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Cognitive Ableism and Disability Studies: Feminist Reflections on the History of Mental Retardation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 March 2020

Licia Carlson
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Abstract

This paper examines five groups of women that were instrumental in the emergence of the category of “feeblemindedness” in the United States. It analyzes the dynamics of oppression and power relations in the following five groups of women: “feebleminded” women, institutional caregivers, mothers, researchers, and reformists. Ultimately, I argue that a feminist analysis of the history of mental retardation is necessary to serve as a guide for future feminist work on cognitive disability.

Type
Research Article
Information
Hypatia , Volume 16 , Issue 4: Special Issue: Feminism and Disability, Part 1 , Fall 2001 , pp. 124 - 146
Copyright
Copyright © 2001 by Hypatia, Inc.

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