Abstract:

Being able to define your true self is an important human right and media plays a powerful role in shaping that identity. Mainstream media channels continue to present those with a disability within outdated and narrow definitions. The community has long been silenced and kept in the shadows of society with their image often being reduced to that of a heroic figure who goes ‘above and beyond’ despite their disability or as a ‘victim’ in need of help. With the removal of geographical and physical barriers, social media has defied the traditional gatekeepers and made the world a much more accessible place. With this freedom, disability advocates are able to directly share their everyday lives, construct their own identity and therefore challenge outdated perspectives. Social media is a potent tool with the power to change perceptions.

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According to a 2023 study by the World Health Organization, there are approximately 1.3 billion people with disabilities around the world, which equates to 1 in 6 of the global population (Jiang & Musa, 2024). This is a substantial and powerful community that has consistently been unheard, marginalised and misrepresented by mainstream media outlets. The historical framing of disability around medical issues has reduced the representation of disability to simplistic and outdated depictions, often limited to that of a ‘victim’ in need of help, or an ‘ultra-hero’ succeeding regardless of their disability. Social media platforms, powered by technological advances, have enabled disability proponents a global voice and the opportunity for community and connectivity. By removing the geographical and physical constraints, access to digital communications has brought the world to the disabled and a platform to share their identity to the world. Social Media affords disability advocates unique opportunities to reject reductive mainstream media representations by curating their own image, sharing individual experiences and expanding the narrative around disabilities.

Despite as highlighted by the World Health Organization in 2023 that disability affects a significant part of the global population, mainstream media has consistently constructed the image of disability within a rigid and stereotypical framework (Clogston, 1991; Haller, 1993, as cited in Jones et al., 2021). These depictions are often placed within the outdated and reductive model of the ‘medical’, which casts the disability community as either ill and in need of assistance, or as heroic super achievers who accomplish amazing feats “despite” their disability (Piróg et al., 2021, as cited in Struck-Peregończyk & Leonowicz-Bukala, 2023, p. 64). These limited portrayals of disability as highlighted by Barnes and Mercer (2010, as cited in Pearson & Trevisan, 2015) “correspond[ed] with a form of oppression” (p. 930). The words and images that are used to represent and define disability have the power to change how we behold a community (Ca plan, 1995; Caplan & Shechter, 1993; Gouvier & Coon, 2002, as cited in Andrews et al., 2019). Our perception and knowledge of disability is formulated through the “continuous construction by the media” (Kenix, 2011, as cited in Cocq & Ljuslinder, 2020, p. 73), demonstrating the exceptional capacity of mass communication in shaping our “culture, identity and values” (Ljuslinder, 2002; Hall, 1997, as cited in Cocq & Ljuslinder, 2020, p. 73). The absence of diverse depictions of disability in mainstream media is an ongoing issue, and becomes as Ladau (2017, as cited in Kearney et al., 2019) explains, the reason and result of our stereotypical beliefs. Mainstream media produces the content, and it is by this standard we judge and understand our society (Jiang & Musa, 2024). The omnipresent media has the power to deeply effect how disability is portrayed, and by limiting these representations, our capacity to see their true and varied identity is subverted (Ljuslinder, 2002; Hall, 1997, as cited in Cocq & Ljuslinder, 2020). Social media affords a unique opportunity for disability proponents to circumnavigate these restrictive media tropes, by removing the physical obstacles often experienced by this community in the offline world.

Previously hidden behind the ‘gatekeepers’ of media messaging, the development of online spaces enabled by technological advancements, is a pivotal moment in disability advocacy, representation and connectedness (Jiang & Musa, 2024). By dismantling the barriers of ‘geography’, social media connects separated individuals and provides a space for “public and private” conversations that disability advocates could not access so readily in the offline world (Coopman, 2003, as cited in Parsloe, 2015, p. 340). By eradicating the many physical and cultural barriers often experienced by those with mobility or communication difficulties, social media has afforded users prime opportunities to establish communities (Stough et al., 2015, as cited in Sweet et al., 2020) and become according to (Parsloe, 2015) a vibrant “catalyst” for disability spokespersons and campaigners (p. 340). The removal of “distance” brings back the power to the communities, enabling online disability representation to be framed by “social accessibility” instead of “spatial accessibility” (Chua et al., 2011, as cited in Delanty, 2018, p. 203). Networking technologies have great potential to reshape global communications, creating new opportunities for interconnectedness and altering ingrained societal viewpoints (Delanty, 2018). Although not every device is universally accessible, social media does provide self-governing opportunities and democratises the communication space (Larson, Watson, 2011, as cited in Struck-Peregończyk & Leonowicz-Bukala, 2023). Social media as stated by Delanty (2018) has the affordance to energise the community and is an important tool in constructing personal image and representations. Ease of access to these digital channels enables the sharing of text, images and videos, providing advocates, as explained by Goggin & Noonan 2007; Thoreau 2006a (as cited in Pearson & Trevisan, 2015) a diversity of “unmediated representations of disability” and unique opportunities to define and construct their own image (p. 297).

