Abstract

This entry traces the evolution of feminist disability studies and critiques its early neglect of women with learning difficulties. It examines how institutionalization, community living, sexuality, parenthood, and experiences of violence have shaped the scholarship and activism in this area. Central to the discussion is the call for inclusive research practices, relational autonomy, and self-advocacy, foregrounding the epistemic authority of people with learning difficulties. This entry brings together historical analysis, international research, and lived experience to argue for a more expansive and participatory feminist disability studies, one that challenges cognitive ableism and fully includes the experiences and epistemologies of women with learning difficulties. In this entry, we use “people with learning difficulties” rather than “people with intellectual disability/learning disabilities” throughout, as there is no consensus and various activist and self-advocacy groups have expressed a preference for this terminology.