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

1.1 Purpose and research questions

This study aims to explore visual and cultural representations of disability by assembling and scrutinizing a number of postage stamps from several countries around the world.

Specifically, the current study aims to answer the following research questions:

1. Which thematic categories exist in the corpus in relation to disability?

2. Which societal norms and stereotypes about disability appear in the corpus?

2.1 Previous studies

A small number of previous studies considered the cultural representations of several health impairments and disability on postage stamps. Swan et al. (2006) scrutinized a collection of international postage stamps as historical and political artefacts that were issued to publicize disability related themes. Of particular interest is the investigation of stamps as historical artefacts, especially commemorative stamps that can serve as rich sources for deep investigation of the cultural representations of disability in several countries over the last decades. Furthermore, stamps may serve as documentary evidence of “the scope of disabilities that have received public attention and changed public consciousness” (Swan et al. 2006: 228).

A dominant theme that came up from Swan and colleagues’ (2006) analysis are personalities with disabilities who managed to succeed in their life despite the limitations of their impairments and health condition. These individuals succeeded in sports and other activities that are usually associated with individuals without disabilities and are usually called “super-crip” and “the spectacular disabled” by several disability activists around the globe (Andreou 2017; Garland-Thomson 2001). In this category of stamps, athletes with a variety of disabilities are depicted in normative athletic pursuits, taking part in team or individual sports with the emphasis on the body strength. This category of stamps honors the superhuman achievements of athletes with disabilities who manage to succeed and triumph in activities and sports regularly associated with the so called “normal” despite the limitations caused by an impairment or physical disability. Examples are stamps from Germany (in 1972) and Canada (in 1976) which represent male athletes with disabilities who participated in crossbow competition of Montreal’s 1972 summer Olympics (Swan et al. 2006).

In addition, the analysis of Swan et al. (2006) revealed an attempt to emphasise the abilities of disabled people and thus their potential contribution to the societies and economies rather than their difficulties or disadvantages. In essence, on a US and an Australian stamp – issued in 1960 and 1972 correspondingly – two men with visible disabilities are presented as productive labor workers. In a similar vein, a French stamp issued in 1964 calls for the “professional reclassification of the paralyzed,” while a 1981 US stamp promotes the message that “disabled doesn’t mean unable.” All these examples indicate that the emphasis was on the rehabilitation of disabled people at that time. Their active role as productive workers is associated with the notion of productive citizenship. Their preparation for physical labor and industrial knowledge was then shifted to preparation for mental labor or information-based knowledge.

Another theme that arose from the analysis of Swan et al. (2006) is the use of children in order to symbolize hope and future attainments of medicine. An example is a 1972 Australian stamp which depicts a boy in leg braces who bounces a ball. The child looks happy, optimistic and full of energy, something that is not usually present in illustrations of disabled people in popular arts.

Swan et al. (2006) concluded to another category of postage stamps which refer to disability without depicting any disabled individuals. Examples of this kind of stamps were stamps issued in the United Kingdom portraying disembodied (deaf) hands signing and disembodied feet painting rainbows. Although this design may be a pure artistic product without particular concealed connotations, the researchers characterized this category as worrying. They argue that the choice not to directly present individuals from this particular group of people and replace them with symbols and artistic representations on official documents such as postage stamps may – on the one hand – try to challenge visual stereotypes around disabled people, but – on the other hand – promote risky implications, such as the virtual vanishment of those people. For this reason, Swan et al. (2006) suggest the careful consideration of the contents of postage stamps which should be treated as official public documents and ensure that they are not in any case carriers of underlying messages that may harm rather than help disabled people.

In another study, Demetriou and Symeonidou (2023) dissected the signals sent by the artistic renderings of disability that can be seen on a variety of postage stamps to study representations of the disabled body. Their findings confirm many of the findings of previous studies. In stamps that represent the disabled body as the impaired body, it was found that the disabled body coincides with the physically impaired body. For instance, talented athletes with physical disability are presented as valued and thus seen as “normal.” In addition, in some stamps the disabled body was seen as the opposite of the non-impaired body. An example is the case of sensory impairments. The disabled body is primarily understood as an impaired body, and as such, it is presented as the exact opposite of the non-impaired body. The sensory impaired body is considered of less value. In other stamps, the disabled body is depicted as disembodied body parts or as figure silhouette image. For instance, in the case of physical, sensory and intellectual impairments. In this case, the disabled body is presented in abstract and oppressive ways (fragmented, highlighted or shaded body parts, figure silhouette) in an attempt to underline the need for disabled people’s social inclusion. In stamps that represent the disabled body among other bodies, Demetriou and Symeonidou (2023) concluded to three categories of stamps. In one of these categories, the disabled body is presented as dependent on the non-disabled body. Also, the disabled body is presented as in need of care, and therefore is dependent upon other able and independent bodies. The other category consisted of stamps depicting the disabled body as an element calling for inclusion. Messages in these stamps call for enablement of economic independence for disabled people, but also for social inclusion, solidarity and interdependence. In the last category, the disabled body is depicted as a part of a group of other disabled bodies. Participation in group activities with individuals with the same impairment may enhance identity development but on the other hand, depicts uber ability of talented disabled (e.g., music or sport group).

