Disability in Intersectionality and Vice Versa

This chapter maintains that a close look at disability can help us better understand the power and social structures of inequality and discrimination within the framework of the intersectional paradigm. Recognizing the radical diversity that disability entails can also make the intersectional paradigm useful for exploring intersecting disabilities. To be effective, researchers’ work in this area needs to be nuanced precisely. The term disability can denote either a social position or a socio-political identity, and it can also serve as a basis for entitlements, which means scholars must be clear about which meaning(s) they intend. It is also important to note that a context-sensitive approach to disability is crucial if we are to avoid essentializing. Furthermore, we must recognize that disability encompasses a radical diversity in human conditions and experiences, which may require scholars to specify which particular condition(s) or experience(s) they are including or excluding. The chapter maintains that the radical diversity approach better addresses the challenges that disability poses to the intersectional paradigm than the intra-categorical approach. The merits of the radical diversity approach derive from its ability to accommodate a category that has no unified core.