Re-presenting para-sport bodies: Disability & the cultural legacy of the Paralympics
Lead Research Organisation:
Bournemouth University
Department Name: Faculty of Management
Abstract
With research on the commercial mediation of para-sport bodies being described as being in its infancy, there are urgent calls for more joined-up evidence based research that can address the cultural legacy of Paralympic sport (the implications of media constructions of disability), people with disabilities and the role they play in cultural life. This project will provide this data-and thus insights and policy recommendations by completing the first funded academic study on the impact of para-sport representations on public attitudes towards para-sport bodies.
Under increased commercial pressure to construct media coverage focused on 'palatable and aesthetically pleasing' forms of disability, para-sport representations often reinforce medical, individual and stereotypical understandings of disability. Athletes with disabilities are often presented with a 'super' prefix ('superhuman', 'supercrip'), that can reinforce established hierarchies of disability. Indeed, the think tank DEMOS revealed 99% of those with disabilities remained untouched by the London 2012 Paralympic Games.
Building on our previous scholarship, this project addresses: a) the meanings ascribed to para-sport bodies through the mediation of the 2016 Paralympics b) audience interpretations of these representations, and c) through creative artworks, how meanings ascribed to para-sport bodies influence public understandings of people with disabilities, inclusion/exclusion, and the full participation of people with disabilities in everyday life.
To fully address para-sport representations, marginality, and, empowerment requires ensuring people with disabilities are integral to the entire project journey. The design and focus of the project has been collaboratively formed and incorporated input from academics with disabilities, former President of the Canadian Paralympic Committee, the Chair of the All-party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Disability (Dr Lisa Cameron, MP), an artists with disabilities (Liz Crow), and investigators with extensive expertise on the Paralympics, mediation, the body, art, and documentary.
The project operationalises a series of integrated qualitative work packets that will produce robust, co-created, data on the dominant meanings ascribed to para-sport bodies and audience interpretations within the context of everyday life, and creative outputs based on the ways audiences understand such meanings. Methodologically, this involves interviews with production and editorial personal, textual and moving image analysis, audience focus groups and interviews, and creative/public engagement through art/museum exhibits and a project documentary.
The project is of pressing importance with respect to furthering knowledge, policy and practice with regard to meanings ascribed to disability, inclusion/exclusion, everyday life with disability (including suffering, pain and loneliness), and established relationships between disability and a range of psychological and emotional disorders (e.g. mental health issues, PTSD, eating disorders). The project will make an important contribution to public awareness; its own legacy shaping public attitudes towards disability/people with disabilities through permanent, accessible digital and documentary exhibits (elevating voices of people with disabilities) deriving from creative engagement though the project. The project will impact on a wide-range of end users, including broadcasters (C4), the International Paralympic committee (IPC) (access facilitated by collaborators who sit on relevant IPC committees), the UK government (via the APPG) and the general public through engagement with creative outputs. Potential risks have been mitigated via existing collaborations with C4, the IPC, national Paralympic committees, and support from the APPG for Disability that demonstrate the study is feasible and safe, and by drawing on interdisciplinary expertise across the project team and the advisory board.
Under increased commercial pressure to construct media coverage focused on 'palatable and aesthetically pleasing' forms of disability, para-sport representations often reinforce medical, individual and stereotypical understandings of disability. Athletes with disabilities are often presented with a 'super' prefix ('superhuman', 'supercrip'), that can reinforce established hierarchies of disability. Indeed, the think tank DEMOS revealed 99% of those with disabilities remained untouched by the London 2012 Paralympic Games.
Building on our previous scholarship, this project addresses: a) the meanings ascribed to para-sport bodies through the mediation of the 2016 Paralympics b) audience interpretations of these representations, and c) through creative artworks, how meanings ascribed to para-sport bodies influence public understandings of people with disabilities, inclusion/exclusion, and the full participation of people with disabilities in everyday life.
To fully address para-sport representations, marginality, and, empowerment requires ensuring people with disabilities are integral to the entire project journey. The design and focus of the project has been collaboratively formed and incorporated input from academics with disabilities, former President of the Canadian Paralympic Committee, the Chair of the All-party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Disability (Dr Lisa Cameron, MP), an artists with disabilities (Liz Crow), and investigators with extensive expertise on the Paralympics, mediation, the body, art, and documentary.
The project operationalises a series of integrated qualitative work packets that will produce robust, co-created, data on the dominant meanings ascribed to para-sport bodies and audience interpretations within the context of everyday life, and creative outputs based on the ways audiences understand such meanings. Methodologically, this involves interviews with production and editorial personal, textual and moving image analysis, audience focus groups and interviews, and creative/public engagement through art/museum exhibits and a project documentary.
The project is of pressing importance with respect to furthering knowledge, policy and practice with regard to meanings ascribed to disability, inclusion/exclusion, everyday life with disability (including suffering, pain and loneliness), and established relationships between disability and a range of psychological and emotional disorders (e.g. mental health issues, PTSD, eating disorders). The project will make an important contribution to public awareness; its own legacy shaping public attitudes towards disability/people with disabilities through permanent, accessible digital and documentary exhibits (elevating voices of people with disabilities) deriving from creative engagement though the project. The project will impact on a wide-range of end users, including broadcasters (C4), the International Paralympic committee (IPC) (access facilitated by collaborators who sit on relevant IPC committees), the UK government (via the APPG) and the general public through engagement with creative outputs. Potential risks have been mitigated via existing collaborations with C4, the IPC, national Paralympic committees, and support from the APPG for Disability that demonstrate the study is feasible and safe, and by drawing on interdisciplinary expertise across the project team and the advisory board.
