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Drawing on theory and empirical research, this book provides an analysis of the intersections between LGBTQ+ identification and chronic illness. Chapters focus on the theoretical meaning of chronic illness as a queer notion, as well as the lived experiences of chronically ill LGBTQ+ people. The author analyzes chronic illness as an experience that interrogates the normative notions of time, (in)visibility, and disability. Interweaving notions of heteronormativity and able-bodiedness as interwoven and mutually dependent, this book argues that the experience of chronic illness through LGBTQ+ embodiment presents the potential to imagine bodies differently.This book will be useful for scholars and students in Disability Studies, Queer Studies, and Gender Studies.
List of contents
1. Introduction.- 2. A Queer-Crip Perspective on Chronic Illness.- 3. LGBTQ+ Rights and Access to Healthcare in Italy and Portugal.- 4. Intimacy and Sexuality: Weaving Significant Relationships.- 5. Negotiating Care Between Silences, (In)Visibility, and Disobedience.- 6. Precarious Lives. Navigating Through Work, Public Spaces, and Activism.- 7. The Emergence of the Chroniqueers.
About the author
Mara Pieri is a researcher at the Centre for Social Studies, University of Coimbra, Portugal, and holds a PhD in 'Human Rights in Contemporary Societies.' She works on critical disabilities studies and queer studies, and her research interests include supercrips; medicalisation; chronic illness and invisible disabilities; accessibility; sexualities in Southern Europe; and LGBTQ+ health.
Report
"This book brings us closer to its emergence by cripping and queering both temporalities and methodologies, and it does so in an informative and sensitive manner. ... LGBTQ+ People With Chronic Illness is perhaps the paint on that crutch, something that does not directly solve the problem, but relieves the pain that comes with it. It is a gift to research, rendering any future work ... ." (Christina Maraboutaki, European Journal of Women's Studies, November 15, 2023)
"Pieri's book is exemplary in demonstrating how social scientific data collection can be guided by critical theory and principles. Her engagement with both crip studies and queer theory aids in building disciplinary connections, and as such, facilitates valuable scholarly dialogue to further add to crip-queer theorizations. Her book serves as an exciting contribution to both crip and queer theory, and encourages scholars toconsider the potential for a politicized chroniqueer identity in the future." (Emily Mendelson, The Polyphony, thepolyphony.org, April 28, 2023)
"Mari Pieri successfully delivers an informative and humanising tone throughout the entire work. ... In all, Mari Pieri successfully compiles shared experience across different countries and gives a much needed platform for LGBTQ+ people with chronic illness to be heard. She both manages to give cultural context and present similarities in voices across different backgrounds to challenge stereotypes and misconceptions that remain pervasive across Western society today." (Sophie Litherland, Inclusive Research Collective, inclusiverc.com, January 31, 2023)
