The gendered costs of masking : lived experiences of a woman with invisible disabilities;




Casteleijn-Osorno, Regina

PublisherTaylor & Francis

2026

 Disability and Society

0968-7599

1360-0508

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1080/09687599.2026.2677508

https://doi.org/10.1080/09687599.2026.2677508

https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/526483577



Invisible disabilities often remain unrecognised until they disrupt normative expectations, placing women in a paradox where inclusion depends on performing normativity. This autoethnography examines the psycho-emotional costs of identity management as a neurodivergent mother, caregiver, and scholar. Guided by intersectional feminist disability frameworks, I analyse personal journals and reflections to foreground the lived realities of invisible disability. The analysis reveals four themes: Masking and Conformity; When Masking Fails; The Gendered Burden of Resilience; and The Sunflower Lanyard as a Scarlet Letter. Findings show that social participation for neurodivergent women is predicated on suppressing disability traits to meet gendered expectations. Furthermore, the study explores how tools like the Sunflower lanyard can fail without institutional training, potentially functioning as a marker of othering rather than a tool for relational care. This research advances scholarship by highlighting the precarious nature of conditional inclusion.




autoethnographyfeminist disability studies[endif]gendered masking[endif]invisible disabilitiespsycho-emotional disablism

Last updated on 12/06/2026 12:59:01 PM