Disability Representation in French and Tunisian Media: A Comparative Analysis of Paralympic Games Coverage

Authors

  • Abdelhakim Chrif Higher Institute of Sport and Physical Education of Ksar Said, University of La Manouba, Tunis, Tunisia; Research Laboratory (LR23JS01) “Sport Performance, Health & Society”, Higher Institute of Sport and Physical Education of Ksar Said, University of Manouba, Tunis, Tunisia
  • Valentina Stefanica Department of Physical Education and Sport, Faculty of Sciences, Physical Education and Informatics, National University of Science and Technology Politehnica Bucharest, Pitesti University Center, Pitesti, Romania
  • Halil Ibrahim Ceylan Department of Physical Education of Sports Teaching, Faculty of Kazim Karabekir Education, Atatürk University, Erzurum, Turkey
  • Raouf Hammami Higher Institute of Sport and Physical Education of Ksar Said, University of La Manouba, Tunis, Tunisia
  • Imen Ben Amar Higher Institute of Sport and Physical Education of Ksar Said, University of La Manouba, Tunis, Tunisia; Research Laboratory (LR23JS01) “Sport Performance, Health & Society”, Higher Institute of Sport and Physical Education of Ksar Said, University of Manouba, Tunis, Tunisia
  • Sabri Gaied Chortane Higher Institute of Sport and Physical Education of Ksar Said, University of La Manouba, Tunis, Tunisia; Research Laboratory (LR23JS01) “Sport Performance, Health & Society”, Higher Institute of Sport and Physical Education of Ksar Said, University of Manouba, Tunis, Tunisia
  • Nicola Luigi Bragazzi Laboratory for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (LIAM), Department of Mathematics and Statistics, York University, Toronto, Canada; Human Nutrition Unit (HNU), Department of Food and Drugs, University of Parma, Medical School, Building C, Via Volturno, 39, 43125, Parma, Italy
  • Luca Puce Department of Neuroscience, Rehabilitation, Ophthalmology, Genetics, Maternal and Child Health (DINOGMI), University of Genoa, 16132 Genoa, Italy
  • Raul Ioan Muntean Department of Physical Education and Sport, Faculty of Law and Social Sciences, University “1 Decembrie 1918” of Alba Iulia, Alba Iulia, Romania

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18662/rrem/16.3/889

Keywords:

body, social representations, athletes with disability, media coverage, Paralympic Games, gender

Abstract

This study is part of a broader investigation into the portrayal of disability within the context of the Paralympic Games. Focusing on media coverage from 2008, 2012 and 2016 in French and Tunisian newspapers, representing two distinct cultural landscapes, we explore the nuances of how disability is depicted. Employing a multifaceted approach involving statistical analysis utilizing the Chi-squared test, discourse content analysis, and photo analysis, we delve into uncharted territory by examining the treatment of impaired athletes in Tunisian media. Our findings highlight significant disparities and instances of discrimination, not only between disabled and able-bodied athletes but also among genders within each nation. Of particular concern are the disparities in photo representation, notably the portrayal of Tunisian women athletes. By contextualizing our findings within the existing body of literature, this study provides valuable insights into the complex dynamics of disability representation in sports media. Furthermore, it contributes to a deeper understanding of societal attitudes towards disability and offers actionable recommendations to foster more inclusive media coverage in the future.

References

Alexander, V. D. (1994). The Image of Children in Magazine Advertisements From 1905 to 1990. Communication Research, 21(6), 742–765. https://doi.org/10.1177/009365094021006005

Beauchesne, L. (1985). La marginalité socialeYves Barel Paris: PUF, collection la politique éclatée, 1982, 250 p. Canadian Journal of Political Science, 18(1), 208–209. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0008423900029565

Blanchet, A., Gotman, A., & Singly, F. de. (2007). L’enquête et ses méthodes: L’entretien (2e éd. refondue). A. Colin.

Buysse, J. A. M., & Borcherding, B. (2010). Framing gender and disability: A cross-cultural analysis of photographs from the 2008 Paralympic Games. International Journal of Sport Communication, 3(3), 308-321. https://doi.org/10.1123/ijsc.3.3.308

Cazeneuve, J. (1971). Guide de l'étudiant en sociologie.

Chauvy, A. (2005). A. Ehrenberg. L’individu incertain: Paris : Hachette, 1995. L’Orientation Scolaire et Professionnelle, 34/2, 267–268. https://doi.org/10.4000/osp.508

Clogston, J. S. (1990). Disability coverage in 16 newspapers. Avocado Press.

