![]() Therefore, integrating disability into feminist theory challenges our assumptions of the body and enriches our understandings of human diversity.ĭisability is considered a social construct among many activists and academics. Both disability studies and feminist theory address reproductive rights, bodily difference, medicalisation of the body and the politics of appearance to name a few. Like gender, disability pervades cultural practices, politics, social structures and social identities. Just as feminism questions the assumption that femaleness constitutes a natural physical and mental inferiority, disability studies challenges social constructions that deem disability a natural deficiency. Key thinkers in feminist disability studies such as Rosemarie Garland-Thomson and Susan Wendell (linked below) show that social constructions of gender and disability intertwine. Disability requires a more integrated analysis. However, simply including disability in a list of differences is not enough. ![]() More recently, disability has become increasingly acknowledged in feminist theories that highlight diversity. ![]() Feminism even reinforced derogatory perceptions of disability by using disability as a metaphor to illustrate the “crippling” impact of patriarchy on women. In the past, older women and disabled women were largely left out of feminist theory. ![]() Reading and writing about constructions of gender and constructions of disability has been liberating and I thought I would write about this topic in a blog post. I have a particular interest in invisible disabilities such as chronic fatigue syndrome as this mostly affects women and challenges our assumptions about disability. I am currently undertaking my MSc Applied Gender Studies and Research Methods with a focus on feminism and disability. ![]()
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