Embodied reflections of an able‐bodied disability scholar

Abstract

This piece is written in liaison with the "writing differently" movement aimed to counter common academic writing through a non-abstract, biographic, embodied account of 10 years as a female, able-bodied disability, and gender researcher. The tone of the article is intentionally kept simple, while its form resembles a memoir. One day, I started to think and type about the times my body felt out of place and many months later this resulted in a timeline of "my body estranged." I warn the reader in advance: there is nothing particularly shocking about these experiences: they are mostly ordinary and privileged. Anyone interested in the ordinariness of semi-dominant bodies might find the memories relatable. Looking back, one constant bodily ambivalence stands out: loud mind, lips sealed-an abundance of silence and an absence of speaking up. With this writing, I break the silence, in my own voice, a voice free of jargon and abstract vocabulary (Grey & Sinclair, 2006). A voice readable to a broad community and illustrated through ambivalent art work (Figure 1). 1

This piece is written in liaison with the "writing differently" movement aimed to counter common academic writing through a non-abstract, biographic, embodied account of 10 years as a female, able-bodied disability, and gender researcher. The tone of the article is intentionally kept simple, while its form resembles a memoir. One day, I started to think and type about the times my body felt out of place and many months later this resulted in a timeline of "my body estranged." I warn the reader in advance: there is nothing particularly shocking about these experiences: they are mostly ordinary and privileged. Anyone interested in the ordinariness of semi-dominant bodies might find the memories relatable. Looking back, one constant bodily ambivalence stands out: loud mind, lips sealed - an abundance of silence and an absence of speaking up. With this writing, I break the silence, in my own voice, a voice free of jargon and abstract vocabulary (Grey & Sinclair, 2006). A voice readable to a broad community and illustrated through ambivalent art work (Figure 1).(1)