These examples validate Rapkin’s (1991) argument that postage stamps are miniature envoys of those in power who use the stamps to communicate and transmit their political values and ideology. For instance, when several stamps commemorate achievements of citizens of one country with disabilities in sports or honor a remarkable sport event for disabled people, these people will potentially be more highly valued by the society (Demetriou and Symeonidou 2023; Ogletree et al. 1994; Symeonidou and Demetriou 2023). In this case, it is confirmed that stamps may be used as means of honoring diversity or means that promote social inclusion or even means of propaganda of the state’s politics and ideology (Brunn 2000; Cusack 2005; Grant 1995; Kevane 2006; Lauritzen 1988).

3.1 Visual culture and societal norms

Rose (2022) characterized culture as a complex phenomenon which is associated with the production and exchange of meanings between the members of a society or a group. The subjective way that participants interpret the messages of those exchanged meanings differ from person to person, although the way participants of one society make sense of the world around them may be broadly similar. Either those meanings are conscious or unconscious, they shape people’s understandings, stances, attitudes, views and behaviors in everyday life.

Visual images are powerful carriers of abundant messages whether they are accompanied by a written caption or not. However, it is also important to investigate the context and the background story and the origins of visual means to fully comprehend a visualization (Rose 2022). On the other hand, social concepts and thus societal stereotypes and norms are social constructions. These constructions can take visual form which obtains subjective interpretations by the viewers. For instance, images that aim to emphasize on social difference should not be interpreted only by what they show but also by the kind of seeing that they invite. Berger (cited by Rose 2022) argues that the “ways of seeing” is the process the viewers employ to interpret a visual means. This wants the viewer to look at the relation between things on an image and the relation between things and the viewer himself rather than focusing on one thing or the viewer himself only.

3.2 Societal norms and stereotypes regarding disability

Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) ecological systems theory deciphers the outmost influence of different systems that surround individuals with or without disabilities. An element with a strong impact on the individual and all other layers is the society per se. The culture and attitudes surrounding disability are situated within the society with a strong influence. Although policies promoting more inclusive societies are in place, they cannot make remarkable differences if the society maintains negative views towards disability.

Bolt (2015) points out that disability and happiness are not elements that usually appear together in several modes of representation including music, literacy, art and so on. The absence of such diptych has deep historical and cultural roots (Sunderland et al. 2009). From the perspective of ableism, only those who fulfil minimum requirements of physical, intellectual, and sensory capacity or even various subjective cultural aesthetic conditions can enjoy the so-called full benefits of citizenship (Mitchell and Snyder 2015; Snyder and Mitchell 2010). Therefore, disability often appears to be related to negativity than positivity. This seems to be prolonged by misleading research paradigms focusing on the cultural representations that perpetuate the erroneous connection of disability with misery and unhappiness (Bolt 2015).

Goodley (2014) argues that societies perceive disability under the prism of medicalization. This approach entails great risks as it reduces disability to merely a medicalized understanding and disregards the barriers society places upon disabled people. It is apparent that such approach generates and perpetuates a generally negative attitude towards disability resulting in the unfair treatment of disabled people. These attitudes permeate into all aspects of life, thus influencing the discourse on disability which results in ableism. Ableism is the favouring of able-bodied individuals and the favoring of particular attributes such as competitiveness, consumerism and cognition (Wolbring 2008). If this is the underlying feeling regarding disability in society, an exclusive environment for disabled people is more likely to be resulted.

It is apparent that this ideology diverges any endeavor striving to promote social inclusion (Oliver and Barnes 2010). If people who differ from the so-called normal are undermined in their ability to equally contribute to the prosperity of the society, then principles of neoliberalism seem to threaten the achievement of a genuine inclusive society. Goodley (2014) refers to this as neoliberal-ableism whereby neoliberalist views result in discriminatory, disabling actions. Consequently, disabled individuals are seen as unable to fit the “corporal standard of the perfect human” (Campbell 2001: 44) and thus, their social inclusion is endangered through the encouragement to act “normally,” which is referred to as normalization.

Foucault (2003) and Olssen (2004) argue that the structures of the society encourage disabled people to regulate their behavior to meet the so-called normal manners in order for them to be perceived as “normal.” The level of normalization that is applied depends on the severity of disability, or in other words on the degree of deviation from the perceived societal normal. The more perceived severity of disability causes more intensive normalization (Holt et al. 2012). In school settings, disabled children are often encouraged to reflect upon their own behaviors and contrast them to those of their appropriately behaving peers without disabilities to encourage self-regulation (Holt et al. 2012). School reality mirrors the reality of the society where such practices are deemed as exclusive, as disabled people are encouraged to recognize their deviant abnormalities (Foucault 1978).

