The naked truth: disability, sexual objectification, and the ESPN Body Issue

Abstract

We critically analyze four images of female Paralympians posing nude in ESPN The Magazine’s Body Issue from the years 2009, 2010, 2012, and 2014. Past literature shows that media portrayals of female Paralympians emphasize esthetically pleasing bodies, able-bodied images and asexualization. Weaving’s continuum of sexual objectification was applied to assess the varying degrees of sexual objectification showcased within each image. From a feminist perspective, discourses of heteronormativity and ableism were applied to outline the concerns with female Paralympic representation in The Body Issue. We argue that by normalizing disability and sexual objectification, woman athletes are trivialized.

Keywords:

• Paralympic athletes
• women
• sexual objectification
• The ESPN Body Issue

Acknowledgments

We wish to acknowledge the two anonymous reviewers for their helpful feedback. We also acknowledge Paul Gaffney for his incredible assistance throughout the publication process.

Notes

1. See ESPN website: http://espnmediazone.com/us/media-kits/espn-magazine-body-issue-2016/.

2. See ESPN website: http://espnmediazone.com/us/media-kits/espn-magazine-body-issue-2016/.

3. She became a world record-holder for multiple racing championships, marathons and triathlons, and won several awards for her activist work with disability sport and prostheses, including a 2006 ESPN ESPY for Best Female Athlete with a Disability.

4. See the Runner’s World cover: http://www.alwaystri.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Runners-World-Cover.jpg.

5. See Adidas advertisement: http://estaticos03.marca.com/imagenes/2010/12/09/tenis/1291892307_0.jpg.

6. See ESPN website: http://espnmediazone.com/us/media-kits/espn-magazine-body-issue-2016/.

7. We thank one of the reviewers for acknowledging this counter argument.

8. Joe Kinsey created this website in 2007. According to the website,

Busted Coverage is a leading sports news, entertainment and social media destination for all sports fans, reaching over one million unique visitors per month. We focus on sports entertainment, game coverage, action off the court and the athlete real estate market.

See https://bustedcoverage.com/about/

9. This quote is from the blog Culturally Disoriented. For more information about the blog please see the ‘about’ section https://culturallydisoriented.wordpress.com/about/. The author of the blog, ‘Suzanne’ provides a feminist analysis of pop culture.