| dc.description.abstract | Social stigma and discrimination pose significant challenges for people with disabilities, particularly for mother with disabilities. Society often doubts their competence and agency due to stereotypes that equate disability with powerlessness, a situation compounded by traditional gender constructs surrounding motherhood. This qualitative sociological research, employing a phenomenological approach, aims to uncover the strategies mothers with disabilities utilize to navigate stigma and societal skepticism regarding their maternal roles. The study applies Erving Goffman's theory of social stigma to analyze the forms of stigma experienced by the research subjects. The findings reveal that mothers with disabilities not only confront the challenges of inaccessible environments but also endure multiple, layered stigmas stemming from their intersecting identities as women, people with disabilities, and mothers. Adaptively, they develop creative coping mechanisms rooted in their lived experiences to manage the reality of this stigmatization. Key results indicate that the adaptive capacity of these mothers to face stigma is profoundly influenced by the presence of supporting figures involved in creating an inclusive environment, including husbands, family, children, communities or organizations, and other empathetic individuals. | en_US |