Disability studies align normalization with the principles of the medical model of the interpretation of disability and is perceived as highly negative as it places the fault of disablement within the disabled person (Demetriou 2022b). On the contrary, normalization is seen by a group of people as a sort of preparation of disabled people for the real world (Pitt and Curtin 2010). Through seeking to normalize disabled people, the society comply with ableist ideology surrounding disability. It seeks to regulate the behavior of individuals who do not represent the values and standards associated with normality (McNay 1994). Through the circulation of specific norms – such as ableist ideology – this actively forms disabled people as subjects (Gagen 2004; Pykett 2007), which highlights that societies exclude people through their attempts to normalize them. Any attempt to make people look and act “normal” may lead to a process called internalized ableism (Campbell 2009). This implies that disabled people may be enforced to pursue to comply with the norm by assuming an alternative identity.

Furthermore, the vocabulary and terminology used to refer to disability and disabled people reflect the images and codes influenced by policies and politics (Barton 1987) and the societal attitudes, values and beliefs about disability (Halder et al. 2017). Demetriou and Symeonidou (2023) argue that language and terminology used around the world acquire distinct and subjective meanings not due to differences in functional or intellectual capacity of disabled persons, but due to the substantial role of societal and cultural stereotypes and the consequent obstacles that they generate at a given period. A functional definition or label, for instance, is often used to define a sensory impairment based on how a person with that impairment acts differently from what is considered to be “normal” within that community. Understanding and applying the “normal” depends on the cultural setting and historical time (Hoyle 2017). This also probably applies for the many visual depictions of disability that must be seen as a reflection of societal conditioning and predominant views about disability at a given historical time (Demetriou and Symeonidou 2023).

According to Goffman (1956), communities identify traits and qualities that are “normal.” Any person who does not fit the requirements is labelled as a “stranger.” The culture then unintentionally transforms “normative expectations into righteously presented demands” by creating social “identities” and “statuses” (1956: 12). Goffman contends that stereotypes and norms produce “virtual social identities,” which are frequently overestimated in our imaginations. This stigmatization of “recognized” persons results from their being treated less favorably than expected (1956: 14). That is to say, anyone who does not conform to particular social norms may face stigma and be labelled as abnormal. The disempowerment of the stigmatized group’s members, whose chances, rights, and life in general are decided by those in positions of power in the social hierarchy, leads to stigmatization (Scior 2016). The notion that varied talents equate to weakness, dysfunction, reliance, and inferiority is the root of the society’s unfavorable and biased attitudes regarding disability (Muster 2017). It is clear that the socially constructed stigma varies between cultures and has an influence on disabled people in various ways in different countries (Darling 2013; Johnstone et al. 2017).

Because of such stigma, some categories are created, allowing people to be classified according to the preconceptions and biases of others (Dovidio et al. 2000). It is important to remember that social identity affects personal identity, or how a person views themself (Kelly and Norwich 2004). As a result, the social stigma becomes an internalized self-stigma, which can cause confusion in one’s self-concept and identity as well as low self-esteem, self-confidence, anxiety, and marginalization (Lewis and Crisp 2004; Roth et al. 2016). For instance, the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities only abandoned using the term “mental retardation” in 2006, despite the fact that the word “retard” is still used in many cultures (Scior 2016). The new term “intellectual disability” is also stigmatizing despite the theoretical rejection of the pejorative term “retardation,” as a result of the general public’s emotions, which include sympathy, anxiety, avoidance, anger, and even hatred and contempt (Ditchman et al. 2016). An individual with intellectual disability becomes aware of those cultural stereotypes which they endorse and then apply to themselves (Sheehan and Ali 2016).

3.3 Semiotic approach and stereotypes of disability

Drawing on the writings of Roland Barthes and Michel Foucault, Garland-Thomson (2001) employs the semiotic approach and examines how photographic imagery reinforces prejudices about disabled people. She notes that medical pictures have helped solidify the medical model in the twentieth century and uses Foucault’s idea of the “medical gaze” to explain the visual paradigms that influence how people perceive disability. Additionally, drawing from Barthes’s insights, Garland-Thomson presents a new visual taxonomy that highlights the widespread impact of a “generalized image repertoire” in modern culture (2001: 337).

This taxonomy not only provides a framework for understanding traditional stereotypes but also serves as a foundation for analyzing how these stereotypes evolve. Her taxonomy examines the development of stereotypes and illustrates how traditional media has altered traditional views of disability. In the context of social networks, where cultural products are mostly image-driven, this framework is especially pertinent. She points up a number of stereotypes and imagery related to disability. For instance, the “wondrous” stereotype inspires awe for the extraordinary by comparing them to historical examples of wonder, such as legendary prodigies or the contemporary “super-cripple” who achieves amazing things in spite of disabilities (2001: 341). The “sentimental” stereotype, which was prevalent in 19th-century charity models, promotes a paternalistic viewpoint by depicting disabled people as empathetic victims in need of care. In order to raise money, these pictures frequently try to evoke empathy by making the viewer feel protective (2001: 341). Ad campaigns during the 1990s, such as Toscani’s for Benetton, notably mirrored this stereotype by portraying disabled people in ways that both humanized and commodified their image for profit (2001: 356). The “exotic,” which is evocative of imperialist ethnography from the nineteenth century, is another stereotype-image that portrays people with disabilities as sensational or eroticized individuals. This rhetoric is seen in modern fashion, where disabled models are used to both captivate and alienate the viewer (2001: 343, 358). Finally, by encouraging a sense of contiguity between the person and the observer, the “realistic” stereotype seeks to normalize disability and minimize perceived disparities. Despite its claims to provide an accurate portrayal, it nevertheless creates an “illusion of reality,” negating the visibility of disability in stories that have nothing to do with disability (2001: 344).

