focus on disability over elite athleticism. Much of the literature has found journalist framed Paralympian stories as negative, passive, medicalised, disability orientated, individualised or focuses on the Paralympics as minority sports, despite being organised in tandem with the Olympic mega-event.

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Heroes or Zeros: the medias perceptions of Paralympic sport

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978-1-61229-057-7

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Common Ground Publishing

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Illinois, USA

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