World Wide Web Review
[From Feminist Collections, vol. 21, no.4 (Summer 2000)]
Women and Disability Websites
by Alexa Schriempf
Because this is a newly emergent field, there is relatively little on the topic in comparison to other subject areas. Searching for the intersection of women and disability on engines like Yahoo results in a disappointing list of random sites. I found more specific and detailed sites by starting with disability sites in general and navigating within them until I reached a subsite on women and disability. What follows are specific sites on women and disability, which I've grouped into "meta" and "basic" sites.
Women and Disability Metasites:
* Women With Disabilities Australia (WWDA)
Developed/maintained by: Carolyn Frohmader
Last updated: February 6, 2000
Date of review: February 17, 2000
This is an excellent site for women and disability information. It begins with a general contents page, with many links to Australian-relevant sites and resources. There are two key links which will be of most use to those looking for women-specific sites on disability. One, "Issues Facing Women with Disabilities," contains a list of links to Web-published papers and articles on women and disability, on a variety of topics ranging from health to parenting, sexuality, legal issues, and so on. Each topic includes several articles and additional recommended links to other Web resources that explore that topic, as well as a bibliography of relevant books and articles. The second useful link is the "Link to Other Sites" which pulls up "Internet Sites Dealing with Issues Facing Women With Disabilities" - a very extensive list divided into several categories: lesbians with disabilities, indigenous women, older women, legal rights, violence, technology, and books. These two globally oriented links will take you all over the world. WWDA is an excellent, comprehensive site that includes links to DAWN Canada and Queer Ladies, which are discussed below.
* Women and Disability Resources
URL: http://members.tripod.com/~Barbara_Robertson/Women.html
Developed/maintained by: Barbara Robertson
Last updated: September 28, 1999
Date of review: February 17, 2000
Another comprehensive site that might serve as a useful starting point for someone just becoming acquainted with the field is Barbara Robertson's. Academic in orientation, it is an ongoing attempt to organize online resources for disability research in the humanities. The site on Women and Disability is contained within her larger project on disability studies in general. Her reason for providing a women and disability site is because looking "at disability through the lens of a feminist, and at feminism from a disability perspective enriches both feminism and disability studies with fresh insights." She offers links to disability, women and sexuality, older women, African American women, lesbians, and abuse of women with disabilities. Though a very useful site, it is not quite as comprehensive as WWDA's. For example, WWDA provides a link to Robertson's site, but Robertson does not have a link back to WWDA.
* The DRM WebWatcher: Women with Disabilities
URL: http://www.disabilityresources.org/WOMEN.html
Developed/maintained by: Disability Resources, inc.
Last updated: November 15, 1999
Date of review: February 17, 2000
This is by far my favorite site for researching women and disability. It was developed and is maintained by Disability Resources, which provides an enormous and highly organized database of library resources, FAQ resources, regional information, parent and advocate information, and a "WebWatcher" search page. Navigating through the WebWatcher page, one can arrive at the Women with Disabilities page, which offers an organized list of about ten sites on just this subject area, including DAWN Canada and Barbara Robertson's site.
I find that I can reach all the websites on women and disability by using a combination of the three metasites above. The DRM WebWatcher is the most strategic for researching because of its level of organization, so I recommend it as the focal point for developing an understanding of the topic, then using Robertson's and WWDA's pages to supplement the research.
Basic Sites (all of these sites can be found by using the three metasites above)
Networking:
*(DAWN) DisAbled Women's Network: Ontario
Developed/maintained by: Not Available
Last updated: August 19, 1997
Date of review: February 17, 2000
This site is specific to disability and women in Canada, and is oriented towards providing women with disabilities with a network of contacts and communication. Contains a useful list of facts.
[URL updated Jan. 9, 2001.]* Dykes, Disability and Stuff
URL: http://tps.stdorg.wisc.edu/MGLRC/Groups/DykesDisabilitiesStuff.html
Developed/maintained by: Outreach
Last updated: January 2, 2000
Date of review: February 17, 2000
Provides information on subscribing to the journal of this name.
*Disabled Peoples' International: Women's Committee
URL: http://www.dpi.org/women.html
Developed/maintained by: Disabled Peoples' International
Last updated: NA
Date of review: February 17, 2000
Academic:
*Disability Studies in the Humanities: Georgetown Humanities Index
URL: http://www.georgetown.edu/crossroads/interests/ds-hum/index.html
Developed/maintained by: Crossroads Webstaff
Last updated: January, 2000
Date of review: February 17, 2000
A wonderful site for information on books and journal articles! Contains a list of syllabi used by professors teaching disability studies - with three syllabi specifically for women and disability and feminism. Also contains a bibliography of books on disability in general, organized into "general" and "literature."
*Disability and Literature, Disability and the Arts
URL: http://www2.h-net.msu.edu/~pcaaca/syll/dis.html
Developed and maintained by: Susan Koppelman
Last updated: ?
Date of review: April 3, 2000
A basic syllabus outline of course content.
* Disability-Research
URL: http://www.mailbase.ac.uk/lists/disability-research/
Developed/maintained by: Mailbase, University Computing Service, University of Newcastle
Last updated: NA
Date of review: February 17, 2000
Provides links to a search engine that researches the email archives of several lists. Also provides subscription info on lists that deal with disability.
* Society for Disability Studies
URL: http://members.tripod.com/disabilitystudies/
Developed/maintained by: Barbara Robertson, Debra Sheets
Last updated: May 31, 1999
Date of review: February 17, 2000
The homepage for the Society for Disability Studies, which seeks to promote academic and intellectual interest in the emerging interdisciplinary field of disability studies. Contains information on upcoming conferences, membership and subscription information to the society's journal.
News:
* Crip Commentary: Laura Hershey's Weekly Web Column
URL: http://www.cripcommentary.com
[URL updated 6/24/2002]
Developed/maintained by: Laura Hershey
Last updated: January 11, 2000 (weekly updates)
Date of review: February 17, 2000
This site is not geared towards women and disability - rather it is a weekly column on a disability topic in general.
Health
* National Women's Health Information Center: Women with Disabilities
URL: http://www.4women.gov/wwd/index.htm
Developed/maintained by: The National Women's Health Information Center
Last updated: NA
Date of review: February 17, 2000
Sexuality
* QueerLadies: A List for Queer Women with Disabilities of All Ages
URL: http://www.gimpgirl.com/lists/queerladies/
Developed/maintained by: Jen
Last updated: NA
Date of review: February 17, 2000
* Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, & Transgendered Disabled Veterans of America
URL: http://www.webring.org/cgi-bin/webring?ring=glbtveterans;list
Developed/maintained by: WebRing, Inc. and Yahoo!, Inc.
Last updated: NA
Date of review: February 17, 2000
Random
*Yahoo Sites
URL: http://dir.yahoo.com/Society_and_Culture/Disabilities/
Developed/maintained by: Yahoo, Inc.
Last updated: NA
Date of review: February 17, 2000
Disability in General:
* Disability Information for Students and Professionals
URL: http://www.abilityinfo.com
Developed/maintained by: Mike Peg
Last updated: November 1999?
Date of review: February 17, 2000
Offers a starting point, though rather dated and spotty in coverage.
[Alexa Schriempf is a doctoral student in philosophy at the University of Oregon and Managing Editor of Hypatia: A Journal of Feminist Philosophy.]
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