The emergence of a paradox of assimilation: an analysis of Olympic and Paralympic athletes' Instagram posts

The Olympics and the Paralympics are two of the largest multi-sport events worldwide that aim to represent social movements. The Games and the movements could be influenced by the widespread reach of their athletes' social media. Thus, this study examined if Olympians' and Paralympians' Instagram posts reflected their respective Movements. A coding scheme was developed based on the Movements to analyse the Instagram posts of Olympians and Paralympians. The Paralympians may be assimilating to Olympian/able-bodied ideologies regarding sport. While assimilation in athleticism, sponsorship and sport participation may be positive, as it promotes athletes with a disability as elite, assimilation in the category of advancement may have negative consequences. At the initiation of the Movement, achieving recognition as elite athletes needed to be prioritized. However, the results of this study indicate advancement needs to be prioritized to avoid forgetting the Paralympics as a broader movement and to maintain disability culture.