“We Had More Eyes on Us Than the Boys”: Recollections of Girlhood at Residential Schools for the Blind

Abstract

This thesis explores experiences of girlhood within residential schools for the blind in North America. The analysis draws upon and contributes to theorizing in feminist disability studies and gendered embodiment in schooling and residential schools as social systems. It also offers insight into methodological approaches to conducting research with the blind and partially sighted community. Qualitative interviews with former female students illuminate how girls in these residential school settings experienced and navigated curriculum, space, informal/formal school rules and peer culture. The analysis focuses on gendered and sexualized inequalities as well as the agency of girls within in this particular educational context. Documenting the experiences of former female students of residential schools for the blind makes an important contribution to understanding the intersecting realities of girlhood and disability in an under - researched educational context, and points to the need for greater initiatives focused at addressing the inequalities that they encounter.