ENVISIONING RESISTANCE THROUGH TRAUMA: EVALUATING THE INTERSECTIONALITY OF DISABILITY, GENDER, AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF AGENCY IN JUDITH ELLEN HEUMANN’S BEING HEUMANN: AN UNREPENTANT MEMOIR OF A DISABILITY RIGHTS ACTIVIST
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18357/ijcyfs171-2202622907Keywords:
ableism, disability, gender, intersectionality, resilience, traumaAbstract
The scholarly evaluation of Judith Heumann’s memoir Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist offers insights into an intricate intersection of overlapping identities that coalesce to shape Heumann’s overall self, providing insights into how experiences of disability marginalise and segregate disabled individuals on numerous fronts, such as gender, disability, sexism, and exclusion. Drawing on Crenshaw’s intersectionality, this study aims to examine how the author’s identity as a disabled person increases her challenges as she battles patriarchal notions and discriminatory ideologies and navigates non-inclusive ableist structures of society. Additionally, through Caruth’s trauma theory, the layers of trauma brought forth by the materialisation of such intersections can be unravelled into harrowing incidents of exclusion from public spaces, educational discrimination, inadequate medical facilities, and attitudinal hurdles like stigma. These exclusionary factors not only affect individual happiness but also impede the growth of society, accentuating the urgent need for inclusive surroundings and policies. Furthermore, Heumann’s memoir shows that her experiences of marginalisation were used as a catalyst for change, thereby transforming her experiences of trauma into a positive force that converted the trauma from a site of agony to a tool of positive change and reformation in society.
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