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An Investigation Into The Absence Of Disabled People From Commercial Advertising And Its Impact On The Disabling Experience, Mary-Ann O'Donovan

Masters

Much research has been conducted into the effects of advertising on various minority groups – women, gay people, black people, unemployed youths. However, research regarding the relationship of mainstream advertising and disable people is sparse. Disable people are one of the largest minority groups in the world and yet, they are almost invisible within advertising and consumer research, and within advertising itself. It is this lack of representation in commercial advertising that interests the researcher. Disabled people have historically been excluded from many facets of society- education, employment, leisure – with advertising viewed as one more mechanism to further this …