Sitting Pretty: The View from My Ordinary Resilient Disabled Body

Feminism is a movement and ideology that advocates for equality between women and men. It emphasizes how society centers men and advocates for women’s rights. Intersectional feminism integrates perspectives regarding race, sexuality, class, ability, and other identifiers, acknowledging that different women do not necessarily experience the same discrimination. While intersectional feminism aims to include disability, Taussig does not see her identity represented in feminism; this was the case with the panel discussed in Chapter 6. Taussig notes that all women have bodies with limitations and that issues like violence against women, reproductive rights, and equal pay disproportionately impact those with disabilities.

Inclusion comprises practices or policies aimed at including those with disabilities in activities and roles similar to people without disabilities. This requires changing practices or policies to be more inclusive of people with disabilities in education, work, health care, and other areas of society. Taussig emphasizes inclusion in relation to media representation, feminism, and the world in general. For example, she notes Mindy Kaling’s film Late Night excludes characters with disability despite its focus on diversity. Overall, she argues inclusion is about more than people with disabilities and their accommodations: It’s about “more care and flexibility and access for every human body” (193).