Extraordinary Normalcy, Ableist Rehabilitation, and Sporting Ablenationalism: The Cultural (Re)Production of Paralympic Disability Narratives

In the UK, significant changes have occurred in the Paralympic media production environment and style of Paralympic broadcasting. Given the generative nature of media texts on cultural representation, we explore the circulation of disability narratives in contemporary Paralympic media coverage. Drawing on an integrated dataset that brings together textual analysis and audience perceptions, we highlight the presence of three disability narratives, termed: Extraordinary normalcy, ableist rehabilitation, and sporting ablenationalism. We unpack the ways these three narratives differ from the widely and commonly used ‘supercrip’ critique and discuss the implications of these narratives, and the wider cultural discourses and dialogue they generate, in terms of inclusion/exclusion and progressive social change.