According to the available data, approximately 3% of the total Czech population is confined to the wheelchair (Pribyl, 2004). It means that out of the total 10 million population, approximately 300, 000 people are physically challenged, which is about the number of all permanent citizens in Ostrava, the third Czech largest city. The number is high, which indicates that disabled people form a substantial part of the Czech society. However, the media do not really seem to reflect this fact.
Generally, disabled people tend to be under represented and misrepresented in the media. If shown at all, physically challenged people are mostly one-dimensionally stereotyped. Paul Hunt (Qtd. in. Wood, 2006), a human rights expert and professor at the University of Essex, identified the most commonly used stereotypes of disabled people in media. Particularly, physically challenged people are depicted as pathetic or pitiable, unable to participate in everyday life, non-sexual, as an object of violence, curiosity or laughter, a burden or a “super cripple”. However, such media approach to disability is very inaccurate and simplistic. It fuels stereotyping, reinforces discrimination, expands the gap between disabled people and the mainstream population, and creates a negative self-image of disabled people.
It is absolutely understandable that disabled people might feel offended by such biased media approach towards them, since a significant number of physically challenged people lead pleasant and relatively independent lives. Many of them have quite successful careers, university degrees, healthy children and working families. Many disabled people practice various sports on regular basis; quite a few physically challenged women are interested in the latest fashion trends, make-up and cosmetics. They also enjoy traveling, theatre performances, concerts and other social and cultural events. People confined to the wheelchairs do not give up sex either; many of them enjoy it and are more or less satisfied with their sex life just like the mainstream population. People with disability consider themselves simply equal to the rest of society. Therefore they expect to be seen equally as well as treated equally.
However, the mainstream society still tends to perceive disabled people in a stereotypical way, merely because of a lack of accurate information about disabilities as such. It is something that the contemporary media should be blamed for. Radio, television, press, films, books, Internet and advertising are an integral part of peoples’ everyday lives and have a great potential to inform, educate, and shape the viewers’ opinions. However, the Czech media still seem to fail in the field of this social marketing in relation to disabled citizens.
There are two main media approaches to disability, medical and social (Wood, 2006). In the history, the medial approach was commonly used. It means, that media had shown disabled people unable to participate in everyday life as a direct result of their impairment, and such people would survive only through the medical intervention. The social approach has started being used in the western democratic countries during the mid 1970’, when the community of disabled people started campaigning for their rights, equality, integration into the non-disabled community, changes in legislation, and started calling for the social responsibility (Wood, 2006).
Despite a significant progress in media approach to disabled people, it seems like media, especially those in post-communistic countries like the Czech Republic, still have a long way to go to apply a proper and sensitive social approach. In the Czech media, viewers may still encounter the medical approach to physically challenged people quite frequently. The first reason why media tend to be so reluctant to changes in the field of social marketing is a fear of a small group of decisions makers, such as producers, editors, programmers, and budget-controllers, that portraying disabled people in a non-stereotypical way is a risk of losing the audience and simultaneously money (Wood, 2006).
The second problem is the under-representation of physically challenged people in employment within media. Skillset, a company which supports skills and training for people working in or connected to the UK creative media industries, estimates that in the United Kingdom, as little as 2,3% out of all disabled working people have a job in media (Wood, 2006). This significant under-representation of physically challenged people in the workforce within media carries quite serious social implications, because disabled people have a very limited power to influence the way of portraying themselves in the media.
Another disservice done to the disabled people is surprisingly charity and its advertising campaigns and sponsorships (Wood, 2006). Despite charity are mainly seen as strong advocates of disabled people, in many cases they rather tend to reinforce stereotypes of disabled people being needy, poor, and dependant. Charities still use the medical approach to disabled people in a large scale. Advertising campaigns and sponsorship activities using commercial business strategies for their fundraising show the mainstream population that disabled people can be “saved” only by making minimal donations. Such campaigns are not promoting integration of physically challenged people, they rather reinforcing the feeling of inequality. The main reason for why this is happening is that disabled people themselves are mostly not running charities. Also, by being impairment specific, charities contribute to the segregation of physically challenged people, while charities themselves obtain a positive image (Wood, 2006).
In this essay, it was analyzed how misrepresentation and under-representation of disabled people in media influence negatively the opinion of the mainstream public towards the community of physically challenged people. Despite notable improvements over the past years, media still have a long way to go to treat all people equally. It seems a bit like a vicious circle.
Generally, disabled people tend to be under represented and misrepresented in the media. If shown at all, physically challenged people are mostly one-dimensionally stereotyped. Paul Hunt (Qtd. in. Wood, 2006), a human rights expert and professor at the University of Essex, identified the most commonly used stereotypes of disabled people in media. Particularly, physically challenged people are depicted as pathetic or pitiable, unable to participate in everyday life, non-sexual, as an object of violence, curiosity or laughter, a burden or a “super cripple”. However, such media approach to disability is very inaccurate and simplistic. It fuels stereotyping, reinforces discrimination, expands the gap between disabled people and the mainstream population, and creates a negative self-image of disabled people.
