The Paradox of the Medical Stare: Women with Disabilities Negotiate Scientific Motherhood

• In Event: 110 - Regular Session. Performing Parenthood in Social Context

Abstract

Research on motherhood has generally overlooked the experiences of women with disabilities. This paper presents findings from 42 interviews with mothers who have physical and sensory impairments. I explore these women’s experiences with scientific motherhood, including their encounters with medical professionals, new genetics practices, and generalized expert advice. I illuminate a paradox imbedded in these mothers’ experiences. While mothers with physical and sensory impairments are made hyper-visible within medical institutions that view their disabilities through a deficiency lens, they are simultaneously rendered invisible by institutional practices and expert advice which assume mothers inhabit a narrow range of body types. This study contributes to a growing body of literature on the experiences of non-normative mothers.

Author

• Angela Frederick, University of Texas at El Paso