To reclaim our own female bodies we need to recognize that we live in a patriarchal society that infringes on personal autonomy. Women who fail to meet physical standards and "functional independence not only are assumed biologically inferior, but they are also exposed to a stigma that depicts them as not quite human.,,⁴ Of course, as in other matters, men are not the only individuals inflicting their definitions of female images on women. Women-for this purpose, feminists-are often equally guilty of ignoring issues that do not pertain to them individually.

In the late 1960s, many women joined consciousness-raising groups and other political/lobbying groups. It was not until two decades later, though, that a group was formed to deal specifically with the issues surrounding women with disabilities: "In 1985, women with disabilities launched the DisAbled Women's Network (DAWN). Many had previously been involved in the disability rights community, chafing under the invisibility of gender, while others had struggled with accessibility in women's organizations. By the mid-1980s, the time had come to articulate a political position merging gender and disability, and DAWN was created.’’’⁵

The formation of DAWN was important for many reasons. The timing was significant because the number of women living in poverty in Canada increased between 1971 and 1986 by 110%. Men in poverty increased by only 24%.⁶ the number of women with disabilities living in poverty is not specified in this statistic; however, women with disabilities are, in general, susceptible to higher degrees of poverty, as well as to higher degrees of abuse and suicide.

"Less than Whole"

But the main point is that women with disabilities face at least dual discrimination: that is, being bath female and disabled (not to mention those who may also be of color, lesbian, single parents or poor). This is described by Saviola "as 'double jeopardy' since the stereotypes ascribed to both disabled people and women consist of passivity, dependence, helplessness, and failure. Disabled females may be considered members of a multiple minority group [and experience] discrimination and prejudicial attitudes from several groups simultaneously. They are the victims of a 'les than whole' attitude held by able-bodied women and men, as well as a 'sexist' attitude held by able-bodied persons, [and] also by disabled men in their own subculture.’’’⁷

In the past year, there has been much publicity with regard to the issue surrounding the "right to privacy" and whether or not social welfare recipients have any rights at all. The Toronto Star carried a full page and a half article devoted to the issue of political infringements on members of society; however, the paper failed to note that many welfare recipients are on assistance for medical reasons. The article reported that "Metro is exploring the possibility of fingerprinting welfare recipients in a bid to cut down on fraud. ... [Bruce Phillips asks] 'Do you want to live in a society where you have to carry around papers saying you are who you say you are; to be subject to [being stopped] on the street by every petty bureaucrat and official who wants to subject you to some form of an inspection process?’’’⁸

It is apparently not enough to feel "less than whole" (to use polite terms). Women with disabilities now face the possible degradation of having their whole personal lives on a public platform. The humiliation and disrespect that many women with disabilities deal with everyday are more than enough. The reason given for this privacy infringement is to cut down on fraud cases, but this is likely an excuse. The bottom line is, who are most effected by these new upcoming regulations? Women! Who will be most targeted? Women who are politically involved across the nation.

Is someone out there trying to ensure that women of any class, color or ability never gain equality? What assurance do we have that people with power won't abuse their positions to attack the weak, invade people's lives unnecessarily? What assurance do we have that these people won't physically and emotionally violate an individual belonging to any particular group or class? Individual people-let alone women with disabilities-have absolutely no assurance that they will be free of harassment from anyone, including the government.