"You Can't Use Your Pregnancy as an Excuse": Higher Education and the Intersections of Civil Rights, Pregnancy, and Disability Studies

• In Event: 29.060 - Uncovering Complexity: Intersectionality and Interdisciplinary Approaches

Abstract

Considerable inquiry has studied breastfeeding, reproductive rights, parenting, and prenatal testing yet few scholars have qualitatively examined the treatment of pregnant workers as a civil rights issue and essential part of diversity work in higher education. This interview-based qualitative study addresses the experiences of nine pregnant workers using the theories of DisCrit, disability studies, and feminist disability studies to examine the relationships between pregnant bodies and the postsecondary institutions where they are situated. These analytical tools expose the cultural, social, and political constructions of gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and impairment that govern interpretations of pregnant workers’ abilities.

Author

• Lauren Shallish, The College of New Jersey