Planned Impact
Who will benefit from this research?
a) Policy Makers & Media: Channel 4 (para-sport broadcaster) and strategic partners (the IPC and BPA) will benefit from guidelines/blueprint for future para-sport events. C4 are in full support of the project and anticipate the research to impact their broadcast practice. Policy makers (e.g. in host cities, IPC education, gender and technology committees) will benefit with respect to enhanced debate over full human rights for people living with disabilities and participation in sport for people with disabilities (e.g. DCMS, Sport England, GBPC). The APPG Disability support the project.
b) The IPC Archives (Bonn), the Annella Olimpica Museum (Barcelona) and the IPC Museum and Heritage Centre (under development, Bonn): will benefit from digitised creative outputs that are integrated into the project methodology.
c) General Public: The project impacts upon the societal understandings of attitudes towards disability through engagement with a dialogic web based platform and public exhibitions/art integral to the research, the project documentary (see technical plan) and public feedback about wider attitudes towards Paralympic representations collected through interactive dialogue that are embedded within the planned exhibitions.
e) Civil Society: disabled peoples' groups including campaigners, support groups, charities and artists (such as the Equality & Human Rights Commission, and DEMOS) will benefit through provision of additional evidence-based research furthering knowledge on the representation, meaning and public attitudes about disability.
How will they benefit from the research?
The research will engage the above beneficiaries through the development of evidence-based frameworks that ensure beneficiaries will:
a) Develop enhanced understanding of public attitudes towards inclusion/exclusion, empowerment/marginality with respect to how para-sport media coverage can reinforce or challenge negative stereotypes, attitudes, beliefs and prejudices, and the impact upon the everyday experiences of disability; thereby influencing media practice;
b) Develop greater comprehension of public attitudes towards constructions of disability, empowerment and marginalisation, and possibilities for social change with regard to the everyday lives of people with disabilities/full participation in social and civic society; thereby contributing towards positive societal change and public understandings of disability;
c) Engage in debate (exhibitions/end seminar event) and receive verbal and written reports that will be delivered to the IPC education and gender equality committees, and the media and communication team (as well as national Paralympic committees, and the IPC VISTA conference) on Paralympic representation/wider cultural legacy; thereby impacting the further development of C4/IPC guidelines with respect to accredited media coverage of future Games and para-sport events and the mandates of specific committees;
d) Receive robust evidence (for key policy makers, think tanks and government bodies, such as DCMS, Disability Rights UK, the APPG, Disability) about the cultural legacy of para-sport events and associated societal impacts; thereby advancing evidence-based debate and influencing policy formation on disability rights and full participation in everyday life.
This research seeks to advance these benefits through collaborative/interdisciplinary/creative work that can reframe public and academic debates about para-sport representations, that can bridge the theory/practice/policy gap, that ensures elevated disabled voices, and that can provide maximum benefits for the public, policy makers, host cities, and media-practitioners. Further, the on-going, public, accessible and open communication embedded within the research, and integrated project documentary, will ensure the largest possible interdisciplinary and international user community for the research and project outcomes.
a) Policy Makers & Media: Channel 4 (para-sport broadcaster) and strategic partners (the IPC and BPA) will benefit from guidelines/blueprint for future para-sport events. C4 are in full support of the project and anticipate the research to impact their broadcast practice. Policy makers (e.g. in host cities, IPC education, gender and technology committees) will benefit with respect to enhanced debate over full human rights for people living with disabilities and participation in sport for people with disabilities (e.g. DCMS, Sport England, GBPC). The APPG Disability support the project.
b) The IPC Archives (Bonn), the Annella Olimpica Museum (Barcelona) and the IPC Museum and Heritage Centre (under development, Bonn): will benefit from digitised creative outputs that are integrated into the project methodology.
c) General Public: The project impacts upon the societal understandings of attitudes towards disability through engagement with a dialogic web based platform and public exhibitions/art integral to the research, the project documentary (see technical plan) and public feedback about wider attitudes towards Paralympic representations collected through interactive dialogue that are embedded within the planned exhibitions.
e) Civil Society: disabled peoples' groups including campaigners, support groups, charities and artists (such as the Equality & Human Rights Commission, and DEMOS) will benefit through provision of additional evidence-based research furthering knowledge on the representation, meaning and public attitudes about disability.
How will they benefit from the research?
The research will engage the above beneficiaries through the development of evidence-based frameworks that ensure beneficiaries will:
a) Develop enhanced understanding of public attitudes towards inclusion/exclusion, empowerment/marginality with respect to how para-sport media coverage can reinforce or challenge negative stereotypes, attitudes, beliefs and prejudices, and the impact upon the everyday experiences of disability; thereby influencing media practice;
b) Develop greater comprehension of public attitudes towards constructions of disability, empowerment and marginalisation, and possibilities for social change with regard to the everyday lives of people with disabilities/full participation in social and civic society; thereby contributing towards positive societal change and public understandings of disability;
c) Engage in debate (exhibitions/end seminar event) and receive verbal and written reports that will be delivered to the IPC education and gender equality committees, and the media and communication team (as well as national Paralympic committees, and the IPC VISTA conference) on Paralympic representation/wider cultural legacy; thereby impacting the further development of C4/IPC guidelines with respect to accredited media coverage of future Games and para-sport events and the mandates of specific committees;
d) Receive robust evidence (for key policy makers, think tanks and government bodies, such as DCMS, Disability Rights UK, the APPG, Disability) about the cultural legacy of para-sport events and associated societal impacts; thereby advancing evidence-based debate and influencing policy formation on disability rights and full participation in everyday life.
