- Gender
- Age
- Ethnicity
- Sexuality
- Class and status
- Physucal ability/disbility
- Regional identity.
*Disability.
Disability in the MediaThe word "disabled" causes much debate.
The 'dis' suffix is a negative one, implying reversal, and disabled heads a list in the dictionary of many negative words - disappoint, discard, disconsolate, discourage, disintegrate, dismay, disrepute etc.
That same dictionary defines the word "disabled" as meaning "Made ineffective, unfit or incapable". Quite rightly, those members of the population who find themselves labelled feel tarred with a distasteful brush.
Verbal codes aside, the iconography surrounding the word suggests a similar plight, hence the European Union symbol:Here is someone who is not simply "in" a wheelchair (are all disabled people in wheelchairs?, but who relies on the structure of the chair to give them arms. It is small wonder that the word "disabled" immediately connotates wheelchairs, and concepts such as broken, dependent, pitiable etc.
Given the semiotics of the situation, it is small wonder that media representation of the disabled is limited and largely stereotypical. If the word "disabled" can be represented in such a simple symbol as the one above, we are reducing a large and diverse group of human beings to something less complicated than your average road sign.
While great strides have been made in recent decades in the representation of gender and race, there are still many prejudices attached to the representation of disability.In magazines, the only images of the disabled we tend to see are those in charity advertisement. Often we are encouraged to pity the person represented, or give them support in another way. Ideologically speaking, disabled is not considered sexy, and does not sell stuff.
*Regional identity.
Regional Identity presentation
View more presentations from Tim Andrews.
even thought this presentation is not done by people in my class i think it gives good examples of identity in the uk.
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