As Pullen et al. (2025) describe, disability advocates have previously had limited access to channels to represent themselves, but the affordances of social media has enabled a dynamic platform for “new forms of visibility, resistance and cultural production” (p. 264). The online environment has directly allowed disability proponents access to global audiences, giving them opportunities to share a variety of content about themselves to directly shape their own public image (Cocq, Ljuslinder, 2020, as cited in Struck-Peregończyk  & Leonowicz-Bukala, 2023). Released from the restrictive nature of mainstream media, online spaces are a major vehicle to image curation (Bagatell, 2010). Dolezal (2017, as cited in Pullen et al., 2025) describe how a retired Paralympian used social media to display their prosthetics as a feature of attractiveness, disputing stereotypical ‘ableist’ ideas of weakness and directly owning how they were identified. Social media has switched the dynamics of users being solely the receivers of established representations, and has enabled individuals the freedom to become producers of their own content, disputing the traditional images rolled out by mainstream media (Goggin, Newell, 2007, as cited in Struck-Peregończyk & Leonowicz-Bukala, 2023). Using the affordances of social media and the power of ‘hashtags’ such as #EverydayAbleism and #ActuallyAutistic, the disability community can contest and push back against media stereotypes, and bring to public attention what it is really like to live with a disability (Hill, 2023, p. 1311). Hashtags such as #DisabledAndHot and #DisabledAndCute as highlighted by Ellis (2015, as cited in Hill, 2023) enable individually curated images that oppose and broaden mainstream media’s image of beauty (p. 36), and provide as Todd (2018, as cited in Hill) examines, an opportunity to “perform” an identity that could not be revealed outside of social media (p. 1313). By using the channels of social media the disability community has the power to curate and shape their image and communicate their own stories.

Social media spaces have equipped advocates to not just be bystanders to content, but given them opportunities to share their day-to-day lives (Pearson & Trevisan, 2015, as cited in Cocq & Ljuslinder, 2020). The communicating of personal experiences is an important way to debunk the restrictive mainstream media representation of disability. An analysis of online content by Struck-Peregończyk & Leonowicz-Bukala (2023) highlighted the type of content shared by ‘people with a sensory’ disability, this included: how they relaxed; things that made them laugh; romances; guidance; daily experiences and subjects usually regarded as ‘taboo’ (p. 67). Additionally the community posted activities such as travel, hobbies and music preferences along with more risqué photos, depicting individual portrayals of beauty. By revealing these personal experiences, the authors highlight that social media provides a powerful platform for disability advocates to present their own stories, and emphasises how similar their lives are to those in the non-disabled world (p. 74). This provides opportunities for this community to present themselves just like everyone else. By describing their interests through social media, disability advocates can make their lives visible (Cocq & Ljuslinder, 2020). Where previously they were unseen and hidden, proponents can now present themselves as being part of the global community and move away from narrow media representations. As Jachyra et al. (2021, as cited in Ellem et al., 2022) define, social media spaces have enabled disability advocates access to show what matters to them. It has provided an opportunity to share individual experiences and in doing so broaden the conversation around disability.

With the freedom to share their own stories social media has created a space for the disability community to dismantle the media narrative. When contributors are able to engineer their online selves, it directly contests mainstream images and societal views on what disability should look like (Dolphin, 2011 as cited in Sweet et al., 2020). According to a study of Instagram stories by Struck-Peregończyk & Leonowicz-Bukala (2023), individual and personal representations, that are seen by a global audience, interrupt stereotypical narratives and add a depth and variety of viewpoints not demonstrated in mainstream media. Online communication spaces have amplified and empowered communities such as the “disabled, D/deaf, and mad artists” and in doing so have re-established their identities and dismantled “ableist norms” (Abbas et al., 2004, as cited in Jones et al., p. 314). The authors further explain that digital platforms construct disability as a “valued human condition” that forms and distributes their own representations to a global public (p. 314). Our understanding about disability can be swayed by typical social characterisations and negative descriptions, so the ability to construct and narrate your own self is extremely important (Caplan, 1995; Caplan & Shechter, 1993; Gouvier & Coon, 2002, as cited in Andrews et al., 2019). By sharing sections of their lives online, individual identity is gradually revealed in complex, unravelling and ongoing story lines that include new ‘players’ and “plot twists” (Canary, 2008, as cited in Parsloe, 2015, p. 350). By using the power of social media, narrow portrayals of disability can be disrupted, and as Parsloe (2015) describes, long held rigid representations can be dismantled, enabling advocates to define their own identity, and in doing so vigorously expand the narrative around disabilities.

As discussed, social media has afforded the disability community the opportunity to actively reject narrow media representations and determine how they are depicted and understood. With a community of 1.3 billion people globally (World Health Organization, 2023) mainstream media continues to frame disability in outdated and stereotypical ways. Frequently represented as either a ‘victim’ in need of help or as a ‘superhero’ character who over achieves despite their disability, this community has been medicalised, silenced and left on the sidelines of society. With the removal of geographical and physical barriers, disability advocates have gained direct access to global spaces that have enabled them to curate their own image, share individual experiences and formulate their own identiy. Social media has empowered and expanded the world of those with a disability, creating unique opportunities for advocates to push against reductive mainstream media representation, define their own narrative and enable their true colours to shine.

Debunking narratives – how social media challenges reductive media representations of disability and enables their true colours to shine © 2025 by Jayne Abel is licensed under CC BY 4.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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