Skip to main content
Disciplines
Automotive Business IT + Informatics Construction + Real Estate Electrical Engineering + Electronics Energy + Sustainability Insurance + Risk Finance + Banking Management + Leadership Marketing + Sales Mechanical Engineering + Materials
Events
DE
EN
Books
Journals
Topic Page
Marketing
Start single access now
Access for companies
EXTENDED SEARCH
Log in
Top
Sexuality Research and Social Policy
Published in: Sexuality Research and Social Policy 4/2017

02-11-2016

We are Not Asexual Beings: Disabled Women in Zimbabwe Talk About Their Active Sexuality

Authors: Christine Peta, Judith McKenzie, Harsha Kathard, Adelene Africa

Published in: Sexuality Research and Social Policy | Issue 4/2017

Log in

Activate our intelligent search to find suitable subject content or patents.

search-config
loading …

Abstract

This paper illuminates the experiences of sexuality of disabled women in Zimbabwe, from a standpoint where the women challenge the myth that they are asexual beings. Sixteen women with disabilities participated in this study and a number of themes emerged from an analysis of their narratives. A discussion of all the themes that emerged in the broad study is beyond the scope of this article; hence, in this paper, we focus on four themes that illuminate the active sexuality of participants: (1) dynamic engagement in intimate partner relationships, (2) drawing feminine strategic power from cultural practices of sexual initiation, (3) enhancing eroticism through vaginal modification, and (4) reproduction and motherhood. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that while disabled women may acknowledge the oppression they perceive as being characteristic of their experiences of sexuality, they are not passive recipients of disability and sexuality stereotypes. Disabled women construct their own understanding of what it means to be sexual and they assert their sexuality in ways that challenge the dominant, restrictive, and ableist constructions of sexuality. The themes that we discuss in this article highlight the intersectional nature of the experiences of sexuality of participants within a critical feminist disability studies theoretical framework.
previous article The Sexual Health Knowledge of People with Intellectual Disabilities: a Review
next article A Qualitative Exploration of Teacher and School Staff Experiences when Teaching Sexuality Education Programmes at Special Needs Schools in South Africa

Dont have a licence yet? Then find out more about our products and how to get one now:

Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik"

Online-Abonnement

Mit Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" erhalten Sie Zugriff auf:

  • über 102.000 Bücher
  • über 537 Zeitschriften

aus folgenden Fachgebieten:

  • Automobil + Motoren
  • Bauwesen + Immobilien
  • Business IT + Informatik
  • Elektrotechnik + Elektronik
  • Energie + Nachhaltigkeit
  • Finance + Banking
  • Management + Führung
  • Marketing + Vertrieb
  • Maschinenbau + Werkstoffe
  • Versicherung + Risiko

Jetzt Wissensvorsprung sichern!

inform now

Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"

Online-Abonnement

Mit Springer Professional "Wirtschaft" erhalten Sie Zugriff auf:

  • über 67.000 Bücher
  • über 340 Zeitschriften

aus folgenden Fachgebieten:

  • Bauwesen + Immobilien
  • Business IT + Informatik
  • Finance + Banking
  • Management + Führung
  • Marketing + Vertrieb
  • Versicherung + Risiko




Jetzt Wissensvorsprung sichern!

