Disability Representation in Media

Lack of representation has significant repercussions.

Sarah Park
5 min readApr 11, 2023

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I was working on a sales page earlier today; for an upcoming workshop, I am delivering on disability inclusion. It got me thinking about; how disability inclusion is often underrepresented in media, marketing, and other forms of representation.

It’s not my first time considering or writing about the issue, and what prompted this was looking at photos to find disability represented in pictures. It became evident that disability was being defined much less positively than other oppressed groups.

Here are a few possible reasons why:

  1. Lack of understanding: Many people do not clearly understand what disability is and how it affects individuals. It can lead to misunderstandings and stereotypes perpetuating negative attitudes towards people with disabilities, leading to a lack of knowledge about accurately representing people with disabilities in media and other forms of representation.
  2. Stigma: There is still much stigma attached to disability, making people uncomfortable talking about it or portraying it positively. This stigma can lead to people with disabilities being excluded from mainstream media and representation.
  3. Access barriers: People with…

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Sarah Park
Sarah Park

Written by Sarah Park

Mentor/bestselling author/speaker. Ensuing people with disabilities and chronic illnesses feel valued, heard, supported. https://linktr.ee/thedisabilitydiva

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