This research seeks to advance these benefits through collaborative/interdisciplinary/creative work that can reframe public and academic debates about para-sport representations, that can bridge the theory/practice/policy gap, that ensures elevated disabled voices, and that can provide maximum benefits for the public, policy makers, host cities, and media-practitioners. Further, the on-going, public, accessible and open communication embedded within the research, and integrated project documentary, will ensure the largest possible interdisciplinary and international user community for the research and project outcomes.
Publications
Pullen E
(2021)
Extraordinary Normalcy, Ableist Rehabilitation, and Sporting Ablenationalism: The Cultural (Re)Production of Paralympic Disability Narratives
in Sociology of Sport Journal
Pullen E
(2019)
Gender, technology and the ablenational Paralympic body politic
in Cultural Studies
Pullen E
(2020)
Disability, Masculinity, Militarism: The Paralympics and the Cultural (Re-)production of the Para-athlete-soldier
in Journal of War & Culture Studies
Pullen E
(2021)
Paralympic Broadcasting and Social Change: An Integrated Mixed Method Approach to Understanding the Paralympic Audience in the UK
in Television & New Media
Pullen E
(2020)
Watching disability: UK audience perceptions of the Paralympics, equality and social change
in European Journal of Communication
Pullen E
(2018)
Re-presenting the Paralympics: (contested) philosophies, production practices and the hypervisibility of disability
in Media, Culture & Society
Pullen E
(2019)
(Re-)presenting the Paralympics: Affective Nationalism and the "Able-Disabled"
in Communication & Sport
| Title | Bodyparts |
| Description | Exhibition in London based on the data collected in the project |
| Type Of Art | Artistic/Creative Exhibition |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Impact | Video from the opening night utilised by Channel 4 in kickstarting design of Tokyo 2020 marketing campaign |
| Title | Parallel Lines |
| Description | Documentary film based on the research |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2020 |
| Impact | Shortlisted for Best Film: Specialised Audience at the Royal Television Society Awards |
| Description | 1) Production: Underpinning the broadcast decisions of the Paralympic Games was the recognition of a 'C4 way' or philosophy of practice, an approach that dovetails with the regulatory broadcast environment in the UK. C4 operates under a statutory remit as a sustainable social enterprise with a mandate that includes stimulating debate and education, promoting innovation and fostering new talent, reflecting cultural diversity, and inspiring change through high-quality and innovative content that challenges the status quo. The 'C4 way' was described by one senior executive as 'doing it first ... being diverse' and C4 viewed the 2012 Paralympics as an opportunity to translate this philosophy into production practices that 'inspired change and championed difference.' C4's broadcasting of the 2012 Paralympic Games acted as a showcase of, and a commitment toward, the 'C4 way.' The single biggest project in the broadcaster's history, the stated aim was to change dominant media perceptions of disability. Previous Paralympic broadcasters were deemed, by our interviewees, as too 'conservative'; their Paralympic coverage a manifestation of an apologetic positioning of disability (Briant et al., 2013). This was apparent, for example, in notably fewer hours of coverage for the Paralympics (compared to the Olympic Games) and production aesthetics and practices that often saw the camera 'shying away from the impairment' (senior executive). C4 felt that a 'reframing' of Paralympic coverage was required, one that challenged dominant non-disabled production techniques, legitimised it as an elite sporting event, and stimulated audience interest. To achieve these ambitions, C4 took a significant step change in the marketing and broadcasting of the games, in an effort to differentiate the Paralympic media product within the media sport marketplace, and to break from the perceived (aesthetic) 'misfit' of the disabled body and the elite sport context. Of central importance was a form of marketing that utilised athlete backstories as the point of distinction. In so doing, some of these stories centralised (rather than erased) disability - they were described by one interviewee as 'confrontational' - but were emplaced within a wider narrative of sporting success, and thus were seen as an 'authentic' technique that could serve to both legitimise elite sport and serve as a point of difference. Whilst the use of backstories served as an essential 'hook' for audiences to follow Paralympic athletes, interviewees were aware of the challenges in attracting audience interest to parasport coverage and highly reflective about their current approach. Indeed, interviewees felt that their approach was an important 'stepping stone' on a pathway toward achieving their wider statutory remit. In this regard backstories served a dual function with an inherent dialectic logic; the need to 'other' - through the promotion of personal, and often sensationalised, human interest stories - acted as the pathway to inspiring populations and achieving greater, social good. The need to take audiences on a journey came from a perception that audiences are not yet 'ready' to simply 'accept' disability as portrayed through a Paralympic lens. There was a need to narrate, to render marked difference - disability - (hyper-)visible. The intent was to make - as one senior executive suggested - disability 'popular', to 'create characters' with which the audience could 'empathise' and therefore stimulate audience expectation both ideologically and materially in the narration of the marked body differently. Such decisions were not always uncontested and were the subject of debate amongst senior staff and with Paralympic stakeholders. To take a telling example, the 2012 promotional campaign 'Meet the Superhumans' (http://www.channel4.com/info/press/news/meet-the-superhumans) integrated footage of elite performance with dramatic footage of how various disabilities might be acquired (this included footage of a bomb exploding in a war, a car crash, and of a baby in a womb suggestive of congenital disabilities). Drawing on a narrative predicated on inspirational messages of individual success in overcoming impairment, the campaign was widely regarded as a watershed moment given its up-front and dramatic portrayal of disability. 