Abstract

Saving Delaney is one of a number of “special needs” parent memoirs published in the United States since 2000 and is the only memoir about raising a disabled child in the United States written by lesbian parents. Like many representations of disability, “special needs” parent memoirs use a problematic narrative in which the presumed negative effects of disability are individually overcome before life lived happily ever after. Also like popular and positive representations of disability, the children subjects of “special needs” parent memoirs are almost entirely white. In this paper, I contextualize Saving Delaney within histories of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) family-making in the United States, drawing particular attention to the overrepresentation of children with disabilities among gay and lesbian adoptive parent households. Then, drawing attention to the overwhelming whiteness of both positive portrayals of children with disabilities in “special needs” parent memoirs and LGBT families in scholarship, data, and media, I argue that white privilege facilitates visibility and protection against disability stigmas. I demonstrate that LGBT family-making and caring for children with disabilities cohere as issues of comprehensive reproductive justice and that narratives like Delaney’s fail to advance the reproductive justice movement due to reiterative entrenchment in the material and discursive privileges of whiteness.

摘要

《拯救德莱尼》是自 2000 年以来在美国出版的多本“特殊需要”父母回忆录之一，也是美国唯一一部由女同性恋父母撰写的关于抚养残疾儿童的回忆录。像许多残疾的表现一样，“特殊需要”的父母回忆录使用了一种有问题的叙述，其中假设的残疾负面影响在从此过上幸福的生活之前被个人克服。与残疾的流行和积极表现一样，“特殊需要”父母回忆录的儿童主题几乎完全是白人。在本文中，我将《拯救德莱尼》置于美国女同性恋、男同性恋、双性恋和跨性别 (LGBT) 家庭建设的历史背景中，特别引起了对同性恋养父母家庭中残疾儿童人数过多的关注。然后，提请注意“特殊需要”父母回忆录中对残疾儿童的正面描绘以及奖学金、数据和媒体中对 LGBT 家庭的压倒性白人形象，我认为白人特权有助于提高知名度和保护免受残疾耻辱。我证明 LGBT 家庭和残疾儿童的照顾作为全面的生殖正义问题凝聚在一起，并且像德莱尼这样的叙述由于反复巩固白人的物质和话语特权而未能推进生殖正义运动。我认为白人特权有助于提高知名度和保护免受残疾耻辱。我证明，LGBT家庭的建立和照料残疾儿童是全面生殖正义的问题，而诸如德莱尼（Daraney）之类的叙述由于白人的物质和话语特权的反复根深蒂固而未能推动生殖正义运动。我认为白人特权有助于提高知名度和保护免受残疾耻辱。我证明，LGBT家庭的建立和照料残疾儿童是全面生殖正义的问题，而诸如德莱尼（Daraney）之类的叙述由于白人的物质和话语特权的反复根深蒂固而未能推动生殖正义运动。