Seeking truths: ableist media representations and Toronto’s youth

Abstract

This MRP examines the impact that ableist media representations have on youth living with disabilities in the GTA. More specifically, it seeks to answer three essential questions, (1) How have ableist representations of disability in media impacted the way youth with disabilities see themselves? (2) What representations of disability would youth with disabilities like to see in mainstream media? (3) What is social work’s role in changing these ableist media tropes and stereotypes? Using a narrative research methodology, this researcher collected the stories of three Torontonian youths between the ages of 18 to 29 years old, who self-identify as living with a disability. Episodic interviews and thematic data analysis were used to reveal several significant findings. Overall, participants felt that the media does not accurately represent their experiences of disability, often relying on stigmatizing stereotypes that influence their interactions with others, ultimately impacting the way they feel about themselves.