2) Content Analysis: The data reveals the extent the broadcasting was framed around Paralympics GB and the pursuit of national success. When it came to live sport, only 14% of live sport segments did not have a GB athlete competing and 93% of all studio guests were British. This was an intentional broadcast strategy taken by C4 confirmed through the interview data. Focussing on British athletes, then, was a deliberate strategy intended to interpolate them into national audiences. This meant positioning the Paralympics as palatable to 'major eventers' - audiences 'who might not follow any other sport for the rest of the year but they get into this event from start to finish' (senior production executive). Taking this editorial position meant the need for 'competitive [sport] and Brits going for medals' (senior commissioning executive) in order for the public to 'embrace para-sport in the same way that they have embraced British success in able bodied sport'. Whilst this was a clear institutional strategy, it was in part connected to the C4's statutory remit to advance the cause of marginalized groups in society and challenge dominant stereotypes; a (hyper-)visibility leading to a 'normalisation' of disability (Pullen et al., 2018). Thus, the national lens was a way to position Paralympic sport so the public can 'embrace' it, generating large audiences as a pathway to a social change agenda. Of course, the presentation of a global sporting event through a national lens is not unique to the Paralympics and is a staple of the prevailing logic of the mediation of sporting mega events. However, the Paralympics affords for important nuances that are not present in other events. Here, we can ask what national (disabled) bodies are given airtime, and are certain sporting events and disability classifications privileged over others? The data reveal track and field and swimming as dominating the schedules, with over 50% of total airtime. Despite the presence of GB interest and potential medal success (excluding goalball), some (admittedly niche) Paralympic sports such as archery, boccia, goalball and shooting were almost entirely absent from C4's main channel coverage. Others, such as sitting volleyball and equestrian, were virtually invisible. For C4, athletics and swimming fitted with the broadcast strategy to provide 'good sport' and 'big stars' in the form of British success and guaranteed familiarity (as per Olympic broadcasting). Athletics and swimming would as likely form the backbone of Olympic broadcast coverage as it does Paralympic coverage. There are multiple factors that might explain this, such as their wide appeal and familiarity with audiences; the globally competitive nature of the events; their delivery of some of the most iconic Olympic events (such as the 100m sprint); alongside the more banal, production-related efficiencies of presenting from the two main venues (the aquatics centre and Olympic stadium). But with the Paralympics, there are additional dynamics related to the severity of the disability - as seen through events only played by the most disabled, and classifications ranging from the most to least disabled - that force broadcasters to make editorial decisions that their Olympic counterparts do not have to make. Wheelchair-based events dominated the live sport schedules. Combined with limb deficiency classifications, Paralympic events featuring mobility enhancing technologies (including carbon fibre prosthetics) accounted for nearly 70% of all live sport. Previous research has highlighted how such technologically-enhanced disabled bodies, often termed 'cyborgs' (Howe & Silva 2017), have been the subject of most attention inside and outside of the Paralympic movement, particularly with the crossover of athletes such as Oscar Pistorius and Markus Rehm into elite non-disability sports. Despite interviewees revealing a subtle disruption to this dynamic - for example with the suggestion that there was an 'effort to feature boccia' based on medal success - the data suggest that the most able-disabled, technologically enhanced, athletes positioned at the top of supposed disability hierarchies are the most celebrated (Howe & Silva, 2017). Our content analysis also found that there was a lack of racial and ethnic diversity across featured athletes; 48 out of the 50 backstories featured white para-athletes. We would argue this is less a failure of the broadcaster to represent the ethnic diversity of Paralympics GB - our interviews suggested C4 were well aware of a lack of ethnic diversity amongst GB athletes and within the broadcasting - and more a symptom of a wider (and troubling) problem of para-sport itself. Our own analysis shows that 7% of Paralympics GB athletes in 2016 were of black and minority ethnic (BME) origin. This is an uncomfortably low figure given how in the UK, sport has been at the forefront of progressive notions of multicultural Britishness, which are regularly lauded in the media and formed an essential ingredient of London's bid to host the 2012 Olympics itself (Black, 2016; MacRury & Poynter, 2010). It can also be contrasted with the 13% of UK citizens who identified as BME in the 2011 census and the over one third of all Team GB (non-disabled) Olympic medals in 2012 from athletes born abroad or who had a foreign parent or grandparent. 3. Audience Perceptions: Audience perceptions of the Paralympic Games is an important indicator of current trends in public attitudes toward disability. Qualitative audience data on this scale provides an insight into the impact of Paralympic broadcasting since London 2012 on wider disability awareness, education, and perceptions of progressive social change, further highlighting tensions and issues related to forms of disability representation. The normalisation of Paralympic Sport as Elite Sport For a large proportion of participants, attitudes toward Paralympic sport document a shift away from viewing it as non-elite sporting mega event toward a greater appreciation of it as an elite event. This has been influenced by the step change in the quantity, style and breadth of coverage C4 has provided since 2012 and the representation of para-athletes as elite sports people. The focus on successful medal winning Great British Paralympians resonated with a significant proportion of audiences who identified as sports fans and thereby engaged in Paralympic sport to see British medal success. For those who did not identify as sports fans, Paralympic coverage provided opportunity to watch elite sport events not specific to Paralympic coverage and piqued the interest of audiences Whilst, some audience sentiments continued to imply a preference to watch non-disabled sport the dominant attitude implied a shift away from ableist attitudes in their viewing of the Paralympics. Disability Stories and Inspirational Narratives Stories of disability were an important feature of C4's coverage and this was reflected in the voices of many audience members. Stories of how Paralympians sustained their disability, the impact of living with a disability in the context of their everyday life, and their overcoming of disability to achieve sporting success was viewed as a way to educate the public around disability related issues. Although the perception of disability related stories was overwhelmingly positive, for a proportion of audience members disability stories were a site of tension and were viewed as a distraction from the elite sport. Some audiences expressed how disability stories