Expanding on the critique of traditional models, Paolucci et al. (2023) criticize old-fashioned taxonomies, through a semiotic lens, and propose a fresh viewpoint on how disabilities are culturally represented, putting forth fresh models that depart from conventional stereotypes. “Fully escaping from stereotypes certainly cannot be the goal,” they contend. Creating new, more respectful, and acceptable representations is more important than completely eschewing them (2023: 3). By classifying how we see the world, stereotypes serve as the environment in which our thoughts grow, much like the placenta envelops and cares for a growing fetus (Paolucci 2017). The progression of disability representations from traditional models to those that arise in participatory culture on social networks. For, example, the “hero” and “victim” models, which either highlight or narcotize the state of infirmity in their new categories of cultural representations of disability, are the evolution of traditional stereotypes such as the “wondrous” and “sentimental” (Paolucci et al. 2023).

Building on this discussion, four categories are identified in the context of new models that highlight disability: the “hero,” who is a model of strength and resiliency; the “antagonist,” who depicts disabled people as social obstacles; the “profiteer,” who takes advantage of their condition; and the “victim,” who is characterized by suffering and exclusion (Paolucci et al. 2023). On the other hand, the narcotization of disability leads to paradigms like “normalization,” which aims to integrate people into society without drawing attention to their disabilities, and “denial,” which dismisses disability as unimportant (Paolucci et al. 2023). Additionally, these stereotypes frequently come together to form intricate roles such as “activist” and “spokesperson.” While the activist, who pushes for legislative reforms and accessibility enhancements, emerges from combining victimization and normalization, the spokesman results from combining heroic and normalization features (Paolucci et al. 2023).

In educational contexts, Haas (1998) adds to the semiotic investigation of disability by emphasizing the ways in which applied semiotics can reveal presumptions in educational settings. By looking at the symbolic character of language and communication, Haas challenges conventional teaching methods that frequently aim to control disabilities rather than accept the distinctive communication patterns of disabled children. Because it emphasizes how language and symbols shape social identity and how people perceive disability, this viewpoint is consistent with the larger semiotic discourse. By concentrating on the political power of these symbols, Haas’s work contributes to the evolution of disability stereotypes towards more respectful and participatory representations by endorsing the demand for more inclusive teaching strategies that acknowledge and incorporate diverse communicative practices.

4.1 Step 1: taxonomization in thematic categories

The method employed for the categorization of the selected stamps was based on previous studies that used postage stamps as the main medium of research (e.g., Andreou et al. 2017; Kevane 2006). These studies approach stamps in a similar way that other official state documents can be analyzed such as official maps, posters and school texts by focusing on overt and subtle messages in texts, words, symbols, artwork and even colors (Brunn 2000).

The taxonomization of the stamps in thematic categories involved quantitative measurement of the imagery. The first-level coding led to the categorization of stamps in seven distinct categories according to their emphasis on particular themes related to norms and stereotypes around disability: disabled people are wheelchair bound; Disabled people are brave, courageous, heroic and inspirational for living with their disability (special talents and skills); Disabled people are in need of support, help, care and love; Hope for rehabilitation, better life, normalization of disabled people; Disabled people differ from the norm; Disabled people deserve funds raising; Disabled people deserve pity.

4.2 Step 2: further analysis within thematic categories

In content analysis, the researcher must choose images that are statistically representative from an extensive set of images. On the contrary, in semiological studies, images are chosen on the basis of how conceptually interesting they are. This means that the emphasis is not placed on the representativeness of the selected images but the scrutinization of images that interest the researcher himself. Rose (2022) argues that semiology reminds us of the form of case studies that focus on a detailed analysis of a small number of images, a practice with limited applicability to different sets of sources.

Interpretation of signs is very complex as most of them have more than one meaning, a parameter known as polysemy. However, a preferred meaning most of the times predominates all other ones by its viewers (Williamson 1978). This is because of the heterogeneity of different societies and cultures in terms of imposing their categorization of the social, cultural and political manifestations of the world (Rose 2022). Hall (1980: 134) describes the tendency of audiences to interpret the meanings of signs in a way that fits their ideological principles as “preferred readings.” These preferred meanings are produced under two axes. The first is about the visual and textual relation between an image and its viewer, and the second lies upon the social conventions of the reception of an image (Rose 2022).

Williamson (1978) argues that images themselves are not able to transfer any meaning and that they obtain meanings by the viewers. It is the viewer who makes sense of the image’s messages. The former plays the role of signifier while the latter is referred to as signifieds. Bal and Bryson (1991: 184) characteristically pinpoint that “semiotic analysis of visual art does not set out in the first place to produce interpretations of works of art, but rather to investigate how works of art are intelligible to those who view them, the processes by which viewers make sense of what they see.”

