The Representation of Disabled Women in Anglo-American Advertising: Examining how cultural disability tropes impact on the subjective wellbeing of disabled women Ella Houston BA, MA Submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 30.08.2017 Department of Health Research Lancaster University United Kingdom 1 Ella Houston BA, MA Submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy - 30.08.2017 Abstract This thesis critically analyses the representation of disabled women in a small sample of Anglo-American advertisements (produced post-2000), from a feminist disability studies perspective. From my application of textual and discourse analyses to nine advertisements featuring women with mobility impairment, mental health issues or visual impairment and gathering of data on how a sample of women with impairments respond to advertising representations of disability, I extend existing knowledge on the extent to which the makers of advertisements are representing disabled women in positive and empowering ways. Mitchell and Snyder’s (2015) concept of ‘inclusionism’ and Davis’ (2013) critique of ‘diversity’ in mainstream contexts particularly inform my argument that the makers of ads often presume to be empowering disabled women and promoting human diversity, whereas, the opinions of women with impairments frequently suggest otherwise. My findings indicate that individual responses to advertisements are inextricably linked with individual subjectivities and embodied realities. I argue that problematic advertising representations of disabled women do not automatically cause women with impairments to experience lowered levels of subjective wellbeing. Rather, many women with impairments use oppressive portrayals and cultural tropes surrounding disability and gender as an opportunity to reassert their affirmative identities as disabled women. I intend for the conclusions of my thesis to be used by the makers of advertisements who aim to promote authentic, rather than tokenistic, representations of diversity in their advertisements. In addition, my research adds to existing knowledge in the field by i critically highlighting how tokenistic approaches to ‘diversity’ in advertisements constitutes ‘inclusionism’. Keywords Feminist disability studies – Disabled women – Subjective wellbeing – Advertising – Cultural tropes ii Declaration I, Ella Houston, declare that this thesis and the work presented in it are my own and has been generated by me as a result of my own original research. Signed: Ella Houston Date: 30.08.2017 iii Acknowledgements I am very grateful to the fifteen disabled women who participated in my research. Thank you for taking the time to share your stories with me and for contributing to my research. Hearing your experiences, beliefs, values and stories has been an education in itself. I am also very thankful to my supervisors, Professor Carol Thomas and Dr Lisa Wood. Your guidance and the conversations we shared have provided me with a transformative learning journey. I am very grateful for the support you have both given to me. To my colleagues at Liverpool Hope University, in the department of disability and education: thank you for providing an excellent and exciting disability studies education that has positively shaped my future path in academia and life more broadly. In particular, I would like to thank Professor David Bolt and Associate Professors Claire Penketh and Alan Hodkinson for the huge amount of support they have given to me. Professor David Bolt generously gave me the inspiration for my research focus on disabled women in Anglo-American ads. I am also grateful to David for prompting me to explore Mitchell and Snyder’s (2015) concept of inclusionism – a theory that has proved instrumental in my research. In addition to this, David has provided me with support throughout the entirety of my disability studies education, thank you. Finally, I dedicate my thesis to my parents, Julie and John Houston, with love. iv Contents ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................ I DECLARATION .................................................................................................................... III ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...................................................................................................... IV CONTENTS .......................................................................................................................... V 1 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................... 1 1.1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 RESEARCH AIMS ................................................................................................................... 3 1.3 RESEARCH AIM, QUESTIONS AND OBJECTIVES ............................................................................ 7 1.4 MY RESEARCH STANDPOINT ................................................................................................... 9 1.5 MY IDENTITY AS A REFLEXIVE RESEARCHER .............................................................................. 12 1.6 THESIS STRUCTURE ............................................................................................................. 14 2 CHAPTER TWO: FEMINIST DISABILITY STUDIES: FORGING CRITICAL DEFINITIONS, CONTEXTS AND AREAS OF PROGRESSION .......................................................................... 19 2.1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................. 19 2.2 AN OVERVIEW OF DISABILITY STUDIES THEORY, RESEARCH AND MODELS ...................................... 19 2.3 THE SOCIAL MODEL OF DISABILITY: HIGHLIGHTING AND EXPLORING CRITICAL DEVELOPMENTS ......... 23 2.4 DEVELOPING THE SOCIAL MODEL FROM A FEMINIST DISABILITY STUDIES PERSPECTIVE ..................... 25 2.5 DISABILITY STUDIES, CULTURE AND EMBODIMENT .................................................................... 30 2.6 INCLUSIONISM ................................................................................................................... 35 2.7 FEMINIST DISABILITY STUDIES: TRACKING LINKS BETWEEN FEMINIST AND DISABILITY STUDIES THEORY AND RESEARCH ............................................................................................................................ 