Disabled people have existed for as long as humanity. They have been
active parts of every society and liberatory movement. Yet when history
is written, disability is often erased or stigmatised. This zine aims to
celebrate the lives of disabled feminists. To frame disability not as a
shameful individual failure that undermines one’s agency, legitimacy and
personhood, but as a neutral characteristic within the natural variation
of humanity. Disabled people are the largest and most diverse political
minority group. Structural, social and medical discrimination makes
becoming disabled more likely if you are black, female, LGBTQIA+, poor,
or incarcerated. When many oppressed groups individually sought
liberation and equality, they sought to distance themselves from
disability, rather than challenging the notion that disability itself justified
unequal treatment.
Disability is a complex and multifaceted experience that encompasses a
wide range of physical, sensory, cognitive, and mental health conditions.
The social model of disability, which emerged in the 1970s, distinguishes
between impairment (a physical or mental condition) and disability (the
social, environmental, and attitudinal barriers that prevent people with
impairments from fully participating in society). This model challenges
the medical model of disability, which views disability as an individual
problem to be fixed or cured, and instead locates the “problem” of
disability in society’s failure to accommodate diverse bodies and minds.
Feminism, meanwhile, is a political and social movement that seeks
to end gender-based oppression and achieve equality for all women.
Feminist theory and activism have traditionally focused on issues such
as reproductive rights, workplace discrimination, sexual violence, and
the gendered division of labor. However, disabled women have long
argued that mainstream feminism has often excluded or marginalized
their experiences and concerns.
Feminist disability studies brings together insights from disability studies
and feminist theory to examine the intersections of gender and disability.
It highlights the ways in which ableism (discrimination against disabled
people) and sexism are intertwined and mutually reinforcing systems of
oppression. Talilia A. Lewis defines ableism as, “a system of assigning
value to people’s bodies and minds based on societally constructed
ideas of normalcy, productivity, desirability, intelligence, excellence
and fitness. These constructed ideas are deeply rooted in eugenics,
anti-blackness, misogyny, colonialism, imperialism and capitalism.
This systemic oppression leads to people and society determining
people’s value based on their culture, age, language, appearance
religion, birth or living place, “health/wellness”, and/or their ability to
satisfactorily re/produce, “excel” and “behave.” You do not have to be
disabled to experience ableism”. Disabled women face unique forms
of discrimination, violence, and marginalization, including higher rates
of poverty, unemployment, and abuse compared to both non-disabled
women and disabled men.
“Ableism must be included in our analysis of oppression and in our
conversations about violence, responses to violence and ending
violence. Ableism cuts across all of our movements because ableism
dictates how bodies should function against a mythical norm—an able-
bodied standard of white supremacy, heterosexism, sexism, economic
exploitation, moral/religious beliefs, age and ability. Ableism set the stage
for queer and trans people to be institutionalized as mentally disabled;
for communities of color to be understood as less capable, smart and
intelligent, therefore “naturally” fit for slave labor; for women’s bodies to
be used to produce children, when, where and how men needed them;
for people with disabilities to be seen as “disposable” in a capitalist
and exploitative culture because we are not seen as “productive”; for
immigrants to be thought of as a “disease” that we must “cure” because
it is “weakening” our country; for violence, cycles of poverty, lack of
resources and war to be used as systematic tools to construct disability
in communities and entire countries.” (From Moving Toward the Ugly: A
Politic Beyond Desirability by Mia Mingus)
Feminist disability activism seeks to challenge these intersecting forms
of oppression and create a more inclusive and accessible world for
all. This includes fighting for reproductive justice for disabled women,
challenging the stereotype of disabled people as asexual or undesirable
partners, and advocating for greater representation of disabled women
in media and politics. By bringing together the insights of disability
studies and feminism, we can work towards a more intersectional and
inclusive vision of social justice that recognizes the full diversity of
human experience.
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