Nonetheless, Williamson (1978) elucidates that images call for meaning creation by their viewers, although it should not be overlooked that viewers themselves are made of particular ideological views. In this case, viewers are not simple receivers of meaning, but makers of meaning. However, this ability of viewers to create meaning depends on a complex system of code which is defined by several societal norms, something that indirectly eliminates viewers authentic interpretive potentials. Since, societal norms and stereotypes differ from society to society, it is expected that the same visual image may be interpreted in very different ways (Hodge and Kress 1988).

Rose (2022) highlights that qualitative methods are deemed to be more appropriate when the emphasis is placed upon the meaning and significance. However, all methods of analysis have advantages and drawbacks, thus a combination of different methods will help in expanding the empirical scope of the study and eliminating the impact of potential limitations.

Visual semiotic analysis (Rose 2022) was employed for an in-depth analysis of the stamps of the seven categories that arose from the second-level coding. However, the significance of codes for their interpretation by audiences according to the dominant and naturalised cultural ideas and values (stereotypes and norms) that are integrated in a society is not emphasised. Several studies (e.g., Scott 1995) focusing on postage stamps used the semiotic model of signs as icon, index, and symbol developed by Peirce (Atkin 2013). The complexity of Peirce’s model led the researcher of the current study to adopt the theoretical model of Barthes’s (1957) alternative perspective in Mythologies to enhance the methodological framework of the visual semiotic analysis. This approach adopts a three-dimensional pattern involving three elements introduced by Saussure: the signifier, the signified and the sign. For Saussure, who introduce this pattern from the perspective of the language – the signified is the idea and concept while the signifier is the (acoustic) image – which is mental. The associative total of a concept and an (acoustic) image is the sign which is a concrete element; for example, a word or an illustration (Figure 1).

Figure 1:

Saussure’s (1974) analysis of the sign.

In the case of myths, this three-dimensional pattern is also present. However, the pattern is repeated twice under two overlapped semiological systems: the linguistic and the metalinguistic one. In the first system, the sign becomes a signifier in the second system (Figure 2; Barthes 1957).

Figure 2:

The two semiological systems of myth applied in the case of ideology (Barthes 1957).

There is a strong connection between myths and societal norms and cultural ideologies (Barthes 1973). These ideologies are the outcome of the denotation and connotation that lead to the emergence of deeper cultural assumptions. These assumptions – although they are products of creation – become dominant and naturalized cultural ideas and values that are integrated in the society to the extent that they are taken for granted by the members of the society. This strong interrelation between myths and societal norms and cultural ideologies allows us to adopt Barthes (1957) approach in the case of stamps and the related ideologies behind them to enrich the semiotical analysis of Rose.

Therefore, the semiotical analysis that was followed in this study consists of five steps suggested by Rose (2022). A sixth step was adapted from the Barthes’s (1957) two semiological systems of myth applied in the case of ideology as follows:

1. Selection of signs

2. Meaning of signs “in themselves”

3. The relation of a sign with other signs in the image

4. Exploration of signs’ connections and the connections of the connections with broaden systems. From codes to dominant codes.

5. Articulation of ideology and mythology of codes

6. Significance of codes for their interpretation by audiences according to the dominant and naturalized cultural ideas and values (stereotypes and norms) that are integrated in a society.

4.3 Inter-rater reliability

The stamps were taxonomized in thematic categories by the researcher as described above and then a second coder was asked to taxonomize the same stamps independently, with emphasis on the stereotypes of disability. The consistency between the researcher and the independent coder was tested using Scott’s (1955) pi. The results of the tests for each thematic category are presented in Table 1 and indicate that the inter-rater reliability (coefficient of agreement) for the two independent coders was found to be consistent.

5.1 A semiotic look on selected stamps from each thematic category

Α number of selected stamps from the sample were further analyzed by following the six steps of the adapted semiotical analysis described above.

5.1.1 Disabled people are wheelchair bound

There is a prevailing norm that disability is synonymous with being in a wheelchair (Demetriou and Symeonidou 2023). This is a very stereotypical portrayal of disabled people in many visual media. Stamps could not be an exception. In 84 stamps out of the total of 250 stamps of the corpus, an amount corresponding to a percentage of 34 %, disability is represented by images of people or figures in wheelchairs, or even wheelchairs themselves.

Figure 3:

#91 Serbia 2018.

Stamp #91 was issued by the Serbian Post in 2018 on the occasion of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities (Figure 3). The stamp shows the profile of a figure, probably a man in a wheelchair. The figure looks to the right towards the Serbian flag. In front of the flag there are human figures of various ages, standing in a line next to each other. Some of the figures seem to have some features that refer to disabled people (i.e., wheelchairs again). Most of the figures do not seem to have any visible disability. Below the flag and the figures, the word “Ј=ДНАКИ” [JEDNAKI] is written in Serbian meaning ‘equality’ (not ‘equity’). Characteristically, the letter ‘E’ is replaced by the mathematical symbol for equal (=), in an attempt to highlight the meaning of equality.