36 2.8 CONCLUSION ..................................................................................................................... 42 3 CHAPTER THREE: THE ROLE OF ADVERTISING IN DISABLED WOMEN’S LIVES: EXPLORING THE WAYS IN WHICH ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIONS IMPACT ON WOMEN’S LIVED REALITIES AND LEVELS OF SUBJECTIVE WELLBEING ............................................................ 44 3.1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................. 44 3.2 EXAMINING CULTURAL REPRESENTATIONS OF DISABLED WOMEN: WHY FOCUS ON ADVERTISING? ... 45 3.3 THE GENDERED NATURE OF ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIONS ..................................................... 48 3.4 CAN ADVERTISEMENTS AUTHENTICALLY SUPPORT HUMAN DIVERSITY AND EMPOWER DISABLED WOMEN? ................................................................................................................................... 51 3.5 ARE ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIONS OF DISABILITY POSITIVELY MOVING FORWARD? .................... 53 3.6 PORTRAYALS OF DISABLED WOMEN IN ADVERTISING: ARE ‘NORMATIVE’ IDEOLOGIES DECONSTRUCTED OR RECONSTRUCTED? ................................................................................................................... 57 3.7 THE ROLE OF ADVERTISING IN PSYCHO-EMOTIONAL DISABLISM ................................................... 60 3.8 SUBJECTIVE WELLBEING: CRITICALLY DEVELOPING UNDERSTANDING OF THE ROLE PSYCHO-EMOTIONAL DISABLISM PLAYS IN EVERYDAY LIFE ................................................................................................. 64 3.9 CHALLENGING NORMATIVE DISCOURSES IN SUBJECTIVE WELLBEING RESEARCH .............................. 68 3.10 CONCLUSION ..................................................................................................................... 71 4 CHAPTER FOUR: METHODOLOGY AND DATA COLLECTION METHODS ........................... 73 4.1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................. 73 4.2 DEFINING A QUALITATIVE APPROACH: A BROAD CONTEXT ........................................................ 74 4.3 QUALITATIVE RESEARCH: DEBATES SURROUNDING OBJECTIVE AND SUBJECTIVE PRACTICES ............. 80 4.4 QUALITATIVE RESEARCH AND SUBJECTIVE KNOWLEDGE ............................................................. 82 v 4.5 RESEARCH DESIGN: ‘NOTHING ABOUT US WITHOUT US’: INCLUDING THE PERSONAL NARRATIVES OF DISABLED WOMEN IN FEMINIST DISABILITY STUDIES RESEARCH ............................................................. 85 4.5.1.1 Phase One: Analysing nine Anglo-American advertisements through application of textual, critical discourse and multi-modal discourse analyses: ................................................................................. 91 4.5.1.2 Phase Two: Accessing the Perspectives of Disabled Women on the Representation of Disabled Women in Anglo-American ads: Exploring embodied insights through semi-structured interviews and narrative analysis: ....................................................................................................................................... 101 4.6 ETHICS ........................................................................................................................... 107 4.7 SAMPLE .......................................................................................................................... 107 4.8 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................... 110 5 CHAPTER FIVE: PHASE ONE OF MY DATA ANALYSIS ....................................................112 5.1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................ 112 5.2 THREE ADVERTISEMENTS FEATURING WOMEN WITH MOBILITY IMPAIRMENTS ............................. 112 5.2.1 Kenneth Cole’s (2009) print ad, US ....................................................................... 112 5.2.1.1 Background Information ............................................................................................................. 112 5.2.1.2 Textual Analysis .......................................................................................................................... 113 5.2.1.3 Critical discourse analysis ........................................................................................................... 115 5.2.2 Nordstrom’s (2014) print ad, US ........................................................................... 118 5.2.2.1 Background Information ............................................................................................................. 118 5.2.2.2 Textual Analysis .......................................................................................................................... 118 5.2.2.3 Multi-modal discourse analysis ................................................................................................... 120 5.2.3 Channel Four’s (2014) ‘Prototype’ television ad, UK ............................................. 121 5.2.3.1 Background Information ............................................................................................................. 121 5.2.3.2 Textual Analysis .......................................................................................................................... 122 5.2.3.3 Critical discourse analysis ........................................................................................................... 124 5.2.3.4 Multi modal discourse analysis ................................................................................................... 126 5.3 ADVERTISEMENTS REPRESENTING WOMEN WITH MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES: ................................. 130 5.3.1 Mind and Rethink’s (2009) ‘Time to Change’ ad, UK ............................................ 130 5.3.1.1 Background Information ............................................................................................................. 130 5.3.1.2 Textual Analysis .......................................................................................................................... 130 5.3.1.3 Critical Discourse Analysis ........................................................................................................... 