This talk examines a site where gender expectations entangle with ablebodied supremacy: childhood development narratives. In her recent book, The Disabled Child, Amanda Apgar argues that narratives about raising children with disabilities bring into relief the social constructions of childhood and adulthood. Rather than biological life stages, childhood and adulthood are relational concepts that depend on and reproduce ability and disability in and through gender, race, and class.
Gender and Justice Speaker Series
The 2022-2023 Gender and Justice Speaker Series seeks to elevate those whose voices are urgently needed to help us consider our role in shaping family and community in our personal and political lives. This series provides space for scholars who think critically about bodily autonomy, relationships, and interconnectedness while promoting equity and justice in volatile political terrains. Our dialogues are aimed at acknowledging intersectional differences within kinship relations and working toward inclusive and radical affective care.
Presentations will be given on Fridays from 11:45am-1pm.
Growing Up Straight: Narratives of Childhood, Disabilities, and Hetero Futures
More information coming soon.
