Ads use images of disabled
By Dana Moran
Posted: 3/23/04, 1:15 AM EST Section: Feature
Disability is in vogue. Last night, Rosemarie Garland-Thompson of Emory University spoke in Eggers Hall on the recent views of disability in popular culture. Her lecture, "Can or Should Disability Be Chic? Images of Disability in Late Capitalism," addressed her exploration of these images and their effects on consumers and culture in general.
"The title of the lecture is pretty much a description of my entire scholarly project," Thompson said. "Disability is a concept and a social identity, as well as a communicative and social experience."
"This kind of work is very important," said Louise Wilkinson, dean of the School of Education. "We have a unique set of strengths at SU with faculty, staff, and students. There is a long-standing idea of inclusion, and it's a great privilege to be a part of and support this."
Thompson is in the process of writing books on the dynamics of staring and the philosophies of cultural euthanasia. Her work within the disabled community addresses how the culture's representation can affect social justice.
"What would happen," she asked, "if society fully recognized and evaluated human variation?"
The majority of Thompson's lecture focused on the entrance of disabled people into the advertising world. In 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act passed through Congress, guaranteeing civil rights to disabled people and allowing their entry into the social norm, Thompson said. This act began the movement in department store ads, magazine spreads and photography depicting disability as normal, she said.
"You can sort of see it as a mixed blessing," Thompson said. "On one hand, they're now appropriating us as a target market, but on the other, it's ultimately a democratizing gesture."
Thompson divided disability advertising into four different categories: sentimental, sensational, mainstream and radical. Sentimental advertising has migrated from charity to retail and works to assure the viewer of the company's tolerance. Ads that re-sexualize people with disabilities are seen as sensational, Thompson said, adding that public opinion is the effective check on marketing. Mainstream images, such as Barbie's wheelchair-bound friend Becky, challenge notions of normalcy in feminist ways, she said.
"The title of the lecture is pretty much a description of my entire scholarly project," Thompson said. "Disability is a concept and a social identity, as well as a communicative and social experience."
"This kind of work is very important," said Louise Wilkinson, dean of the School of Education. "We have a unique set of strengths at SU with faculty, staff, and students. There is a long-standing idea of inclusion, and it's a great privilege to be a part of and support this."
Thompson is in the process of writing books on the dynamics of staring and the philosophies of cultural euthanasia. Her work within the disabled community addresses how the culture's representation can affect social justice.
"What would happen," she asked, "if society fully recognized and evaluated human variation?"
The majority of Thompson's lecture focused on the entrance of disabled people into the advertising world. In 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act passed through Congress, guaranteeing civil rights to disabled people and allowing their entry into the social norm, Thompson said. This act began the movement in department store ads, magazine spreads and photography depicting disability as normal, she said.
"You can sort of see it as a mixed blessing," Thompson said. "On one hand, they're now appropriating us as a target market, but on the other, it's ultimately a democratizing gesture."
Thompson divided disability advertising into four different categories: sentimental, sensational, mainstream and radical. Sentimental advertising has migrated from charity to retail and works to assure the viewer of the company's tolerance. Ads that re-sexualize people with disabilities are seen as sensational, Thompson said, adding that public opinion is the effective check on marketing. Mainstream images, such as Barbie's wheelchair-bound friend Becky, challenge notions of normalcy in feminist ways, she said.