133 5.3.1.4 Multi-modal discourse analysis ................................................................................................... 134 5.3.2 SAMHSA’s (2006) print ad, US .............................................................................. 136 5.3.2.1 Background information ............................................................................................................. 136 5.3.2.2 Textual Analysis .......................................................................................................................... 136 5.3.2.3 Critical discourse analysis ........................................................................................................... 137 5.3.2.4 Multi-modal discourse analysis ................................................................................................... 138 5.3.3 Wellbutrin XL’s (2013) print ad, US ....................................................................... 140 5.3.3.1 Background Information ............................................................................................................. 140 5.3.3.2 Textual Analysis .......................................................................................................................... 140 5.3.3.3 Critical discourse analysis ........................................................................................................... 141 5.3.3.4 Multi-modal discourse analysis ................................................................................................... 141 5.4 ADS PORTRAYING WOMEN WITH VISUAL IMPAIRMENT:.......................................................... 143 5.4.1 The Guide Dog’s Association (2015) ‘Emma and Jazz’ television ad, UK .............. 143 5.4.1.1 Background Information ............................................................................................................. 143 5.4.1.2 Textual Analysis .......................................................................................................................... 143 5.4.1.3 Critical Discourse Analysis ........................................................................................................... 145 5.4.1.4 Multi-modal Discourse Analysis .................................................................................................. 146 5.4.2 Vanda Pharmaceuticals (2014) ‘Non-24’ television ad, US ................................... 148 5.4.2.1 Background Information ............................................................................................................. 148 5.4.2.2 Textual Analysis .......................................................................................................................... 148 5.4.2.3 Critical Discourse Analysis ........................................................................................................... 149 5.4.2.4 Multi-modal Discourse Analysis .................................................................................................. 150 5.4.3 The Dame Kelly Holmes Trust (2014) print ad, UK ................................................ 152 vi 5.4.3.1 Background information ............................................................................................................. 152 5.4.3.2 Textual Analysis .......................................................................................................................... 152 5.4.3.3 Critical discourse analysis ........................................................................................................... 154 5.4.3.4 Multi-modal discourse analysis ................................................................................................... 154 5.5 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................... 155 6 CHAPTER SIX: NARRATIVES OF WOMEN WHO HAVE MOBILITY IMPAIRMENTS ............157 6.1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................ 157 6.2 HELEN ............................................................................................................................ 157 6.3 JOANNA .......................................................................................................................... 163 6.5 MARY-JANE .................................................................................................................... 174 6.6 PENELOPE ....................................................................................................................... 179 6.7 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................... 186 7. CHAPTER SEVEN: NARRATIVES OF WOMEN WITH MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES ................187 7.1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................ 187 7.2 CHRIS ............................................................................................................................. 187 7.3 ISOBEL ............................................................................................................................ 193 7.4 MARY ............................................................................................................................ 198 7.5 MELODY ......................................................................................................................... 204 7.6 SUSANNA ........................................................................................................................ 210 7.7 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................... 216 8. CHAPTER EIGHT: NARRATIVES OF WOMEN WITH VISUAL IMPAIRMENT .....................217 8.1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................ 217 8.2 ALICE ............................................................................................................................. 217 8.3 ANNIE ............................................................................................................................ 223 8.4 FRAN ............................................................................................................................. 228 8.5 J.K. ................................................................................................................................ 