Sobreviviendo Sin Sacrificando (Surviving without Sacrificing)– An intersectional DisCrit Testimonio from a tired mother-scholar of color

Abstract

ABSTRACT This paper is my testimonio of being a Latina mother-scholar trying to complete a doctorate while managing a chronic condition. I draw on intersectionality and DisCrit to share how my social identities influence my experiences with marginalization and oppression within a neoliberal university context. I highlight the ways in which my impairment was invisibilized and minimized as the normal fatigue associated with motherhood. I note the role Latino communities play in the marginalization of disabled Latinas via disability avoidance and the gendered socialization process that makes Latinas feel obligated to sacrifice for their families and others. This socially constructed narrative of sacrificio, when combined with ableism and the neoliberal university’s focus on productivity, makes it difficult to reveal and embrace an intersectional disability identity. I encourage scholars to consider the implications of this narrative, discussing how intersectionality and DisCrit can help them to (re)imagine knowledge production in the academy.