Od redaktorów: W kierunku refleksyjności, inkluzyjności i różnorodności – znaczenie płci w studiach nad niepełnosprawnością
Towards Reflection, Inclusiveness, and Diversity: The Importance of Gender in Disability Studies

Summary/Abstract: The aim of the article is to introduce the subject of this special issue devoted to showing the meaning of gender, which – in relation to disability and other demographic and social factors – affects the constructed identities and fulfilled social roles of people with disabilities. This undertaking required demonstrating the methodological trends that are present in the tradition of research on disability, as well as following the research approaches that seem to predominate today. The analysis made it possible to notice a departure in recent decades from treating disability as the superior category that allows one to explain all the aspects of the functioning of people with disabilities. Such a category has been replaced by the perception of the mutual influence of various demographic and social factors determining the social situation of people with disabilities. This trend is noticeable in gender studies conducted as part of disability studies. They reject the essentialist approach and move towards constructivist and intersectional analyses. Such an attitude makes it possible to reveal the multidimensionality and complexity of the phenomenon of disability itself, which – in relation to a person – eludes the simple ‘able/disabled’ dichotomy.

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