234 8.6 LILY................................................................................................................................ 240 8.7 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................... 245 9. CHAPTER NINE: CORE THEMES FROM PARTICIPANTS’ NARRATIVES ............................247 9.1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................ 247 9.2 PARTICIPANT NAVIGATION OF CULTURAL TROPES IN ADS: ........................................................ 248 9.2.1 Bodily impairment and mental health issues as ‘pathological’ issue ................... 248 9.2.2 Disabled women, sexuality and desirability .......................................................... 251 9.2.3 Disability and gender roles: Normative influences ............................................... 254 9.3 LINKING INTER-PERSONAL EXPERIENCES TO ADVERTISING MESSAGES: ........................................ 260 9.3.1 The effects of close relationships and cultural representation on subjective wellbeing and disability identity ....................................................................................... 260 9.4 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................... 265 10. CHAPTER TEN: DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS: HIGHLIGHTING AREAS OF PROGRESSION AND REGRESSION IN ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIONS OF DISABLED WOMEN ..................267 10.1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................ 267 10.2 THE BINDING OF ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIONS AND CULTURAL TROPES TO PERSONAL NARRATIVES AND SUBJECTIVITIES.................................................................................................................... 269 10.3 DO REPRESENTATIONS OF DISABLED WOMEN IN ANGLO-AMERICAN ADVERTISING REPRESENT HUMAN DIVERSITY IN AUTHENTIC OR TOKENISTIC WAYS? .............................................................................. 274 vii 10.4 THE PRESENTATION OF DISABLED WOMEN AS ‘RISKY’: TO WHAT EXTENT IS THE CONNECTION BETWEEN DISABILITY AND RISK IN ADVERTISEMENTS PROGRESSIVE? .................................................................. 282 10.5 THE PORTRAYAL OF DISABLED WOMEN AS SEXUAL, DESIRABLE AND GLAMOROUS: SEXUAL EMPOWERMENT OR SEXUAL OBJECTIFICATION?............................................................................... 285 10.6 THE PATHOLOGISATION OF BODILY IMPAIRMENT AND MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES IN ANGLO-AMERICAN ADVERTISING: TO WHAT EXTENT DO DISCOURSES OF ‘RECOVERY’ AND ‘OVERCOMING’ BODILY AND MENTAL DIVERSITY IMPACT UPON DISABLED WOMEN’S LEVELS OF SUBJECTIVE WELLBEING? ................................ 289 10.7 TO WHAT EXTENT ARE ANGLO-AMERICAN ADVERTISERS INCREASINGLY PORTRAYING DISABLED WOMEN AS STRONG, EMPOWERED AND AUTONOMOUS? .............................................................................. 294 10.8 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................... 297 11. CHAPTER ELEVEN: CONCLUSION ..............................................................................299 11.1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................ 299 11.2 THE REPRESENTATION OF DISABLED WOMEN IN ANGLO-AMERICAN ADVERTISING: DIVERSITY OR ‘DIVERSITY’ AND INCLUSION OR INCLUSIONISM? .............................................................................. 301 11.3 SUBJECTIVE WELLBEING: A CONTINUALLY CONTESTED CONCEPT ............................................... 303 11.4 LIMITATIONS OF MY RESEARCH ........................................................................................... 304 11.5 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH AND ADVERTISING PRACTICE ................................. 305 12. REFERENCES ...........................................................................................................308 APPENDICES ....................................................................................................................333 APPENDIX A: PARTICIPANT RECRUITMENT LETTER (IMAGE) ..............................................333 APPENDIX B: EXPRESSION OF INTEREST IN RESEARCH PARTICIPATION FORM (IMAGE) ......334 APPENDIX C: INVITATION TO PARTICIPATE IN RESEARCH LETTER (IMAGE) .........................335 APPENDIX D: INFORMATION SHEET FOR PARTICIPANTS (IMAGE) ......................................336 APPENDIX E: INTERVIEW QUESTIONS (IMAGE) ..................................................................338 APPENDIX F: APPROVED ETHICS FORM .............................................................................339 APPENDIX G: ETHICS APPROVAL CONFIRMATION LETTER ..................................................348 viii 1 Chapter One: Introduction 1.1 Introduction This thesis focuses on the representation of disabled women in Anglo-American advertising, post-2000. Specifically, advertising portrayals of women with mobility, visual impairments and mental health issues are critically analysed from a feminist disability studies perspective. Importantly, this thesis identifies how ‘positive’ and ‘negative’ appraisals of disability and gender portrayals in ads are inadequate in capturing the complexity of representing marginalised identity groups, i.e. disabled women, in mainstream spaces. Through discussing analyses of ads from a feminist disability studies perspective and examining the responses to advertising representations by disabled women, this thesis adds to the existing research and understanding of the misrepresentation of disabled women in advertising. Advertising, as a part of popular culture, is significant when considering representations of disabled women and how dominant societal attitudes towards disabled women are influenced. The chief purpose of advertising is to disseminate messages surrounding products, brands or phenomena on a large scale. Writing in renowned American business magazine, Forbes, international health researcher Bruce Lee (2016) compares the advertising world’s recognition of women as a new consumer market, during the 1990s, to the growing recognition of disabled people as an untouched consumer market in recent years. In a similar vein, media and disability studies researcher, Beth Haller (2010), points to the recognition of disabled people as potential consumers as the core reason behind the growth of disability representation in advertising. 1