Combrouze, D. (2000). L'information sur les personnes handicapées motrices et sensorielles dans les journaux télévisés: analyses thématique et lexicale. Handicap (Paris. 1999), (85), 27-45.

Cooley, C. H. (2017). Human nature and the social order. Routledge.

Croteau, D., & Hoynes, W. (2014). Media/society: Industries, images, and audiences (Fifth Edition). SAGE Publications.

de Léséleuc, É., & Marcellini, A. (2012). Gestus versus Gesticulatio: Les raisons d’une absence du handicap mental dans la couverture médiatique des épreuves sportives: In Sport adapté, handicap et santé (pp. 131–145). Éditions AFRAPS. https://doi.org/10.3917/afraps.compt.2012.01.0131

de Léséleuc, E., Pappous, A., & Marcellini, A. (2010). The media coverage of female athletes with disability. Analysis of the daily press of four European countries during the 2000 Sidney Paralympic Games. European Journal for Sport and Society, 7(3–4), 283–296. https://doi.org/10.1080/16138171.2010.11687863

De Léséleuc, E., Athanasios, P., & Marcellini, A. (2009). La cobertura mediática de las mujeres deportistas con discapacidad. Análisis de la prensa diaria de cuatro países europeos durante los Juegos Paralímpicos de Sidney 2000. Apunts Educación Física y Deportes, (97), 80-88.

DePauw, K. P. (1997). The (1n)Visibility of DisAbility: Cultural Contexts and “Sporting Bodies”. Quest, 49(4), 416–430. https://doi.org/10.1080/00336297.1997.10484258

De Souza, D. L., & Brittain, I. (2020). The Rio 2016 Paralympic games: the visibility of people with disabilities in Brazil as a possible legacy. Communication & Sport, 2167479520942739. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167479520942739

Détrez, C. (2002). La construction sociale du corps. Ed. du Seuil.

Dumitrescu, A. (2006). Representation of female athletes in Western and Romanian Media.

Duncan, M. C. (1990). Sports Photographs and Sexual Difference: Images of Women and Men in the 1984 and 1988 Olympic Games. Sociology of Sport Journal, 7(1), 22–43. https://doi.org/10.1123/ssj.7.1.22

Ebersold, S. (1992). L’invention du handicap: La normalisation de l’infirme. CTNERHI, Centre technique national d’études et de recherches sur les handicaps et les inadaptations.

Ehrenberg, A. (1994). Le Culte de la performance. https://login.proxy.bib.uottawa.ca/login?url=http://www.numilog.com/bibliotheque/BU-Ottawa/fiche_livre.asp?idprod=178619

Ehrenberg, A. (2008). La fatigue d’être soi: Dépression et société. Jacob.

Featherstone, M., & Turner, B. S. (1995). Body & Society: An Introduction. Body & Society, 1(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1177/1357034X95001001001

Ferri, B. A., & Gregg, N. (1998). Women with disabilities. Women’s Studies International Forum, 21(4), 429–439. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0277-5395(98)00038-7

Geok Cheong, J. P., Khoo, S., & Razman, R. (2016). Spotlight on Athletes With a Disability: Malaysian Newspaper Coverage of the 2012 London Paralympic Games. Adapted Physical Activity Quarterly, 33(1). https://doi.org/10.1123/APAQ.2015-0021

Goffman, E., & Kihm, A. (2015). Stigmate: Les usages sociaux des handicaps.

Howe, P. D., & Silva, C. F. (2018). The fiddle of using the Paralympic Games as a vehicle for expanding [dis] ability sport participation. Sport in Society, 21(1), 125-136. https://doi.org/10.1080/17430437.2016.1225885

Iordache, D. A., Delsanto, P. P., & Apostol, I. (2010). Identification Attempt of the Main Stages of Human Being Growth and of Universe Evolution. Sci. Bull. Univ.“Politehnica” of Bucharest, Series A “Applied Sciences, 72(3)

Issanchou, D. (2014). Une indicible monstruosité: étude de cas de la contreverse médiatique autour d'Oscar Pistorius (2007-2012 en France)(2007-2012 en France) (Doctoral dissertation, Paris 10).

Jones, D. (2006). The representation of female athletes in online images of successive Olympics. Pacific Journalism Review : Te Koakoa, 12(1), 108–129. https://doi.org/10.24135/pjr.v12i1.848

Jones, R., Murrell, A. J., & Jackson, J. (1999). Pretty Versus Powerful in the Sports Pages: Print Media Coverage of U.S. Women’s Olympic Gold Medal Winning Teams. Journal of Sport and Social Issues, 23(2), 183–192. https://doi.org/10.1177/0193723599232005

Kamberidou, I., Bonias, A., & Patsantaras, N. (2019). SPORT AS A MEANS OF INCLUSION AND INTEGRATION FOR" THOSE OF US WITH DISABILITIES". European Journal of Physical Education and Sport Science.

