Stuttering and social change: moving towards a critical disability studies approach in South Africa

Abstract

The past few decades have seen significant growth in the field of disability studies. Through the application of a disability studies framework, international and South African researchers have addressed and challenged the marginalization and discrimination of disabled individuals. However, the focus has primarily been on individuals who are physically disabled and not communication impairment such as stuttering. Stuttering has received limited attention within disability studies in South Africa. In this chapter, the authors use the key findings of the first author's doctoral study as a case study to discuss and describe the oppression and discrimination people who stutter commonly encounter at different levels of society (i.e., the family, religious communities, spaces of education and employment, and societal norms of South African masculinities). The authors proceed to discuss the implications of the study's findings for policy, legislation, and intervention in South Africa. The authors argue that the study of disability, including stuttering in South Africa, must be examined through an intersectional lens, and particularly in low-income and racialized communities. The authors specifically advocate for social change at different levels of South African society, which they argue is only possible through a critical disability studies agenda, as this approach not only removes focus and responsibility of stuttering from the person who stutters and places it onto societal systems and ideologies that oppress and discriminate against people in South Africa who stutter. It also gives attention to how disabling experiences intersect with identity markers, such as race, culture, religion, and gender.