presented a 'slight discomfort' to their viewing and were concerned that it fixed attention on Paralympics disability rather than their sporting success. Audiences often referred to the coverage as 'inspirational', 'awe inspiring' and how they 'admired' Para-athletes for overcoming disability and achieving sporting success. This reflects the wider inspirational narrative that underpins some of the disability related stories and frames much of the wider coverage and marketing of the Paralympics. This inspirational framing was a site of considerable tension for audiences who self-identified as disabled. Whilst disabled audiences recognised the importance of inspirational coverage in raising the profile of Paralympic sport at a national and local level and the development of para-athletes as 'role models to support grass root [disability] sport' many audience members with a disability viewed it as having a negative effect on how disabled people are perceived. Audiences who identified as disabled indicated that the way the Paralympic coverage represents certain forms of physical disabilities often reinforces a negative positioning toward those disabilities that are given less coverage and / or not represented. This puts particular disabilities "on a pedestal" and makes a distinction between disabilities deemed as superhuman and those deemed as "ordinary". Hierarchies of Disability Preference Audience perceptions reflected a preference in viewing toward physical disabilities. This indicates a persistence in disability stigma hierarchies amongst the public as documented within the academic literature (See Jackson et al., 2014). This preference was largely in relation to non-visible, severe and/or intellectual disabilities and highlights a wider issue of the lack of public awareness and understanding of non-physical disabilities. For non-disabled audiences, being able to see physical disability was easier to comprehend and provided more comfortable and palatable viewing. This is partly related to the IPC's classification system in Paralympic sport where specific disability categories provide greater 'consistency' in viewing, whilst further indicative of the lack of understanding audiences felt regarding particular forms of disability. Across the audience data, perceptions of para-athletes were centred on that used mobility enhancing technologically and carbon fibre prosthetics. For a large majority of audiences, mobility enhancing technology was, in the words of one audience member 'part and parcel' of the Paralympics with the majority of audience members claiming they thought of 'blades' when are asked to describe an image of a para-athlete. Paralympians who used mobility enhancing technology and carbon fibre prosthesis, particularly ex-servicemen, were praised by a large proportion of audiences. Audiences viewed mobility enhancing technology as providing a greater degrees of ableism thereby breaking down stereotypes around the limitations of disability. More able Paralympians were deemed as most palatable to watch in Paralympic coverage in their approximation to non-disabled sporting success. The topic of mobility enhancing technologies raised questions regarding the issues surrounding the classification of disability, with one participant raising the question as to whether the use of prosthetics could be 'classed as a disability anymore? Indeed, the ambiguity relating to meanings of and identifications with disability within the context of sport was reflected in audiences who identified as disabled. These accounts indicate a disability stigma hierarchy that positions para-athletes with mobility enhancing technologies at the top of - and even exceeding - disability stigma. This demonstrates how taking 'disability' as a unified category becomes a problem when attempting to 'educate' audiences and normalise disability. Improving audiences understanding of disability is therefore fraught with issues given the fluidity of the concept of disability and thus raising the question: which 'disabilities' are most visible and thereby normalised? This was highlighted in the perceptions of audiences who identified as disabled who claimed Paralympics coverage was seen to 'glorified' certain disabilities, reinforcing disability stigma hierarchies and disempowering those with non-physical disabilities. The Paralympics, Social progress and Disability Attitudes Although there remains a persistent in disability stigma hierarchies amongst public audiences, a significant proportion of audiences described feeling as though the Paralympic Games was an important catalyst for social progress with respect to disability attitudes, equality and rights. The Paralympics were seen to 'destigmatise' disability by 'humanising' through increasing the visibility of disability on television, improving forms of disability representation, and challenging non-disabled audiences understanding of what disabled people can do. In continuation of this theme, audiences described a palpable shift in the wider media coverage of disability including more disabled people represented in some of the most popular television programmes and a greater coverage on disability related issues. There were clear generational differences (also evidenced in survey findings) across the audience data between younger audiences who expressed a greater degree of comfort in their interaction with disability both on and off screen, and older audiences who continued to indicate a discomfort with disability, including in their watching of Para-sport. Whilst this demonstrates the persistence of some problematic ableist views, the generational distinction in attitudes is more reflective of the progressive shifts in social change concerning attitudes toward disability and the cultural legacy of Channel 4's Paralympic coverage. 4. National Attitudes Survey: Through a collaboration with UK Sport, we were able to include a number of questions relating to parasport and the Paralympics in their regular public attitudes tracker survey. This was the first time that such questions were included in this or any survey, and so we therefore cannot yet compare how attitudes might have shifted over time. The full data set is available in the project report, however, key findings here emphasised a younger, female audience for the Paralympics and that audiences who declared a disability were less likely to deem coverage favourably than non-abled audiences. |
| Exploitation Route | 1) UK Sport: National Attitudes Survey (ongoing) 2) Para GB: Marketing campaign for Tokyo 2020 (ongoing in 2021 due to delay of Paralympics) 3) Channel 4: Broadcasting approach to Tokyo 2020 (ongoing in 2021 due to delay of Paralympics) 4) Underpinning future projects on Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games (in conjunction with Paralympics GB and the Commonwealth Games Federation) |
