Stuck in the land of disability? The intersection of learning difficulties, class, gender and religion

Abstract

This article discusses the discrepancy between formal rights to full social inclusion and the lived experiences of young adults with learning difficulties. It draws on inclusive life history research in Iceland and employs intersectional theory to study the social participation of young adults with learning difficulties. In an attempt to understand the complex political, economic and ideological forces that hinder the actualisation of their formal rights the intersection of disability, class, gender and religion in the production and reproduction of existing social hierarchies is examined. The article demonstrates how the research collaborators resisted their devalued social construction and attempted to create and affirm themselves as competent social actors.

Keywords:

• intersectionality
• learning difficulties
• class
• gender
• religion

Acknowledgements

We thank James Rice for comments on drafts of the article and the Icelandic Graduate Research Fund (RANNIS), the University of Iceland Eimskip Fund and the Icelandic Ministry of Education, Science and Culture for supporting the doctoral research project. We also thank Dan Goodley, Ingólfur Á. Jóhannesson and Hanna Björg Sigurjónsdóttir for ongoing support.

Notes

1. In 2007 81% of Icelanders belonged to the Church of Iceland.

2. Iceland is a welfare state and social services can usually not be bought through private organisations.