ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the intersectionality of Paralympian motherhood and how Paralympian mothers self-represent in social media spaces. Drawing on digital qualitative research methods, it explores how narratives about disability, mothers, and athleticism are woven together in ways that reproduce and disrupt stereotypes of disability and motherhood. It discusses how the marginalization of Paralympic sport by traditional media catalyzed the Paralympic movement to capitalize on the affordances of social media. This online “foray” demonstrates how 23 Paralympian mothers took up this challenge and used Twitter and Instagram to self-represent in ways that captured the fullness of their experiences and identities.