Kim, K. T., Lee, S., & Oh, E.-S. (2017). Athletes with disabilities in the Paralympic Games: A framing analysis of television news. Managing Sport and Leisure, 22(4), 255–275. https://doi.org/10.1080/23750472.2018.1445976

Kolotouchkina, O., Llorente-Barroso, C., García-Guardia, M. L., & Pavón, J. (2020). Disability, Sport, and Television: Media Visibility and Representation of Paralympic Games in News Programs. Sustainability, 13(1), 256. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13010256

Lachal, R. C. (2000). La représentation des personnes handicapées dans les médias: de l’objet au sujet. The representation of people with disability in the media: from object to subject], Revue Prévenir, 39, 97-105.

Lagrée, J. C. (2004). Gilles Lipovetsky, Les temps hypermodernes: Nouveau Collège de Philosophie, Paris, Grasset, 2004. Temporalités, 2. https://doi.org/10.4000/temporalites.797

Laroussi, H. (2009). Politiques publiques et “bonne gouvernance” en Tunisie. Mondes en développement, n° 145(1), 93. https://doi.org/10.3917/med.145.0093

Laslett, P. (2015). The World We Have Lost (0 ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203563335

Lazarsfeld, P. F., & Merton, R. K. (1948). Mass communication, popular taste and organized social action (pp. 95-118). Bobbs-Merrill, College Division.

Lipovetsky, G. (1983). L’ère du vide: Essais sur l’individualisme contemporain. Gallimard.

Marcellini, A. (2007). Nouvelles figures du handicap ? Catégorisations sociales et dynamiques des processus de stigmatisation / déstigmatisation. In G. Boëtsch, C. Hervé, & J. J. Rozenberg, Corps normalisé, corps stigmatisé, corps racialisé (p. 199). De Boeck Supérieur. https://doi.org/10.3917/dbu.boets.2007.01.0199

Martin, C. (2005). Jean-Claude Kaufmann, L’invention de soi. Une théorie de l’identité: Paris, A. Colin, coll. Individu et société, 2004, 352 p. Questions de Communication, 7, 478–480. https://doi.org/10.4000/questionsdecommunication.5591

Martuccelli, D. (2003). Jean-Claude Kaufmann, Ego. Pour une sociologie de l’individu: Nathan, Paris, 2001, 288 p. Sociologie Du Travail, 45(4), 588–590. https://doi.org/10.4000/sdt.32641

Mercier, M., & Bazier, G. (2001). Représentations sociales du handicap et de la mise au travail des personnes handicapées. In Manuel de psychologie des handicaps: sémiologie et principes de remédiation (pp. 511-532).

Messner, M. A., Duncan, M. C., & Cooky, C. (2003). Silence, Sports Bras, And Wrestling Porn: Women in Televised Sports News and Highlights Shows. Journal of Sport and Social Issues, 27(1), 38–51. https://doi.org/10.1177/0193732502239583

Molénat, X. (2004). Sommes-nous entrés dans une nouvelle modernité?. Sciences Humaines, (11), 19-19.

Murphy, R. F. (1987). The body silent (1st ed). H. Holt.

Neveu, E. (1991). Elias (Norbert), La société des individus, Paris, Fayart, 1991. Politix, 4(16), 98–100. https://doi.org/10.3406/polix.1991.2145

Pappous, A., Marcellini, A., & De Léséleuc, E. (2011). From Sydney to Beijing: the evolution of the photographic coverage of Paralympic Games in five European countries. Sport in society, 14(03), 345-354. https://doi.org/10.1080/17430437.2011.557271

Prosser, J. (Ed.). (1998). Image-based research: A sourcebook for qualitative researchers. Falmer Press.

Purdue, D. E., & Howe, P. D. (2012). See the sport, not the disability: exploring the Paralympic paradox. Qualitative research in sport, exercise and health, 4(2), 189-205. https://doi.org/10.1080/215967X.2012.685102

Raveneau, G. (2000). Une nouvelle économie du corps: bien-être, narcissisme et consommation. Sociétés-Revue des sciences sociales et humaines.