| Sectors | Creative Economy,Leisure Activities, including Sports, Recreation and Tourism,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| Description | Findings from the AHRC-funded project 'Re-presenting para-sport bodies: Disability & the cultural legacy of the Paralympics' have been utilised by Channel 4, Paralympics GB, and UK Sport to shape future broadcasting, policy, practice and promotion of para-sport. Specifically, drawing on the projects extensive evidence base, these organisations have given greater emphasis to more representative and broader coverage of disabled people, types of disability, athlete voice and types of para-sport in their strategic planning, marketing and promotions, and media coverage for Tokyo 2020 and beyond. As a result of the project, in February 2019 we were invited to collaborate with UK Sport on the UK Sport Public Attitudes Survey to develop approximately 15 new questions about the public's attitudes towards para-sport, the Paralympics, and media coverage of such events. This was the first time that such questions were included in this or any survey. The survey runs quarterly, with responses provided by approximately 2000 UK adults, and will enable the tracking of any shift in public attitudes towards disability as a result of the Paralympics going forward. The findings of this project have direct relevance to the way that para-sport is marketed and presented through live sport. Beyond academic publications, our findings were disseminated through a) a project report, which was written for non-academic stakeholders and b) an stakeholder event and exhibition held in London in July 2019, attended by representatives from Paralympics GB, UK Sport, Sport England and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, as well as executives from C4. A film from the opening night of the exhibition was utilised at C4's initial briefing to discuss marketing strategies for Tokyo 2020. As a result, our key recommendations - particularly regarding the need to embrace a wider spectrum of disabilities within para-sport coverage and to engage in dialogue with disability advocates, policy makers and disability rights groups with regard to how disabled people would like to be represented -- are being embraced by stakeholders in their strategy for Tokyo 2020. The research findings have helped to change the ways in which Paralympic sport is being marketed, promoted and broadcast, with particular emphasis being given to more representative and broader coverage of disabled people in the build-up to and during the Tokyo 2020 Games, which are now due to take place in 2021. 1. Shaping broadcast coverage within the UK The findings of this project have direct relevance to the way that para-sport is marketed and presented through live sport. Beyond academic publications, our findings were disseminated through a) a project report, which was written for non-academic stakeholders, b) meetings with Channel 4, Para GB and UK Sport to discuss emergent findings and conclusions, and c) a stakeholder event and exhibition featuring artistic interpretations of the research data held in London in July 2019. The exhibition was attended by representatives from Paralympics GB, UK Sport, Sport England and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, as well as executives from Channel 4. A film from the opening night of the exhibitionwas utilised at Channel 4's initial briefing to discuss marketing strategies for Tokyo 2020. The project aided C4 to think about, and indeed challenged [us] about stereotypes. The film was used as a provocation at the first meeting of the creative team in developing the marketing thread from London / Rio to Tokyo 2020. In particular, a key change of emphasis in the marketing for Tokyo 2020 - as a result of the research - was a shift in how we will focus on elements of the athletes lives as sports people and humans. This directly draws from our report recommendations, and has influenced Channel 4 to move away from their portrayal of Paralympians as 'superhuman', which (as our research showed) was particularly problematic amongst disabled audiences. Additionally, Channel 4 state that the research findings have been valuable with respect to understanding the impact of our coverage as well as with regard to planning and operationalising future coverage. Our key recommendations - especially around a shift away from a narrow representation of disability - have been embraced by them in their marketing and broadcast strategy for Tokyo 2020: the new strategy aims to embrace a wider spectrum of disabilities within para-sport coverage, while Channel 4 have, based on our recommendations, engaged in dialogue with disability advocates, policy makers and disability rights groups with regard to how disabled people would like to be represented, in order to shape coverage of Tokyo 2020. 2. Shaping Para-sport policy, practice and marketing Our project data emphasised that there is a need for a wider and more diverse visibility (hyper-visibility) of athletes, beyond those with technological (prosthetic) 'solutions' to disability, and advocated for greater racial diversity of Paralympics GB athletes. These insights have informed the corporate strategy of Paralympics GB, the governing body that selects, prepares, enters, funds and manages the Great Britain and Northern Ireland team at the Paralympics. Specifically, Paralympics GB state that the insights provided from the data have informed their social impact strategy and marketing strategy and have framed the decisions we have made for Tokyo in 2021 and beyond. In particular, the research has: • informed the development of the new corporate strategy to focus more on athlete voice, which is identified as enabling the organisation to enhance its authenticity and credibility and allow Paralympics GB athletes to talk about wider social issues. The BU research also supported Para GB to incorporate a wider range of disabilities (beyond those that are most visible) in marketing campaigns and utilise athlete voice to drive social change. Indeed, engaging with the research has placed athlete voice at the heart of what the British Paralympics Association is about. • The research directly informed Paralympics GB's marketing strategy for the 2021 Paralympics, and the channels they will use to reach audiences , drawing on project data which highlights the young and female audience for the Games . Their "one year to go" activity in August 2020 resulted in a UK media reach of 21 million, 3.3 million social impressions, 400,000 social video views, 135,000 post engagements and 19,000 email subscribers. •The project has encouraged Paralympics GB to showcase a wider range of sports, impairments and diversity - particularly with regards to BAME athletes during Tokyo 2020. • The research has provided Para GB with an evidence base to support their new marketing campaign, 'Impossible to Ignore', which is incorporating a wider range of disabilities beyond those that are most visible". Additionally, our evidence on the progressive impact of watching para-sport has encouraged Paralympics GB to focus their future Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) around "increased public awareness of Paralympics GB athletes", "increase in Paralympics GB fan base", and an improvement in "positive attitudes to disabled people" . These KPIs will be used to assess the extent to which Paralympics GB have achieved success following the Tokyo Paralympic Games. 