Framing of Women with Disabilities on Online Media

Abstract

Media has become the dominant source of information not only for individual but also for the community in obtaining a picture of reality. In the construction process of reality, language is the main element. Language is the central instrument for telling reality. The choice of words and how the presentation of a reality contributes to the structure of the construction of reality and the meaning that arises from it. Therefore, in this construction process there is a tendency of media that may be biased in constructing an event or people, one of which is about women and disable groups. Media represent women with disabilities to be a weak figure when compared with disabled men. Men with disability are seen more powerful when he is able to work while women are more seen as a figure that needs to be pitied and highly dependent on others. This study aims to find out how the online media frame issue about women disabilities, whether it shows more empowerment or remain trapped in gender bias. For this reason, this research uses constructivism paradigm which see the media not as a free and neutral channel but as a subject that constructs reality. The construction theory of the social reality sees that social reality is often manifest as a symbolic reality framed by the media with certain news strategy through the selection of words, images, and the use of view to affirm the interests of the media seeing an issue. Therefore, this research uses Pan and Kosicki framing analysis technique to find how media frame the issue of women with disabilities. The result shows that online media frame the issue of the women with disabilities in gender bias.