Paper short abstract:

An autoethnographic reflection on using queer/disabled/feminist perspectives to make sense of ulcerative colitis and emergency stoma surgery. I analyse discourses of normality, coming out dynamics, and the notion of queer stoma pride in response to discourses of 'returning to normal' in stoma care.

Paper long abstract:

An autoethnographic reflection on using queer/disabled/feminist perspectives to make sense of ulcerative colitis (a form of inflammatory bowel disease) and emergency stoma surgery. Stoma surgery involves the removal of some or all of the colon, and sometimes also the rectum (‘barbie bum’ surgery), creating a stoma - the small intestine is diverted out a hole in the abdomen where a stoma bag is attached - temporarily or permanently.

In this paper I analyse discourses of normality around stoma care, putting my own experiences of getting emergency stoma surgery and its aftermath into conversation with queer/disabled/feminist perspectives (e.g. Cvetkovich, 2003; Kafer, 2013; Wilson, 2015; Slater, Jones and Procter, 2016). I consider how ideas of normality are used in discussions around stomas - mixing queerphobic and ableist ideas in an attempt to reassure distressed patients that they can 'return to normal' - alongside examining dynamics of ‘coming out’ as queer and disabled in different contexts. I propose queer stoma pride as a critical response to discourses of returning to normal within stoma care.

References:

Cvetkovich, A. (2003) An Archive of Feelings: Trauma, Sexuality, and Lesbian Public Cultures. London: Duke University Press.

Kafer, A. (2013) Feminist, Queer, Crip. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press.

Slater, J., Jones, C. and Procter, L. (2016) ‘School toilets: queer, disabled bodies and gendered lessons of embodiment’, Gender and Education, 30(8), pp. 951–965.

Wilson, E.A. (2015) Gut Feminism. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.