Devoted: A Feminist Analysis of Disability Fetishism

by Philippa Willitts

Disabled women face double discrimination, and objectification by disability fetishists can tell us a lot about not just the sexualisation of women in mainstream society, but also what the attitudes of "devotees" can tell us about societal stereotypes of disability. This essay looks critically at devoteeism, while examining what these fetishes communicate about the oppressions faced by disabled people and women. Most analysis of this issue has come from either a feminist or a disability rights this book combines the two and scrutinises the issue of disability fetishism from the point of view of a feminist who is disabled. I have been concerned for some time about the existence of disability fetishists, also known as "devotees", but until recently I had no idea of the extent of some men's obsessions or the lengths to which they can go to fulfil their fantasies about disabled women. I wanted to look at this further, and found that although there were various articles written on the subject from a disability rights perspective, and from the fetishists' perspectives, there was very little written from a feminist perspective, especially by disabled feminists. I particularly wanted to look at the links between the objectification of disabled women by fetishists and the objectification of women in mainstream society, and to look at the extra issues around what the attitudes of disability fetishists say about societal stereotypes of disabled women. In this essay I discuss intrusive behaviour and actions on the part of fetishists, whether criticising disability fetishism is the same as saying that disabled people can't be sexually attractive, and what feminists and disability activists need to do to contribute to the liberation of disabled women.

34 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 10, 2013