Representations of Disability and the Interpersonal Relationships of Women with Disabilities

This paper explores the relation between societal representations of disability and the intimate relationships of women with disabilities. The study confirmed that views of people with disabilities as incompetent and helpless, intellectually challenged, super-capable and asexual, continue to influence the lives of women with disabilities. Most of these stereotypes were encountered by women with different types of disabilities, suggesting that these categories are fairly universally applied. With respect to intimate relationships, the women had had a wide variety of both positive and negative experiences. A common disability experience seemed to have an important positive influence on sustaining close intimate relationships. Relatedly, the lack of this similarity was, in many cases, perceived as a major impediment to relationships with the able-bodied.