“The Disabled Community Is Still Waiting for Equality”: What do Users Have to say About Sexual Reproductive Health of Persons With Disabilities in Online News Comments

Drawing from the literature of the internet as a public sphere, the present study investigates online news comments related to sexual reproductive health of people with disabilities (PWDs) published in The New York Times and The Guardian. We analyzed 3,633 online comments published between January 1...

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Main Authors: Mauryne Abwao, Muhammad Ittefaq, Annalise Baines, Pan Liu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2021-05-01
Series:Frontiers in Communication
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcomm.2021.667627/full
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author Mauryne Abwao
Muhammad Ittefaq
Annalise Baines
Pan Liu
author_facet Mauryne Abwao
Muhammad Ittefaq
Annalise Baines
Pan Liu
author_sort Mauryne Abwao
collection DOAJ
description Drawing from the literature of the internet as a public sphere, the present study investigates online news comments related to sexual reproductive health of people with disabilities (PWDs) published in The New York Times and The Guardian. We analyzed 3,633 online comments published between January 1, 2016, and December 31, 2019, using thematic analysis. The findings revealed eight major themes: economic consequences; gender; stereotypes; awareness and education; independence and autonomy; medical standpoint; media portrayal; and social justice and accommodation. Further, our study found that 47% of online commenters from The NYT and 49.3% from The Guardian had a positive perception that PWDs should have equal access to sexual reproductive health, compared with non-disabled people. Our study also revealed that comments in The NYT were more focused on the legal issues in the United States, while comments in The Guardian emphasized positive media representation and human aspects of the issue.
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spelling doaj.art-2f5c930a7cfe40f6853b5fbdab9ce6642022-12-21T18:50:52ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Communication2297-900X2021-05-01610.3389/fcomm.2021.667627667627“The Disabled Community Is Still Waiting for Equality”: What do Users Have to say About Sexual Reproductive Health of Persons With Disabilities in Online News CommentsMauryne AbwaoMuhammad IttefaqAnnalise BainesPan LiuDrawing from the literature of the internet as a public sphere, the present study investigates online news comments related to sexual reproductive health of people with disabilities (PWDs) published in The New York Times and The Guardian. We analyzed 3,633 online comments published between January 1, 2016, and December 31, 2019, using thematic analysis. The findings revealed eight major themes: economic consequences; gender; stereotypes; awareness and education; independence and autonomy; medical standpoint; media portrayal; and social justice and accommodation. Further, our study found that 47% of online commenters from The NYT and 49.3% from The Guardian had a positive perception that PWDs should have equal access to sexual reproductive health, compared with non-disabled people. Our study also revealed that comments in The NYT were more focused on the legal issues in the United States, while comments in The Guardian emphasized positive media representation and human aspects of the issue.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcomm.2021.667627/fullpersons with disabilitiesself-disclosuresexual reproductive healthsexual health rightsonline news comments
spellingShingle Mauryne Abwao
Muhammad Ittefaq
Annalise Baines
Pan Liu
“The Disabled Community Is Still Waiting for Equality”: What do Users Have to say About Sexual Reproductive Health of Persons With Disabilities in Online News Comments
Frontiers in Communication
persons with disabilities
self-disclosure
sexual reproductive health
sexual health rights
online news comments
title “The Disabled Community Is Still Waiting for Equality”: What do Users Have to say About Sexual Reproductive Health of Persons With Disabilities in Online News Comments
title_full “The Disabled Community Is Still Waiting for Equality”: What do Users Have to say About Sexual Reproductive Health of Persons With Disabilities in Online News Comments
title_fullStr “The Disabled Community Is Still Waiting for Equality”: What do Users Have to say About Sexual Reproductive Health of Persons With Disabilities in Online News Comments
title_full_unstemmed “The Disabled Community Is Still Waiting for Equality”: What do Users Have to say About Sexual Reproductive Health of Persons With Disabilities in Online News Comments
title_short “The Disabled Community Is Still Waiting for Equality”: What do Users Have to say About Sexual Reproductive Health of Persons With Disabilities in Online News Comments
title_sort the disabled community is still waiting for equality what do users have to say about sexual reproductive health of persons with disabilities in online news comments
topic persons with disabilities
self-disclosure
sexual reproductive health
sexual health rights
online news comments
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcomm.2021.667627/full
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