Another interesting element of the stamp is the large wheelchair wheel which is replaced by planet earth. This is probably an attempt to refer to the fact that the day for disabled people is an awareness raising day for the whole world. But it can also send a call, combined with the white figures in front of the flag, that disabled people are an integral part of the world and should be fully included and treated equally by the society. According to Paolucci et al. (2023), the emphasis on physical disability over other types is in line with their recently proposed “antagonist model.” According to this model, people with physical disabilities could feel entitled to attend mainstream public-school classes, but people with intellectual disabilities are frequently evaluated on an individual basis. This viewpoint, according to which someone is always becoming more distinctive or “other,” is reminiscent of the early social model of disability. Wheelchair users and people with physical disabilities were the main supporters of the social model back in 1976, but people with other types of disabilities did not find it to be as appealing since they believed that the early versions of disability studies had ignored them.

The stereotype that disability equals physical impairment and that most disabled people are wheelchair-bound is also reflected in the findings of Demetriou and Symeonidou (2023) who argue that most stamps represent the disabled body in a wheelchair, a decision that may reflect the widespread understanding that disabled people are mostly wheelchair users. Wheelchairs are often associated with illness and immobility. However, a wheelchair user does not necessarily imply a paralyzed or chronically ill person. Wheelchairs should not be used as symbols of disability and disabled people and thus they must be seen as another mode of transportation for people with limited strength of lower extremities for a variety of reasons, including but not limited to disability.

5.1.2 Disabled people are brave, courageous, heroic, and inspirational for living with their disability (special talents and skills)

Fifty-nine of the stamps in the corpus (24 %) depict disabled people engaging in activities that require special effort and talent, such as sports and creative arts. These stamps are intended to highlight the special abilities of disabled people, which refers to the stereotype of normalization. That is, that disabled people participate in activities that talented people without disabilities participate in and despite the difficulties they face due to their impairment, they are nevertheless very successful and worthy of admiration for their achievements. These stamps honor the superhuman achievements of those disabled people who manage to succeed and triumph and refers to Swan et al.'s (2006) and Garland-Thomson’s (2001) arguments that there is an attempt to depict disabled people as “super-crip,” “wondrous,” and “spectacular disabled” or even as “hero” (Paolucci et al. 2023). Goodley (2017: 16) commented on the London 2012 Paralympics and noted that despite some oppressive comments and stories presented in the media, “disabled sportsmen and women wonderfully confused traditional deficit models of impairment through their demonstration of elite athleticism.” In this context, the disabled body is valued and athletes with disabilities are seen as human (Demetriou and Symeonidou 2023).

Figure 4:

#27 India 2007.

An example of such a stamp is number 27 from India (Figure 4). It was published in 2007 on the occasion of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. It features a figure of a basketball player in a wheelchair and another figure of an artist who appears to have no hands and is painting with his mouth. Two other forms of disability are depicted on the stamp. Deafness, since in the upper left part of the image we can see two hands signifying a message, in sign language, while between the basketball player and the artist, blindness is represented with six non-embossed small circles that refer to the system of braille, although no particular number or letter is depicted. It is important to mention that on the upper part of the stamp there is a tactile print in Braille script.

This finding aligns with one of the representations of disability that Barnes detected in media which is “the disabled person as super cripple.” In this approach, disabled people are praised excessively for ordinary things or depicted as superheroes struggling to overcome obstacles (Barnes 1992: 12; Oliver 2009: 148). In stamps, this representation is depicted in illustrations that show disabled people as brave, courageous, heroic, and inspirational for living with their disability due to their special talents and skills in sports. In these stamps, there is an attempt to honor the “superhuman” achievements of athletes who managed to succeed and triumph in activities and sports regularly associated with the so-called “normal” despite the limitations caused by their impairments (Demetriou and Symeonidou 2023). This approach is also consistent with the recently presented model “hero” by Paolucci et al. (2023), which identifies situations in which disabled people in media contexts relate their experiences of conquering obstacles through the markers of their disabilities. This model typically promotes a glorified portrayal of disabled people by highlighting their achievements in spite of social and physical hurdles.

5.1.3 Disabled people are in need of support, help, care and love

Another stereotype and social norm around disability is that disabled people are at a disadvantage for a number of reasons such as pitifulness from others, loneliness and dependency on others (Demetriou and Symeonidou 2023). This links to the medical and charity model of disability which considers disability as personal tragedy (Oliver 1996) and the sentimental stereotype (Garland-Thomson 2001).

Figure 5:

#79 China 2018.

In 26 out of 250 stamps of the corpus, disabled people appear to be in need of support, help, care and love. This is depicted with non-disabled people caring for disabled people, mostly in wheelchairs, with disabled people surrounded by a group of other people, with heart shapes, as on stamp #79 (Figure 5) from China (in 2018). In this particular stamp, a figure in a wheelchair is in the center of a colorful heart. In the outline of the heart there are symbols that refer to other disabilities. A simple interpretation of the image is that all disabled people need love, affection, help and care.