3. Providing an evidence base for sport policy in the UK Silk, Jackson and Pullen were invited to present their broader project research findings to an all UK Sport staff session in February 2020. These findings, especially that Paralympic sport had particular traction amongst female and younger audiences, which is different to typical sporting audiences, have impacted on UK Sport's communication strategies, ensured disability is embedded within their diversity and inclusion strategy, and influenced the reach and target market of UK Sport's Tokyo 2020 campaign. More specifically, the research has: •informed the way UK Sport communicate regarding issues of para-sport, especially communications with media partners and the press. In particular, it is supporting UK Sports attempts to encourage the media to cover a broader spectrum of disabilities and parasport events than may have been the case in the past. This draws on our research finding that there is a need for a broader spectrum of disabilities / events to be represented in coverage. •Helped UK Sport make a stronger case for increased funding from government for para-sports. This draws on our evidence for both the popularity and progressive impact of watching para-sport [R5]. •The project has help[ed] to shape UK Sports communications strategy for the Tokyo Paralympic Games, particularly in the audience demographics that they will seek to engage. Specifically, UK Sport will now target a younger, female audience, drawing on our finding that para-sport is more popular amongst these groups. •Findings have supported the development of a new UK Sport induction programme for those coming into Paralympic sport and to the enhanced support being developed for disabled athletes transitioning out of sport. • Findings also helped ensure that UK Sports new strategy is focused on the inclusion of athletes with a wide spectrum of disabilities, based on our finding that some disabled audiences feel current coverage does not represent them effectively. Specifically, our finding that there was a lack of racial and ethnic diversity across featured para-athletes during the Rio 2016 coverage has been useful in informing this new strategy. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2019 |
| Sector | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Leisure Activities, including Sports, Recreation and Tourism,Government, Democracy and Justice,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| Impact Types | Cultural,Societal,Policy & public services |
| Description | Influencing Broadcasting Practice & Marketing Strategy |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to new or Improved professional practice |
| Impact | The evidence based has influenced the ways in which Paralympic sport is presented, in particular encouraging more representative coverage of disabled people in the build-up to and during the Tokyo 2020 Games, which took place in 2021. The findings of this project were disseminated through a) a project report for non-academic stakeholders, b) meetings with Channel 4, Para GB and UK Sport to discuss emergent findings, and c) an exhibition featuring artistic interpretations of the research data held in London in July 2019. The exhibition was attended by representatives from Paralympics GB, UK Sport, Sport England and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, as well as executives from Channel 4. Channel 4, who broadcast the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games in 2021 & Winter Paralympics in 2022, made it clear that BU research will "underpin future coverage of the Paralympics" and that the coverage that will "embrace a wider spectrum of disabilities within para-sport coverage", implementing our recommendations. A film from the opening night of the exhibition was used by Channel 4 "as a provocation at the first meeting of the creative team", resulting in "a key change of emphasis in the marketing for Tokyo 2020 - as a result of the research - [which] was a shift in how we will focus on elements of the athletes lives as sports people and humans". This move away from their portrayal of Paralympians as 'superhuman', draws directly on BU's research which showed that this labelling was particularly problematic amongst disabled audiences [R4]. Based on the team's recommendations, Channel 4 have "engaged in dialogue with disability advocates, policy makers and disability rights groups with regard to how disabled people would like to be represented", in order to shape coverage of Tokyo 2020. Paralympics GB, the governing body for the Great Britain and Northern Ireland team at the Paralympics, state that the "insights provided from the data have framed the decisions we have made for Tokyo in 2021 and beyond". In particular, the research has: informed the development of our new corporate strategy to focus more on athlete voice, which we identified as enabling the organisation to enhance its authenticity and credibility and allow Paralympics GB athletes to talk about wider social issues; supported their desire to incorporate a wider range of disabilities (beyond those that are most visible) in this marketing campaign and utilise athlete voice to drive social change, encouraged Paralympics GB to showcase "a wider range of sports, impairments and diversity - particularly with regards to BAME athletes" during Tokyo 2020 coverage; Directly informed Paralympics GB's marketing strategy for the 2021 Paralympics drawing on project data which highlights the young and female audience for the Games; encouraged Paralympics GB to focus their Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for Tokyo 2020 around "increased public awareness of Paralympics GB athletes" and an improvement in "positive attitudes to disabled people." In February 2019 BU collaborated with UK Sport to develop the UK Sport Public Attitudes Survey, focusing on public attitudes towards para-sport, the Paralympics, and media coverage of such events. The research team's analysis of the initial results has helped shape UK Sport's approach to parasport events, enabling them to "explore territory that we had never specifically entered into before and enhanced our knowledge accordingly." Further, the data informed the way [UK Sport] communicate regarding issues of para-sport In particular, it is supporting our attempts to encourage the media to cover a broader spectrum of disabilities and parasport events. This draws on our research highlighting a need for a broader representation of disabilities / events, as some disabled audiences feel current coverage does not represent them effectively. The research help[ed] to shape communications strategy for the Tokyo Paralympic Games, particularly in the audience demographics engaged and supported UK Sport to "make a stronger case for increased funding from government" for para-sports drawing on the team's evidence for both the popularity and progressive impact of watching para-sport. |