inform now
Literature
Abu-Habib, L. (1997). Gender and disability: women’s experiences in the Middle East. London: Oxfam.CrossRef
Agersnap, J., Bentzon, A. W., Hellum, A., Stewart, J., & Ncube, W. (1998). Pursuing grounded theory in law. South-north experiences in developing women’s law. Harare: Mond Books.
Albrecht, G. L., Seelman, K. D., & Bury, M. (2001). Handbook of disability studies. California: Sage Publications Limited.
Andrews, G., & Studd, J. (2005). Women’s sexual health. Philadelphia: Elsevier Limited.
Asch, A., & Fine, M. (1997). Nurturance, sexuality, and women with disability: The example of women and literature. In L. J. Davis (Ed.), The disability studies reader (pp. 241–259). London: Routledge.
Bagnol, B., & Mariano, E. (2008a). Vaginal practices: eroticism and implications for women’s health and condom use in Mozambique. Culture, Health and Sexuality: An International Journal for Research, Intervention and Care, 10(6), 573–585. doi:10.​1080/​1369105080199907​1.CrossRef
Banks, M. E. (2003). Preface. In M. E. Banks & E. Kaschak (Eds.), Women with visible and invisible disabilities, multiple Intersections, multiple issues, multiple therapies. pp. xxi-xxxix). New York: The Haworth Press.
Basson, R. (1998). Sexual health of women with disabilities. CMAJ: Canadian Medical Association Journal, 15(4), 359.
Boylan, E. (1991). Women and disability. London: Zed Books.
Burck, D. J. (1989). KuomaRupandi (the parts are dry): Ideas and practices concerning disability and rehabilitation in a shona ward. Leiden: African Studies Centre.
Creswell, J. W. (2000). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods approaches. California: Sage Publications Limited.
Erevelles, N., & Mutua, K. (2005). ‘I am a woman now!’: Rewriting cartographies of girlhood from the critical standpoint of disability. In P. J. Betts & N. G. Adams (Eds.), Geographies of girlhood: Identities in-between (pp. 253–269). New York: Routledge.
Fine, M., & Asch, A. (1985). Disabled women: Sexism without the pedestal. In M. J. Deegan & N. A. Brooks (Eds.), Women and disability: The double handicap (pp. 6–22). New Brunswick: Transaction Inc.
Garland-Thomson, R. (1997). Extraordinary bodies: Figuring physical disability in American culture and literature. New York: Columbia University Press.
Ghai, A. (2014). Guest editorial: Human security, social cohesion, and disability. Review of Disability studies: An International Journal, 5(3).
Government of Zimbabwe. (2013). Constitution of Zimbabwe, amendment (No. 20) Act (2013). Harare: Fidelity Printers and Refiners.
Hall, K. Q. (2011). Reimagining disability and gender through feminist studies: An introduction. In K. Q. Hall (Ed.), Feminist disability studies (pp.1-10). Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Hammell, K. W. (2006). Perspectives on disability and rehabilitation: Contesting assumptions; challenging practice. Edinburgh: Elsevier Health Sciences.
Harris, A., & Enfield, S. (2003). Disability, equality and human rights, a training manual for development and humanitarian organisations. London: Oxfam Publications in association with Action on Disability and Development.CrossRef
Kassa, T. A., Luck, T., Birru, S. K., & Riedel-Heller, S. G. (2014). Sexuality and sexual reproductive health of disabled young people in Ethiopia. Sexually Transmitted Diseases, 41(10), 583–588.CrossRefPubMed
Lacey, A., & Luff, D. (2007). Qualitative research analysis. Midlands/Yorkshire and the Humber: The NIHR RDS for the East Midlands.
Makinwa-Adebusoye, P., & Tiemoko, R. (2007). Introduction: Healthy sexuality discourses in east, west, north and southern Africa. In E. Maticka-Tyndale, R. Tiemoko, & P. Makinwa-Adebusoye (Eds.), Human sexuality in Africa: Beyond reproduction (pp. 1-16). Auckland Park: Africa Fanele – an imprint of Jacana Media (Pty) Ltd.
Malmberg, D. (2009). Bodynormativity—reading representations of disabled female bodies. In J. Bromseth, L. F. Kall, & K. Mattson (Eds.), Body claims (pp.58-83). Uppsala: University Printers.
Mgwili, V. N., Watermeyer, B., Watermeyer, B., Swartz, L., & Lorenzo, T. (2006). Physically disabled women and discrimination in reproductive health care: Psychoanalytic reflections’. In B. Watermeyer, L. Swartz, T. Lorenzo, M. Schreider, & M. Priestly (Eds.), Disability and social change: A South African agenda (pp. 261-272). Cape Town: HSRC Press.
