Deaf women's work experiences: Negotiating gender, ability, and theories of resistance

Abstract

Using life history interviews with 10 college-educated Deaf women, this chapter investigates how the women saw themselves “between worlds” and how they balanced being both workers and mothers. While considering Gabel and Peters’ (2004) call for a theory of resistance in the field of disability studies along with Garland-Thomson (2004) who argues for a feminist disability studies theory, the author argues that when theorizing about the construction of a worker, which is a fluid identity, it is necessary to consider notions of gender along with ability and to note places where individuals resist stereotypes placed on them by the larger society. The women of this study resisted ideas of deafness as a “disability” and did things to show they were a linguistic minority and part of the Deaf community. Teaching, in certain contexts, was a place where they educated people about their deafness and became, in their words, “lifetime educators.” Those who worked in hearing offices developed strategies such as being lifetime educators, self-advocates, volunteering in these offices, and often denying a part of their Deaf identity.

Citation

Najarian Souza, C. (2010), "Deaf women's work experiences: Negotiating gender, ability, and theories of resistance", Barnartt, S.N. (Ed.) Disability as a Fluid State (Research in Social Science and Disability, Vol. 5), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 231-252. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-3547(2010)0000005012