ISA International Conference on Social Science Methodology

Organizzatore: Prof. Biagio Aragona (Università "Federico II" di Napoli) | International Sociological Association

Relatori: Prof. Paolo Diana, Dott.ssa Valentina D’Auria (Università di Salerno)

Paper: The representation strategies of Italian Paralympic athletes: Methodological implications on the use of digital data

Abstract: The media representation of Paralympic athletes is often marked by polarized narratives that swing between the glorification of disability and its denial. Some researchers (Silva & Howe, 2012; Purdue & Howe, 2012) have highlighted how the media contributes to the spread of stereotypes that shape the social perception of para-athletes. These athletes are often portrayed either as heroes with extraordinary abilities thanks to their prostheses or as athletes whose disabilities are minimized.

Our study aims to explore this phenomenon from a new perspective, placing the focus on the Paralympic athletes themselves’ view. We adopted a methodological approach based on the combination of heterogeneous data and sources. On the one hand, public interviews given by athletes to the Paralympic Committee (published on YouTube) and to the newspaper Ability Channel (available on Spotify) offer an initial glimpse of their public image. On the other hand, we analyzed the digital content produced and shared by the athletes themselves on their social accounts (e.g., posts, stories, comments).
The comparison between different types of data (unobtrusive vs obtrusive data [Veltri, 2019]) allows us to gain a deeper understanding of self-representation dynamics and to reflect on the opportunities and challenges related to the use of various kinds of digital data. Through this analysis, our study highlights the importance of a methodological approach that integrates multiple digital sources, offering a broader and more nuanced view of the phenomenon.

Keywords: narratives, paralympic athletes, digital data