Richard, R., Marcellini, A., Pappous, A. S., Joncheray, H., & Ferez, S. (2020). Construire et assurer l’héritage des Jeux olympiques et paralympiques. Pour une inclusion sportive durable des personnes vivant des situations de handicap. Movement Sport Sciences, (1), 41-52. https://doi.org/10.1051/sm/2019031

Rees, L., Robinson, P., & Shields, N. (2018). A major sporting event or an entertainment show? A content analysis of Australian television coverage of the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Sport in Society, 21(12), 1974-1989. https://doi.org/10.1080/17430437.2018.1445996

Robinson, L. (2002). Black tights: Women, sport, and sexuality (1st ed). HarperCollins.

Schantz, O. J., & Gilbert, K. (2001). An Ideal Misconstrued: Newspaper Coverage of the Atlanta Paralympic Games in France and Germany. Sociology of Sport Journal, 18(1), 69–94. https://doi.org/10.1123/ssj.18.1.69

Schell, “Beez” Lea Ann, & Rodriguez, S. (2001). Subverting Bodies/Ambivalent Representations: Media Analysis of Paralympian, Hope Lewellen. Sociology of Sport Journal, 18(1), 127–135. https://doi.org/10.1123/ssj.18.1.127

Schell, L. A. “Beez”, & Duncan, M. C. (1999). A Content Analysis of CBS’s Coverage of the 1996 Paralympic Games. Adapted Physical Activity Quarterly, 16(1), 27–47. https://doi.org/10.1123/apaq.16.1.27

Scubla, L. (2011). Le symbolique chez Lévi-Strauss et chez Lacan. Revue du MAUSS, 37, 253-269. https://doi.org/10.3917/rdm.037.0253

Sicot, F. (2014). Henri-Jacques Sticker, Corps infirmes et sociétés. Lectures. https://doi.org/10.4000/lectures.14818

Smith, A., & Thomas, N. (2005). The ‘inclusion’ of elite athletes with disabilities in the 2002 Manchester Commonwealth Games: An exploratory analysis of British newspaper coverage. Sport, Education and Society, 10(1), 49–67. https://doi.org/10.1080/1357332052000298809

Solves, J., Pappous, A., Rius, I., & Kohe, G. Z. (2019). Framing the Paralympic Games: A Mixed-Methods Analysis of Spanish Media Coverage of the Beijing 2008 and London 2012 Paralympic Games. Communication & Sport, 7(6), 729–751. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167479518808237

Ville, I., Crost, M., & Ravaud, J.-F. (2003). Disability and a sense of community belonging A study among tetraplegic spinal-cord-injured persons in France. Social Science & Medicine, 56(2), 321–332. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0277-9536(02)00030-8

Wilhite, B., & Shank, J. (2009). In praise of sport: Promoting sport participation as a mechanism of health among persons with a disability. Disability and Health Journal, 2(3), 116-127. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dhjo.2009.01.002

Willett, J., & Deegan, M. (2001). Liminality and disability: Rites of passage and community in hypermodern society. Disability studies quarterly, 21(3). https://doi.org/10.18061/dsq.v21i3.300

Yoo, J. J., Min, B., & Koh, Y. (2024). Cross-national news narratives of the paralympic games: Computational text analysis of the media coverage in the united states and south korea. Communication & Sport, 12(2), 230-253.

Yoon, L., & Wilson, B. (2019). Journalism, Environmental Issues, and Sport Mega-Events: A Study of South Korean Media Coverage of the Mount Gariwang Development for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. Communication & Sport, 7(6), 699–728. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167479518811381

Downloads

Published

2024-08-12

How to Cite

Chrif , A., Stefanica, V., Ceylan, H. I. ., Hammami, R. ., Ben Amar, I. ., Gaied Chortane, S. ., Bragazzi, N. L., Puce, L. ., & Muntean, R. I. . (2024). Disability Representation in French and Tunisian Media: A Comparative Analysis of Paralympic Games Coverage. Revista Romaneasca Pentru Educatie Multidimensionala, 16(3), 168-192. https://doi.org/10.18662/rrem/16.3/889

Issue

Vol. 16 No. 3 (2024): Revista Romaneasca pentru Educatie Multidimensionala

Section

Education, Sport and Health

License

Copyright (c) 2024 The Authors & LUMEN Publishing House

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

  • Authors retain copyright and grant this journalright of first publication, with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work, with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
  • Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g. post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  • Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g. in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as an earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).

Revista Romaneasca pentru Educatie Multidimensionala Journal has an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs
CC BY-NC-ND

CC_BY_NC_ND

Most read articles by the same author(s)

Publish your work at the Scientific Publishing House LUMEN

It easy with us: publish now your work, novel, research, proceeding at Lumen Scientific Publishing House

Send your manuscript right now