‘Risky’ representation: the portrayal of women with mobility impairment in twenty-first-century advertising

Abstract

Representations of disability and gender in advertising have been traditionally confined by narrow ideals surrounding body image. Recently, portrayals of disabled women in advertising have substantially grown in volume and variety. This research applies a feminist disability studies critique to the exploration of women with mobility impairments as ‘risky’ in twenty-first-century advertising. Feminist disability studies recognises culture as a key site in which disabled women have been historically misrepresented. While existing research dominantly focuses on textual analyses of advertisements, this study presents empirical data collected via semi-structured interviews with disabled women. Some women believe that the link between disabled women and riskiness sustains stereotypical attitudes and suggest that women with mobility impairments are included in advertisements as a form of ‘safe quirkiness’. However, others welcome provocative portrayals of women with mobility impairment and suggest that such representations challenge presumptions of disabled women as passive. The results of this research show how disabled women use their life experiences and personal beliefs to explore advertisements that supposedly represent them.

Keywords:

• advertising
• feminist disability studies
• disabled women
• mobility impairment
• risk
• cultural stereotypes

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank Professor David Bolt for his supportive mentorship and generosity in providing detailed and constructive feedback on earlier drafts of this article.

Notes

1 The findings presented in this article are drawn from a larger research project I undertook for my doctoral studies at Lancaster University, UK. For my doctoral research, nine ads featuring disabled women were used: three ads portraying women with mobility impairment, three ads portraying women with visual impairment and three ads portraying women with mental health issues. My own analyses of ads were combined with participant responses to ads, gathered via semi-structured interviews. In total, 15 disabled women who self-identified with the impairment groups were interviewed.