| Description | Gendered re-presentations of disability: Equality, empowerment and marginalisation in Paralympic media |
| Amount | £199,403 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | AH/T006684/1 |
| Organisation | Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 06/2020 |
| End | 11/2021 |
| Description | Student Research Assistantship |
| Amount | £2,300 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Bournemouth University |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 05/2018 |
| End | 07/2018 |
| Description | Channel 4: Official Project Partner |
| Organisation | Channel Four Television Corporation |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | We are in a process of on-going communication with Channel 4 about the progress of the research project and our findings. As key findings emerge we will be report to Channel 4 and provide them with data that can inform their future broadcasting practices. |
| Collaborator Contribution | We are in a process of on-going communication with Channel 4 about the progress of the research project and our findings. As key findings emerge we will be report to Channel 4 and provide them with data that can inform their future broadcasting practices. |
| Impact | Pullen E; Jackson D; Silk M; Scullion R (2018). Giving Disability the Hollywood Treatment: Channel 4 and the Broadcasting of the Paralympic Games. Conference Paper. International Communication Association: Prague |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | UK Sport Public Attitudes Tracker Questionnaire |
| Organisation | UK Sport |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Intellectual input in the development of UK Sports research into the social and cultural impact of the Paralympic Games on public perceptions of disability. This includes the project team developing related questions for UK Sports public attitudes tracker questionnaire. The project will share the qualitative data from the large scale audience focus groups with UK Sport to compliment their research in this area. |
| Collaborator Contribution | UK Sport will share the findings from the UK Sports public attitudes tracker questionnaire with the project. The project will use the data for continued research activity. |
| Impact | The primary outcome will be a complimentary quantitative data set relating to the impact of the Paralympics on public perceptions of disability from the UK Sports public attitudes tracker questionnaire; this will inform future publications and knowledge exchange activities from the project. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | AHTV Event |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This workshop provided an opportunity for collaborative discussion with representitives from the television industry for future public engagement activities through film / TV. The event provided opportunity to discuss the project and future research with commissioners and other senior representatives in the TV industry, representing the BBC, Channel 4, Sky Arts, Nutopia and All3Media. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | British Film Institute Workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Members of the project team were invited to do a workshop / seminar on the research project at the British Film Institute's annual media conference. This is a conference that brings together delegates from the media industry, education and professional practitioners to engage with current research, policy and practice in the field of media. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Cafe Scientifique: Engaging the public with initial findings |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | 25 members of the general public attended a public event and engaged in conversation about initial findings from the project |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Channel 4 Research Meeting |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Research meeting with Channel 4 (C4) (official project partners) to share research findings and discuss impact of data and continued research activity. The outcome of the meeting has led to a complimentary data set being developed that can provide C4 with further data relating to broadcasting practices. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Invited Keynote Panel: Sport Media Inclusion Network Conference (Loughborough London); January 2023 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | An event in which practitioners (e.g. Sky Sports; C4; BBC) came together with leading academics to discuss state of play in sport/disability representations. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://hosting.northumbria.ac.uk/SMINetwork/disability-jan-2023/ |
| Description | Public Talk |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Bournemouth University hold a yearly 'Festival of Learning' event where the public are invited to engage with Bournemouth University research through talks, seminars, work shops and activities. The talk, titled 'going behind the scenes in Paralympic broadcasting' gave the local public an insight into the project findings and a chance to ask questions, debate and discuss. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Stakeholder Engagement: C4 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Workshop outcomes with the Paralympics and marketing teams at C4 led to valuable understandings of the impact of C4 coverage as well as with regard to planning and operationalising future coverage. Our key recommendations - especially around a shift away from a narrow representation of disability - have been embraced by C4 in their marketing and broadcast strategy for Tokyo 2020: the new strategy aims to embrace a wider spectrum of disabilities within para-sport coverage, while Channel 4 have, based on our recommendations, engaged in dialogue with disability advocates, policy makers and disability rights groups with regard to how disabled people would like to be represented, in order to shape coverage of Tokyo 2020 (in 2021). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Stakeholder Engagement: Paralympics GB |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The outcomes from formal workshopping of the key project data with Paralympics GB have informed the corporate strategy of Paralympics GB and their marketing strategy. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Stakeholder Visit: UK Sport |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Sharing project findings with UK Sport contributed to further development of relationship with UK Sport and impacted on UK Sport's communication strategies, ensured disability is embedded within their diversity and inclusion strategy, and influenced the reach and target market of UK Sport's Tokyo 2020 campaign. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |