WOMEN AND DISABILITY: AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Preface
This extensive annotated bibliography is intended for those who are interested in learning about the lives of women and disability and the many related issues in today's society. The Center on Human Policy has in the past produced an information package concerning women with disabilities, Women with Disabilities: Issues, Resources, Connections, edited by Rannveig Traustadottir and revised in 1997 by Perri Harris. Now many more books, research articles and other many other types of resources, both in print and online, are now available concerning women and girls with disabilities.
As witnessed in our prior publications, the material available about women and disability reveals a continually growing body of literature and other resources that have expanded to different disciplines and parts of the world, but it is simply impossible to include everything. New resources become available quite regularly. In addition to introducing the lives and experiences of women with disabilities, a major purpose of this bibliography is to provide an overview of the now wide-ranging, existing materials and attempt to make them more accessible and make them available all in one place.
These writings continue to cross disciplines and are published within different fields of study. Included in this bibliography are resources on the continuing recognition of the role of women in the lives of people with disabilities, especially caregiving and women professionals, both with and without disabilities; thus the inclusive title of women and disability.
The Internet age brings these materials to by far a larger audience because people do not necessarily need to leave their homes or offices to find information. And unfortunately, many of the important preliminary sources identified in the early 1990s are no longer distributed, though some are still referenced frequently and, over time, newer resources are available sharing the philosophies and ideology that makes the information so important.
The topics covered in this extensive bibliography are broad, and since the information on women and disability has dramatically increased, these topics do overlap. Basic categories covered include education, employment, sexuality, health care and others. More focused categories include feminism, D/deaf women, diversity, international perspectives, literary & media analyses, and others.
For the most part, the annotations included in this bibliography are based on publishers’ descriptions for books or published abstracts for journal articles, but some resources has been reviewed and annotated. Within the topical categories, the bibliography is organized in standard APA style for ease.
The preparation of this bibliography was supported in part through a subcontract with the Research and Training Center on Community Living, University of Minnesota, supported by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR), through Contract No. H133B031116. Members of the Center are encouraged to express their opinions; however, these do not necessarily represent the official position of NIDRR and no endorsement should be inferred.
Finally, thanks to Mia Feldbaum, Beth Ferri, Perri Harris, Arlene Kanter, Zach Rossetti, Bonnie Shoultz, Steve Taylor, Rannveig Traustadottir, and Pam Walker for their individual contributions to this bibliography.
Rachael Zubal-Ruggieri
January, 2006