Falicia Witt

Sociology: Gender Studies

12/1/15
Can Disability Work in Feminism?
There is no easy answer to this question. I would love to be able to say that feminism was
a movement that all women can get behind and be involved in, but it wouldnt be honest.
Although, I, a disabled woman, was able to attend a few meetings and a few functions, still dont
feel like theres a place for women with disabilities within the feminist movement- thats not to
say that there cant be. We, as feminists and persons with disabilities just need to make one.
First, lets talk about the fact that I was the only openly disabled person at any function
or event. I think there are several reasons for this. One of which is feminisms ableism
problem. (Scaccia) Women with disabilities have historically been ignored by the disability
rights movement as well as the womens movement (independent living.org) Feminism as a
whole is almost completely silent on issues of wage disparity, sexual violence, abuse and every
other focal point of the movement when it comes to women with disabilities.
What is most alarming about this the fact is that women with disabilities are at much
higher risk than any other demographic for these types of violence yet, theyre not included in
the conversation. (Woodward) Women with disabilities are twice as likely to be victims of
domestic violence and sexual assault as able bodied women {and} Women with disabilities
experience abuse that lasts longer and is more intense than able bodied women.

Second, feminism is not accessible to people who are not able bodied. One example of
exclusion is inaccessible web content. Blind people use screen readers and other digital devices
to use the internet, PDFs are not accessible to screen readers but are still widely used to
communicate important information about participation. What part of PDFs are inaccessible
to people using text to speech assistive technology, so give us a word doc instead, isnt clear.
(Hearn)
Now, as big as both of these issues are (ableism, inaccessibility) in feminism; they are not
unmanageable. I believe honest, concise communication between the disabled and the nondisabled could remedy and eradicate both of these problems as I believe both concepts are rooted
in ignorance and misconception. Experience coping with my own vision loss is a both the basis
and testament of this belief.
Accommodation does not have to be a bad word and its not something to be afraid of.
Disabled people are people first, and people are one of the best resources we have in addressing
issues of inequality and oppression. Accommodation simply means communication, it means
including people who can add to the reciprocity of the group. Its important as a feminist to
recognize that disabled women are women too.(Woodward)
As a feminist its also important to remember that there are in fact disabled women
already working within the movement, and that those women are making just as much of an
impact and contribution as their able bodied counter parts. Not only are these women making
space for their own disability in feminism, but theyre extending a wider invitation to women
who arent traditionally represented and/or who didnt feel they had a place.

Disability can work in feminism-because it does, We have women like Mia Mingus who
are physically disabled and receiving national recognition for their work within feminism. We
have women like Kristen Hearn, Becky Olaniyi, Rebecca Bunce- and all women of the Sisters
of Frida- a collective of disabled women working within feminist movements. But because
there is so little representation and limited accessibility in traditional feminist movements not all
women with disabilities are included or can be included at this point.
Disabled women and the feminist movement need each other. because these two
fields are inherently interdisciplinary, dialogue between them can yield a richer notion of
intersectionality within intersectionality. (Hirschmann) Feminism needs disabled people to help
break away from an able bodied, cis gendered, white, middle class perspective, because from
that perspective feminism is only helping a very small part of the population it claims to
represent.

References:
1Scaccia, Annamarya. #Solidarityisfortheablebodied, and Feminisms Ableism Problem.
RH Reality Check, Dec.19, 2013 Web Dec.2, 2015
2http://www.independentliving.org/docs3/chp1997.html
3Woodward, Stephanie. #Yesallwomen Includes Women with Disabilities. Gimpgirl.
July 25, 2014. Web Dec. 2, 2015
4Hearn, Kirsten. Sick of Exclusion. Kirstenhearns Blog.Web Dec 2,2015
https://kirstenhearn.wordpress.com/2015/09/25/sick-of-exclusion/
5Hirschmann, Nancy J. "Disability, Feminism, And Intersectionality: A Critical
Approach." Radical Philosophy Review (Philosophy Documentation Center) 16.2 (2013): 649662. Academic Search Premier. Web. 30 Nov. 2015