This thesis gives a comparative account of the history of organising among LGBTI disabled people in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. Taking an intersectional...Show moreThis thesis gives a comparative account of the history of organising among LGBTI disabled people in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. Taking an intersectional approach, this thesis sheds light on the experiences of those who were multiply-identified, and on the isolating impact that groups organised around one singular identity could have. Moreover, beyond addressing homophobia in disabled spaces and ableism in the lesbian and gay subculture, this thesis focuses on how disabled LGBTI people organised themselves as a response to these exclusions. Thus, based on archival and oral sources, this thesis shows how disabled LGBTI people navigated both LGBTI and disabled spheres, and how and why they created or used disabled LGBTI spheres and content. Additionally, this thesis analyses processes of positive identity formation and the use of emancipatory rhetoric in disabled lesbian and gay groups. These developments are discussed in relation to the national contexts these groups existed in, specifically with regards to the broader lesbian and gay movements, and the disability movements. Finally, this thesis takes into account implicit or explicit processes of inclusion and exclusion, with regards to transgender people, people of colour, and people with intellectual disabilities. The creation of implicit or explicit boundaries to group membership worked to create a normative identity within disabled lesbian and gay groups as well. This illustrates the importance of the intersectional approach taken in this thesis, which allows space for those identifying along other axes beyond disability and lesbian and gay subjectivities.Show less
In this thesis an analysis is made of the British parliamentary debates on European integration in the period from 1957 to 1975. This is done in order to better understand the role of identity...Show moreIn this thesis an analysis is made of the British parliamentary debates on European integration in the period from 1957 to 1975. This is done in order to better understand the role of identity narratives in political debates in general and specifically the role of conceptions of and narratives on British national identity in these parliamentary debates on European integration. During this period the United Kingdom first left the initiative to create an EEC, only to apply for membership three years later in 1961. After two failed applications the UK became a member state in 1973, which received direct popular support through the 1975 ‘in-or-out’-referendum after the Wilson government had renegotiated the terms. In this thesis it is argued that national identity narratives actively shaped political opinion in these years and thus the political process as well. Political, economic and other types of arguments were deliberately linked to and intertwined with identity narratives with the goal of generating political effect. By means of this research and its results this study seeks to add to the historiography on Britain and the European integration process, which had been lacking both in research focusing on political debate as well as in research on the role of identity narratives therein.Show less
The English scientist Francis Galton (1822-1911)coined the term eugenics in 1883 and first spoke of the concept in 1865. In this thesis it is researched how Galton's ideas about eugenics were...Show moreThe English scientist Francis Galton (1822-1911)coined the term eugenics in 1883 and first spoke of the concept in 1865. In this thesis it is researched how Galton's ideas about eugenics were formed and how his British contemporaries responded to these ideas. The thesis question thus is:‘what formed Galton’s ideas about eugenics, and how did his contemporaries in British society respond to his ideas?’ Influences from Galton's personal life led to his interest in eugenics. At first Galton's contemporaries did not see Galton's concept of eugenics as a practical possibility, but later in his life he did find people who continued his mission. There was also a lot of criticism of his ideas. This criticism was mainly directed at the morality of eugenics and Galton's neglect of the influence of nurture on the improvement of the human race.Show less
