Societal stereotypes in representations of disability on postage stamps: a semiotic approach

Abstract

This paper examines the representations of disability on an overlooked cultural medium such as postage stamps out of a collected corpus of 250 stamps that were analyzed and taxonomized in thematic categories. Thematic analysis was the first method employed and the first-level coding led to the formation of seven thematic categories that were found to represent societal stereotypes around disability: (1) disabled people are wheelchair bound; (2) disabled people are brave, courageous, heroic and inspirational for living with their disability; (3) disabled people are in need of support, help, care, love; (4) hope for rehabilitation, better life, normalization for disabled people; (5) disabled people differ from the norm; (6) disabled people deserve funds raising; and (7) disabled people deserve pity. Further study involved visual semiotic analysis for an in-depth categorical scrutinization with emphasis on the representation of disabled people on the illustrations of a number of selected stamps. The current study makes a significant contribution to an unexplored field of disability studies and semiotic research and confirms the experience of disability as being framed by social oppression that derives from stereotypes about disability and disabled people around the world. Such research is useful for education, disability studies and its interdisciplinary directions that seek to challenge dominant societal norms and stereotypes about disability on documents and cultural mediums that have the power to influence the public opinion.