ABSTRACT
This chapter provides insight into the media coverage of female athletes with a disability. Specifically, the media create frames to cover these female athletes. Past research reveals that women participating in sport are covered less than their male counterparts, and this holds true for women with disabilities in sport. When females with a disability are covered, the coverage spikes in years where athletes compete in the Paralympic Games. The chapter examines how social media are being used by several female athletes as well as a leader profile of Alana Nichols, a three-time Paralympic Gold medalist representing the United States in basketball, sprint-kayaking, alpine skiing, and wheelchair basketball. The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) encourages use of social media, but there are restrictions, so these IPC Social Media Guidelines are addressed as well as the impact on female Paralympians. The use of storytelling is emphasized as a strategy moving forward for many female athletes with disabilities.
