ABSTRACT
The ways in which parasport events and para-athletes are represented is important in the process of examining the social change agenda of events. This chapter discusses the approaches taken by two different types of major sporting events to representation through media and marketing activities. This chapter considers the merits of mainstreaming media coverage and marketing efforts over separate distinctive campaigns. The chapter presents evidence of the remaining presence of a dominant supercrip narratives at both events and gendered dimensions that have not previously been identified as significant. It is suggested that the mainstream media continue to struggle to represent para-athletes in line with a rights-based approach – too often falling back into the use of patronizing language and promoting inspirational narratives. The chapter concludes with implications for how the media might more effectively represent disability on a global scale.
