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From Shameful and Monstrous Portrayal to Empowerment: A Feminist Disability Study on How Lauren's Hyperempathy and Juliette´s Deadly Touch Give a Nuanced Perspective on Gender-Based Opression in Parable of the Sower and Shatter Me
Södertörn University, Teacher Education.
2025 (English)Independent thesis Advanced level (degree of Master (Two Years)), 10 credits / 15 HE creditsStudent thesis
Abstract [en]

 This essay explores the intersection of disability and gender in Octavia E. Butler’s novel Parable of the Sower and Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi, with a focus on the female protagonists Lauren and Juliette. The essay examines how dystopian societies marginalize disabled women and how these women reclaim their autonomy through writing. This study argues that Lauren’s hyperempathy and Juliette’s deadly touch expose patriarchal and ableist systems’ oppression on the female body and the disabled body, ultimately revealing how they resist and reclaim their autonomy through writing. To analyze this, the essay uses feminist disability theory to explain how disability and gender intersect and contribute to the oppression Lauren and Juliette face. Hélène Cixous’ concept on écriture feminine is also used in the analysis to show how their writing becomes a tool of resistance and identity reclamation. Additionally, the essay uses Paulo Freire’s theory of critical literacy to argue that Parable of the Sower and Shatter Me hold significant pedagogical value, offering opportunities to foster students’ critical thinking and awareness of social injustices. By combining these theoretical frameworks, the findings show that Lauren and Juliette are rejected by society, not only because of their disabilities but also their gender. Their narratives show power dynamics where the men in their lives impose guilt and shame on them. The findings also highlight that writing is crucial for both female protagonists’ self-development, showing how they reclaim their voices, resist oppression and turn their disabilities into strengths through their personal writings. 

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2025. , p. 33
Keywords [en]
Ableism, gender-based oppression, dystopian literature, feminist dystopian literature, feminist disability study, critical literacy
National Category
Pedagogy Didactics
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:sh:diva-58711OAI: oai:DiVA.org:sh-58711DiVA, id: diva2:2023627
Subject / course
English
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Examiners
Available from: 2025-12-22 Created: 2025-12-19 Last updated: 2025-12-22Bibliographically approved

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CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

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Cite
Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
  • modern-language-association-8th-edition
  • vancouver
  • harvard-anglia-ruskin-university
  • apa-old-doi-prefix.csl
  • sodertorns-hogskola-harvard.csl
  • sodertorns-hogskola-oxford.csl
  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • de-DE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
  • fi-FI
  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
  • sv-SE
  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
  • html
  • text
  • asciidoc
  • rtf