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Past Call for Papers

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Feminist Perspectives on Neurodiversity and Neuronormativity 

Webinar: 29 January 2021 

*** Submissions are closed now ***

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<< Find the programme here >>

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In recent years, there has been an exponential growth of intersectional theory, feminist and trans(feminist) activism, and an emerging field of neurodiversity studies. Neurodiversity is a social and political category that refers to neurodivergent people – i.e. dyslexics, ADHDers, dyspraxics, Tourette(r)s, dyscalculics and autistics – and neurotypical people. Rejecting the medical or individual model of disability, a neurodiversity perspective recognises that neurodiversity functions as an organising principle of society: ‘neuronormativity’ – i.e. norms of neurotypicality and neuroableism – structurally privileges neurotypical people and disadvantages neurodivergent people. At the same time, there is an increasing intersectional awareness of how neurodiversity – including both neurodivergence and neurotypicality – is marked by gender and cis-trans specificities and inequalities as well as by race, class, sexuality and, for instance, geopolitical location. This understanding, then, does not approach neurodiversity ‘neutrally’: its baseline is to support struggles against not only neuro-ableism (including saneism and ableism) and sexism and misogyny, but also anti-black and other forms of racism, Islamophobia, transphobia and trans-exclusion, classism, and sexuality-based oppression. However, there remains a gap in knowledge production about these complexities.

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As part of the webinar series Feminist Perspectives on Disability, the Feminist Studies Association and the Neurodiversity Reading Group London invite submissions to the webinar ‘Feminist Perspectives on Neurodiversity and Neuronormativity’. Submissions are invited to explore (1) feminist, queer, trans and, more generally, intersectional explorations of neurodiversity – e.g. of neurodiversity studies, the neurodiversity movement, neurotypicality, the conceptualisation of neurodiversity, of neuroableism and neuronorms, and of neurodivergent experiences and expressions as well as (2) neurodivergent understandings of feminist – queer, trans and, more generally, intersectional – theory, organising and living. Submissions can concern neurodiversity – both neurodivergence and neurotypicality – in general terms or discuss specific neurodivergent groups (e.g. dyspraxics, ADHDers, Tourette(r)s).

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Topics to be addressed might include, but are not limited by, the following:

• Gendered norms in the theorisation of neurodiversity

• Hegemonic cis/masculinity and the neurodiversity movement

• A feminist history of neuroableism

• The neurodiversification of intersectional theory

• Feminist Global South perspectives on understanding neurodiversity

• Queering neurodivergent time and space

• Neurodivergent female entrepreneurship

• A sensory exploration of gendered dance

• The whiteness of research on neurodivergent boys

• Decolonising the neuronormativity of Modern Man

• Neurodivergent mothering & mothering neurodivergence

• Gender, neurodiversity and social media activism

• The gendered neuroableism of linearity

• Intersectional neuronormativity in mental health therapy

• The pathologisation of neurodivergent women

• Transphobia in the name of protecting neurodivergent children

• Neurotypical cis/gender representations in literature

• Intersectional understandings of the criminalisation of neurodivergence

• The pedagogy of neuroableism and sexism

• Neurodiversifying feminist research methods

 

This is a neurodivergent-led webinar, and neurodivergent graduate students and scholars, neurodivergent activists and community-members, as well as others presenting from marginalised perspectives, are particularly encouraged to submit an abstract.

 

We accept live presentations as well as pre-recorded presentations (12-15min). For the purpose of making the webinar most accessible, you will be required to submit your presentation (pre-recorded or slides & transcript) two days before the webinar takes place. There will be an option to record your presentation so that it will be available online afterwards. After acceptance, you will receive guidelines on how to make your presentation most accessible. We will also adjust the organisation of the webinar as much as possible to your access needs.

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