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Feminist Disability Studies Feminist Disability Studies: Theoretical Debates, Activism, Identity Politics, & Coalition Building Kristina R. Knoll A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Washington 2012 Reading Committee: Angela Ginorio, Chair Dennis Lang David Allen Shirley Yee Sara Goering Program Authorized to Offer Degree: Gender, Women, & Sexuality Studies Department © Copyright 2012 Kristina R. Knoll Abstract Feminist Disability Studies: Theoretical Debates, Activism, Identity Politics & Coalition Building Kristina R. Knoll Chair of the Supervisory Committee: Associate Professor Angela Ginorio Gender, Women, & Sexuality Studies Department Through two intellectual and activist spaces that are fraught with identity politics, people from feminist and disability studies circles have converged in unique ways that have assisted in addressing the gaps in their respective fields. Although not all feminist disability studies scholars are comfortable with defining feminist disability studies or having an established doctrine that sets the field apart, my eleven interviews with people whose work spans feminist and disability studies demonstrates a presence of, and the need for, a feminist disability studies area of study. Utilizing feminist and disability studies literature and reflections by the participants, I argue that feminist disability studies engages with theories that may be contradictory and incomplete. This process has the potential to reveal power, privilege, and oppression, and therefore, it can provide opportunities for liberation. Methods in feminist disability studies emphasize the necessity of considering both disability studies and feminist perspectives while resisting essentialism in order to allow new identities to surface. In addition, feminist disability studies addresses why activism must be made accessible in order to fight ableism and to support work across identity-based groups. Therefore exactly how we work together across identities and identity groups is of paramount importance for our anti-oppression work. This multifaceted process has given rise to an amorphous, porous, and yet burgeoning, area of study that is providing new insights and tools for working across minority groups. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My gratitude to the amazing scholar-participants who indulged me in fantastic discussions about feminism and disability studies will forever remain. Whether it was a short and heavily theoretical discussion in your office or a long and whimsical discussion over wine at your home, each interview has become a treasured memory. It is also critical for me to recognize the Gender, Women, & Sexuality Studies Department and the Disability Studies Program at the University of Washington for their years of teaching, activism, and encouragement, especially Professors Angela Ginorio, David Allen, Dennis Lang, Sara Goering, and Shirley Yee. Thanks to the American Association of University Women and their generous American Fellowship, which provided both monetary support and a feminist reference point that inspired pride and motivation during a difficult doctoral process. Most importantly, I need to acknowledge the immense amount of support, access, teaching, and advocacy my parents, Paula and Norman Knoll, have provided me from kindergarten through my dissertation, to not only face, but to work toward altering academia’s oppressive attitudes toward people with disabilities and chronic health issues. Finally, I want to express gratitude toward people who have lived interdependently with me and/or provided critical support for me at different points in my dissertation process: Koen (my son, who was born shortly after the oral defense), Jason, (my husband, who provided a lot of support while I finished my dissertation); Jack, & Ruth Niemi; Peter (& Jude) Knoll; Gabrielle Knoll; Kristin Warriner; Lisa and Brian McIntyre; Joelle Brouner (and Seattle, WA’s “Communities Against Rape and Abuse;” Charity Ranger; Tanis Doe; Marisa Hackett; Monica Olsson; Emerson Sekins; Joanne Woiak; Nancy Kenney; Michael Goldberg; Zakiya Adair; Amy Peloff; Suzanne Brainard; Dyane Haynes; Carol Langdon; Elaine Haig; and last, but definitely not least, Diana Bowers and Susanne Gnagy. With deep gratitude, I also give thanks to the disability studies students at the University of Washington from 2001 to 2012, who either provided radical acts and accommodations that the university would not, or provided critical disability studies insights and emotional support. DEDICATION To a few of my family members who faced and/or challenged either sexism or ableism and rebelled in their own unique ways, informing both my theories and life choices: Uncle John Palmquist, Brother Derek Knoll; Grandma Ingred Palmquist, Great-Grandma Tekla Ostrom, Aunt Kristin Warriner, Cousin Anita Schaper-Ostrom, Grandma Virginia Knoll, and Grandpa Donald Knoll. TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction...................................................................................................................... 1 Part I: Foundations: Literature & Theories ................................................................... 6 Chapter 1: Feminism, Identity, & Identity Politics ............................................................. 15 Feminist Standpoint Practices ................................................................................................ 20 Participant Reflections: Women Studies Influences on Disability Studies .............................. 25 Chapter 2: Disability Studies, Identity, & Identity Politics ................................................. 30 Disability & Impairment Debates ........................................................................................... 31 Participant Reflections: Disability Studies Influences on Women Studies ............................... 42 Chapter 3: Feminist Disability Studies, Identity, & Identity Politics .................................... 47 Feminist Disability Studies Literature & Theories on the Political Process of Identities .......... 48 Participant Reflections: Feminist Disability Studies .............................................................. 55 Part II: Cripping Feminist Activism & Identity-Based Politics .................................... 75 Chapter 4: Identity Politics: Commonality & Difference .................................................... 81 Making Alliances ................................................................................................................... 85 Chapter 5: Diversifying Activism ....................................................................................... 97 Bridging Theory & Activism ................................................................................................ 106 The Activist Process of Identity-Based Politics ..................................................................... 113 Chapter 6: Toward an Identity-Based Politics .................................................................. 123 Barriers to Coalition Building............................................................................................... 130 Encouraging Coalition Building ........................................................................................... 148 Chapter 7: Conclusion ...................................................................................................... 174 Part III: Research Methods & Positionality ................................................................ 179 Critical Hermeneutics & Feminist Standpoint Theory .......................................................... 188 Ableistic Barriers, Vulnerable Researcher............................................................................ 192 Endnotes........................................................................................................................ 204 Bibliography .................................................................................................................. 223 Appendix A: Interview Questions ................................................................................ 249 Appendix B: Participant Information .......................................................................... 250 i Feminist Disability Studies 1 Introduction My research demonstrates that feminist disability studies provide an important space and network for those whose social justice work overlaps feminist and disability studies theories. A few of the participants were uncomfortable about identifying a feminist disability studies area of study, but both those who readily acknowledged feminist disability studies as an area of study and those who did not revealed a critical span of feminist disability studies theories in response to my interview questions. I argue that feminist disability studies is a critical location from which to analyze and address various intersections of privilege and oppression, and that developing unique tools for working across identity-based/minority groups remains important. Since a primary concern of feminist disability studies is how to work across feminist and disability studies based groups and theories, I begin Part I by explaining a central concept for understanding my arguments throughout my dissertation about the importance of encouraging work across minority groups. I borrow and expand upon the term, “identity- based politics,” defined by feminists Gwyn Kirk and Margo Okazawa-Rey (2004). This term describes a mutual goal of identity-based
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