Let's talk about sex : a narrative approach to disabled women's sexual lives
department or school: Health and Social Development, Faculty of (Okanagan)
department or school: Social Work, School of (Okanagan)
data provider: DSpace
degree campus: UBCO
creator: MacKeigan, Tanya Elaine
issued: 2018-07-19T17:13:37Z
issued: 2018
related degree: Master of Social Work - MSW
degree grantor: University of British Columbia
description: This thesis examines the discourses at play that shape disabled women's sexual subjectivity. I wanted to see how disabled women's understanding of themselves as sexual is socially influenced. I come from a feminist critical disability studies theoretical position influenced by social constructionist thought. I held a focus group and individually interviewed five self-identified physically disabled women about their sexual lives and experiences. They shared stories of societal pressures and personal interactions. But, the way language works to shape meaning is complicated. Among these women there is a mix of visible and invisible disabilities and this affects how social understandings of disability, sexuality, and gender play out. Further, these women come from a variety of racial, socio-economic, and socio-cultural backgrounds. It was clear in the stories that not all disabled women are the same just because they are disabled women. That said, the main social understandings of disability and sexuality that were at work in the women’s stories were ableism, sexism, and resistance. The women spoke of feeling pressures that attempt to define them and who they should be. They pointed out with concern that ableist influences do not associate disability with sexuality. They also spoke about the emotional labour they are forced to take on in relationships influenced by both ableism and sexism: examples include, having to explain their disability, manage others' emotions around disability, or deal with the pressure to always put others' needs first. In response to these pressures, resistance discourses surfaced that challenge mainstream notions of disability and sexuality. The women stated that this resistance represents their reality. It represents strength, commitment, pride, and reclamation. This resistance makes space for the diversity of life and the expression of voice, confidence, liberation, and solidarity. It is a movement of people who no longer wish to subscribe t…
aggregated CHO: https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/66541
note: LET'S TALK ABOUT SEX: A NARRATIVE APPROACH TO DISABLED WOMEN'S SEXUAL LIVES by Tanya Elaine MacKeigan B.A., St. Thomas University, 2010 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SOCIAL WORK in THE COLLEGE OF GRADUATE STUDIES THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Okanagan) July 2018 © Tanya Elaine MacKeigan, 2018 ii The following individuals certify that they have read, and recommend to the College of Graduate Studies for acceptance, a thesis/dissertation entitled: LET'S TALK ABOUT SEX: A NARRATIVE APPROACH TO DISABLED WOMEN'S SEXUAL LIVES submitted by Tanya Elaine MacKeigan in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Social Work. Dr. Rachelle Hole, UBC - Okanagan, School of Social Work Supervisor Dr. Susan Frohlick, UBC - Okanagan, Irving K. Barber School of Arts and Sciences Supervisory Committee Member Dr. Tim Stainton, UBC - Vancouver, School of Social Work Supervisory Committee Member Dr. Sabre Cherkowski, UBC - Okanagan, Faculty of Education University Examiner iii Abstract This thesis examines the discourses at play that shape disabled women's sexual subjectivity. I wanted to see how disabled women's understanding of themselves as sexual is socially influenced. I come from a feminist critical disability studies theoretical position influenced by social constructionist thought. I held a focus group and individually interviewed five self-identified physically disabled women about their sexual lives and experiences. They shared stories of societal pressures and personal interactions. But, the way language works to shape meaning is complicated. Among these women there is a mix of visible and invisible disabilities and this affects how social understandings of disability, sexuality, and gender play out. Further, these women come from a variety of racial, socio-economic, and socio-cultural backgrounds. It was clear in the stories that not all disabled women are the same just because they are dis…
has type: Thesis/Dissertation
date issued: 2018-09
is shown at: 10.14288/1.0368992
language: eng
degree discipline: Social Work
provider: Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
publisher: University of British Columbia
rights: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
rights URI: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
scholar level: Graduate
type: Text
identifier URI: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/66541