This kind of postage stamps reveal the influence of social norms regarding disability and calls people to accept disabled people, because they may be at disadvantage and in need of help, support and love. This is associated with “the disabled person as burden” in Barnes’s study. In this category, disabled people are stereotypically seen as helpless and in need of continuous care, help, support, and love from people without disabilities (Barnes 1992: 15). Oliver (2009) asserts that the concept of dependency is what is employed to socially construct the issue of disability. Demetriou (2021) explored the intentions of children without disabilities to form friendships with children with physical disabilities and found that a reason to become friends was due to the view that the disabled people depend on those without disabilities and thus they need additional support due to their possible multiple difficulties. Children’s views possibly mirror the societal stereotypes they were taught and that want disabled people to be at a disadvantage and in need of continuous help, support, and love. This stereotype in association with the stereotype that encourages pity continues to support funding-raising charity events in several countries which deliberately provoke feelings of compassion from all members of society, in order to raise money for those who are in need and dependent on others (Demetriou 2022a). It is apparent that this kind of events maintain and perpetuate feelings of compassion, sympathy, and pity towards peers with disabilities and forms a social conscience that demands those people be treated differently, requiring special love, attention, and care (Symeonidou 2002). Also, this attitude reflects a prevalent assumption in cultures where the charity model of disability still flourishes (Demetriou 2021, 2022a). It is apparent that this assumption should not be reflected on public documents and visual means – such as stamps – that seem to have strong influence on the societal expectations of how life is and should be.

5.1.4 Hope for rehabilitation, better life-normalization of disabled people

Although normalization is viewed by some as a means of preparing disabled persons for life in the real world, disability studies tend to view it through the lens of the medical model of disability (Pitt and Curtin 2010). By attempting to normalize those with disabilities, society complies with the ableist ideology around disability, which aims to control the behavior of those who do not adhere to the norms and values of normality (McNay 1994). With emphasis on rehabilitation of disabled people, societies exclude these people through their attempts to normalize them. Any attempt to make disabled people appear and behave “normal” may result in a phenomenon known as internalized ableism (Campbell 2009). This suggests that disabled individuals can be compelled to attempt conformity by assuming an alternative identity.

Figure 6:

#230 Malta 1981.

Fourteen of the stamps in the corpus (6 %) depict disabled people being in need for rehabilitation. Rehabilitation is an attempt on behalf of the society to “normalize” disabled people and thus socially include them. For example, in stamp #230 (Figure 6) issued by the Sovereign Military Order of Malta in 1981 in the framework of the International Year of Disabled Persons disabled people are depicted as being different from the majority, i.e., being a plant that has dried up. The plant has a branch that is seen to be cut and ready to fall. That branch may symbolize a disabled person who has not been rehabilitated yet, and thus has not been normalized. On the contrary, the plant seems to have some branches that are blooming and healthy. The branches may represent people without disabilities or disabled people who have been normalized possibly after their participation in a rehabilitation program or due to the care received from the state. This is evident from the presence of two hands that embrace the healthy and blooming branch of the plant and lovingly place it under their protection. The possible message from the interpretation of the illustration is that the priority is to rehabilitate disabled people, so that they can become “beautiful,” as the majority considers as being the norm. Conversely, disabled people who have not been normalized are not presented as being part of this norm.

5.1.5 Disabled people differ from the norm

In some stamps (5 out of 250), disabled people are presented in an allegorical way as being different from the majority, i.e., being an exception from the whole. This is usually shown with tree branches or flowers that have been cut or have dried up. An example is the image on stamp #85 (Figure 7). The stamp was issued in Tunisia in 1981, on the occasion of the International Year of Disabled Persons. A healthy tree is shown, with lush foliage, while a small branch can be seen to be cut and ready to fall from the tree. The tree is likely to symbolize the majority, i.e., people without disabilities, as well as the wider society. The small branch very likely symbolizes the minority (hence its size compared to the tree), i.e., people with some form of disability. This branch is presented as detached from the whole, something that potentially emphasizes the difference from the majority. On the left side of the image, the phrase “full participation and equality” is written in Arabic and French. Since the stamp was issued in the 1980s, we understand that the image of the tree and the severed branch reflects the harsh reality of Tunisian conditions for disabled people during that period and persisting into more recent times (Trani et al. 2015). In other words, disabled people were probably almost cut off from society. The phrase is a call to society for change, so that disabled people can fully participate in society as its equal members.

Figure 7:

#85 Tunisia 1981.