It is absolutely understandable that disabled people might feel offended by such biased media approach towards them, since a significant number of physically challenged people lead pleasant and relatively independent lives. Many of them have quite successful careers, university degrees, healthy children and working families. Many disabled people practice various sports on regular basis; quite a few physically challenged women are interested in the latest fashion trends, make-up and cosmetics. They also enjoy traveling, theatre performances, concerts and other social and cultural events. People confined to the wheelchairs do not give up sex either; many of them enjoy it and are more or less satisfied with their sex life just like the mainstream population. People with disability consider themselves simply equal to the rest of society. Therefore they expect to be seen equally as well as treated equally.
However, the mainstream society still tends to perceive disabled people in a stereotypical way, merely because of a lack of accurate information about disabilities as such. It is something that the contemporary media should be blamed for. Radio, television, press, films, books, Internet and advertising are an integral part of peoples’ everyday lives and have a great potential to inform, educate, and shape the viewers’ opinions. However, the Czech media still seem to fail in the field of this social marketing in relation to disabled citizens.
There are two main media approaches to disability, medical and social (Wood, 2006). In the history, the medial approach was commonly used. It means, that media had shown disabled people unable to participate in everyday life as a direct result of their impairment, and such people would survive only through the medical intervention. The social approach has started being used in the western democratic countries during the mid 1970’, when the community of disabled people started campaigning for their rights, equality, integration into the non-disabled community, changes in legislation, and started calling for the social responsibility (Wood, 2006).
Despite a significant progress in media approach to disabled people, it seems like media, especially those in post-communistic countries like the Czech Republic, still have a long way to go to apply a proper and sensitive social approach. In the Czech media, viewers may still encounter the medical approach to physically challenged people quite frequently. The first reason why media tend to be so reluctant to changes in the field of social marketing is a fear of a small group of decisions makers, such as producers, editors, programmers, and budget-controllers, that portraying disabled people in a non-stereotypical way is a risk of losing the audience and simultaneously money (Wood, 2006).
The second problem is the under-representation of physically challenged people in employment within media. Skillset, a company which supports skills and training for people working in or connected to the UK creative media industries, estimates that in the United Kingdom, as little as 2,3% out of all disabled working people have a job in media (Wood, 2006). This significant under-representation of physically challenged people in the workforce within media carries quite serious social implications, because disabled people have a very limited power to influence the way of portraying themselves in the media.
Another disservice done to the disabled people is surprisingly charity and its advertising campaigns and sponsorships (Wood, 2006). Despite charity are mainly seen as strong advocates of disabled people, in many cases they rather tend to reinforce stereotypes of disabled people being needy, poor, and dependant. Charities still use the medical approach to disabled people in a large scale. Advertising campaigns and sponsorship activities using commercial business strategies for their fundraising show the mainstream population that disabled people can be “saved” only by making minimal donations. Such campaigns are not promoting integration of physically challenged people, they rather reinforcing the feeling of inequality. The main reason for why this is happening is that disabled people themselves are mostly not running charities. Also, by being impairment specific, charities contribute to the segregation of physically challenged people, while charities themselves obtain a positive image (Wood, 2006).
In this essay, it was analyzed how misrepresentation and under-representation of disabled people in media influence negatively the opinion of the mainstream public towards the community of physically challenged people. Despite notable improvements over the past years, media still have a long way to go to treat all people equally. It seems a bit like a vicious circle.
Works Cited:
Pribyl, R., (2004). Kulatý stůl handicapovaných občanů se zástupci města a veřejnosti 12.2.2004. 01.08.2009. From http://www.ckrumlov.info/docs/cz/ad2004021801.xml
Wood, L., (2006). Media Representation of Disabled People. 01.08.2009. From http://www.disabilityplanet.co.uk/links.html
Wood, L., (2006). Media Representation of Disabled People. 01.08.2009. From http://www.disabilityplanet.co.uk/links.html
Sona,
ReplyDeletethanks for your blog. My blog was about portrayal of racial minorities so it seems that our topics are interdependent. The main thing that i liked in your blog that you use your own experience, while analysing this issue and that most of the examples presented considered Czech Republic.
I found it very useful, because for example ethnic minorities and children can speak for themselves ,and as about disables people they just can not.
Aziya
Dear Sona,
ReplyDeleteThank you for contributing to a topic of social minorities and their representation in media. It is very sad that even in the 21st century physically challenged people are not being seen equally. Very recent event, the summer Olympics, is a perfect example of media’s ignorance. While the "regular" Olympic disciplines receive full coverage or even a whole 24/7 channel, Paralympics games stay almost unnoticed. We should open our eyes and realize that it could be us sitting in a wheel chair.
Hi Sona,
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with girl's comments above. It's great if one is writing about a topic in which he/she is really interested, like u did.
Really good blog for reading.