Mirfin-Veitch, B. (2003). Relationships and Adults with an Intellectual Disability: Review of Literature Prepared for the National Advisory Committee on Health and Disability to Inform Its Project on Services for Adults with an Intellectual Disability. National Advisory Committee on Health and Disability, Donald Bealey Institute.
Mpofu, E., & Harley, D. A. (2002). Disability and rehabilitation in Zimbabwe: Lessons and implications for rehabilitation practice in the US. Journal of Rehabilitation, 68(4), 26–33.
Neyer, G., & Bernardi, L. (2011). Feminist perspectives on motherhood and reproduction. Historical Social Research/Historische Sozialforschung, 36(2), 162–176.
Peta, C., McKenzie, J., & Kathard, H. (2015). Voices from the periphery: A narrative study of the experiences of sexuality of disabled women in Zimbabwe. Agenda, 29(2), 66–76.
Price, J. (2011). The seeds of a movement: Disabled women and their struggle to organize. In S. Batliwala (Ed.), Changing their world (2nd ed.). Toronto: Association for Women’s Rights in Development.
Sanderson, S.K. (2003). The sociology of human sexuality: A Darwinian alternative to social constructionism and postmodernism. Atlanta Georgia: Paper presented at the annual meetings of the American Sociological Association.
Shakespeare, T. (2006). The social model of disability (4th ed.). In L. J. Davis (Ed.), The disability studies reader (pp. 214–221). New York: Routledge.
Shakespeare, T. (2013). Disability rights and wrongs revisited. New York: Routledge.
Skeggs, B. (1997). Formations of class and gender. London: Sage Publications Limited.
Staples, R. (2006). Exploring black sexuality. Maryland: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Tamale, S. (2005). Eroticism, sensuality and “women’s secrets” among the Baganda: A critical analysis: Feminist Africa Sexual Cultures. (5);9-35.
Tamale, S. (2011). African sexualities: A reader. Oxford: Pambazuka Press.
Tjaden, P. G., & Thoennes, N. (2006). Extent, nature, and consequences of rape victimization: Findings from the national violence against women survey. Washington, DC: US Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, National Institute of Justice.
Wengraf, T. (2001). Qualitative research interviewing. Thousand Oaks: Sage.CrossRef
Wilkerson, A. (2011). Disability, sex, radicalism and political agency. In K. Hal (Ed.), Feminist disability studies. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Williams, J. (1969). Labial elongation in the Shona Women. Central African Journal of Medicine, 5(17), 165–166.
World Health Organisation. (2006). Defining sexual health: Report of a technical consultation on sexual health. Geneva: World Health Organisation.
Zinanga, E. (1996). Sexuality, identity and change. Southern Africa Feminist Review, 2(1), 3–6.
Metadata
Title
We are Not Asexual Beings: Disabled Women in Zimbabwe Talk About Their Active Sexuality
Authors
Christine Peta
Judith McKenzie
Harsha Kathard
Adelene Africa
Publication date
02-11-2016
Publisher
Springer US
Published in
Sexuality Research and Social Policy / Issue 4/2017
Print ISSN: 1868-9884
Electronic ISSN: 1553-6610
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s13178-016-0266-5

Other articles of this Issue 4/2017

Sexuality Research and Social Policy 4/2017 Go to the issue

OriginalPaper

Sex Work Realities Versus Government Policies: Meanings of Anti-trafficking Initiatives for Sex Workers in the Netherlands

OriginalPaper

Confessional Technologies and the Will to Disclose: Mobilizing Emotions and Lived Experience in AIDS Service Organizations in Canada

OriginalPaper

Sociodemographic and Psychosexual Characteristics of Students from a Spanish University Who Engage in Casual Sex

OriginalPaper

Adopting a Multilevel Approach to Protecting Residents’ Rights to Sexuality in the Long-Term Care Environment: Policies, Staff Training, and Response Strategies

OriginalPaper

The Sexual Health Knowledge of People with Intellectual Disabilities: a Review

OriginalPaper

A Qualitative Exploration of Teacher and School Staff Experiences when Teaching Sexuality Education Programmes at Special Needs Schools in South Africa