“Existence is Resistance!”: Queer and Disabled people Negotiating Socially Contradicting Identities

This talk will highlight how, and in what ways, do people who identify as both LGBTQ+ and disabled negotiate these often socially contradicting identities. There is a long history of medicalizing and describing queer identities and practices as disability/illness while the gender and sexuality of people with bodily and mental differences have been denied and pathologize. By drawing on multiple original research projects I examine the experiences of queer disabled people; experiences that are often contested and silenced. I describe the importance and implications of such an exploration for the disciplines of Sociology, Gender and Sexuality studies, and Disability studies.