According to Barnes, the media often present the disabled person as incapable of participating fully in community life. Paolucci et al. (2023) categorize this as the “victim” model, emphasizing the suffering and exclusion experienced by disabled individuals. Barnes argues that disabled people are rarely represented as productive members of society in media, e.g., teachers, students, parents, etc. Therefore, they are perceived as different from the norm and thus in need of rehabilitation. This feeds the view that disabled individuals are inferior people that should be separated (Barnes 1992: 17) and thus, they need to be normalized in order to become productive members of society. These two representations of disability that occurred from the thematic and semiotic analysis of the postage stamps in the study’s corpus sound to be diametrically opposed, yet they both refer to ableism, an approach that constitutes discrimination in favor of able-bodied people. Ableism is entrenched historically and culturally and underpinned by a number of beliefs, stances, ideologies, and approaches that yield the societal standards about the ideal body, appearance, mind, skills, and capacities that reflect the desirable perfect citizen (Bolt 2015). The adoption of this stance may happen unconsciously and is encouraged by public and private media. Means of media promote the characteristics of idealistic societal perfection of humans that are surrounded by a network of notions such as health, productivity, beauty, competitiveness, and the value of human life per se. These values are given much more emphasis than empathy, compassion, and kindness (Wolbring 2008). Thus, impairment obtains abundant negativity as it is considered as something that should be cured, improved, or even vanish. This normative positivism of ableism promotes discrimination, exclusion, victimization, and stigmatization (Bolt 2015).

5.1.6 Disabled people deserve funds raising

A small number of stamps (5 of the 250 stamps of the corpus) call directly for funds raising. One could argue that the number is extremely small and perhaps does not form a thematic category. But among the 119 stamps that have the purpose of awareness raising, the public is not only informed about international days related to disability but is indirectly reminded that offering some money for disabled people is for a good cause. Besides, several of these stamps generate revenue, and a portion of the amount is donated to charitable organizations. Therefore, another stereotype is confirmed which is linked to charity and the impression that disabled people deserve funds raising, and thus they are dependent on others’ funding, which is associated with sentimental stereotype suggested by Garland-Thomson (2001) encouraging charity and fund raising.

Figure 8:

#68 Jersey Island 2017.

This reliance on people without disabilities and the need for fundraising is shown on stamp #68 (Figure 8). This stamp was issued by the island of Jersey in 2017 to mark the one-hundredth anniversary of Lions Club International. The stamp shows disabled people in wheelchairs being pushed by people without disabilities. All of them are in a summer resort and enjoying their vacation. The reference to summer holidays is confirmed not only by the good weather and the summer clothes but also by the phrase “Holidays for the Disabled” which is diagonally written on the stamp. The scene emerges from an ice cream cone – another element that evokes summer vacations – like a film projected from a projector.

Charity and funds raising events maintain and perpetuate feelings of compassion, sympathy and pity towards disabled people and form a social conscience that demands those people be treated differently; requiring special love, attention and care (Symeonidou 2002) which is expressed through donations. For instance, in the Republic of Cyprus, “Radiomarathonios” continues to be the biggest funding-raising annual charity event which deliberately provokes feelings of compassion from all members of society, including young children, to raise money for those who are in need and dependent on the support of others (Demetriou 2021).

5.1.7 Disabled people deserve pity

In the past, but even today in many societies, there is an impression that disabled people need pity and compassion. This attitude is mainly due to incorrect or lack of knowledge about disability and is probably a result of long-standing efforts to raise funds for disabled people or religious views. In people’s minds disability is often associated with charity and with God-sent testing.

Figure 9:

#22 Tanzania 2004.

In a number of stamps, disabled people are depicted in a way that gives the impression that they are unhappy and thus deserve pity and calls others to raise funds for those whose lives are of less value. For example, in stamp #22 from Tanzania (in 2004) (Figure 9) the disabled child (sitting on the floor) seems to be the odd and isolated one among the non-disabled children that also appear on the stamp. The motto “Disabled children need to be educated” that appears on the stamp verifies the marginalization of disabled children in education, and the exclusion they experience from non-disabled children in that particular country. According to Thomas (2007: 132), this representation reminds us of the cultural constructions of the disabled body employed by twentieth century charities where such bodies were depicted as “territories of despised and uncontrolled physicality.” Focusing on the two children without disabilities, one could comment that they may look at the isolated and excluded peer with disability either with compassion and pity or even with disgust.

These understandings regarding disability – that most of the times derive from social ecologies – can be mirrored even in children’s intentions to accept peers with disabilities and form friendships with them (Demetriou 2021). Paolucci and colleagues (2023) describe this as the “victim” model, in which disabled people are depicted as having no possibilities of living a “normal” life due to their impairments. This attitude reflects the general societal norm often appearing in small societies, where the model of human rights – which has replaced the old-fashioned charity-related models in most modern societies – continuous to co-exist with the charity model (Phtiaka 2005). Pity and mercy are more taught, learnt and adopted stances rather than spontaneous ones.

Similarly, one of the representations of Barnes’s work refers to “the disabled people as pitiable and pathetic.” This representation encourages pity so that people without disabilities must be generous (Barnes 1992: 7). According to the medical model of disability, unhappiness has its roots in one’s biological impairment. This seems to be the predominant approach of the illustration on postage stamps that depict disabled people as unhappy and pitiable. On the contrary, the social model of disability asserts that the unhappiness of disabled people derives from the society per se. Bolt (2015) refers to the affirmative model of disability where both disability and impairment may be attributed a level of positivity. This model asserts that impairment may obtain positive connotations when the notion of normalization is totally rejected. These assertions and rejections ease the claim of the value and validity of the lives of disabled people (Swain and French 2000) and it is a model that states, and other relevant authorities could consider adopting in public documents such as postage stamps that refer to or portray disabled people.