Corbett Joan O'Toole: Cutting Edge Women's Advocate

On December 4th, 2003, Corbett Joan O'Toole received a "Woman of Valor" award from the U.S. organization, Educational Equity Concepts, for her lifelong advocacy on behalf of women and girls with disabilities. Educational Equity Concepts, an organization committed to providing equality of opportunity in schools and afterschool settings starting in early childhood, honors individuals whose lives are dedicated to creating a more equitable society. Corbett was one of five awardees at a ceremony that took place at the United Nations. I had the great privilege of introducing Corbett, who has been my dear friend, colleague and mentor for several decades.

Corbett is a true woman of valor. She has devoted her life to breaking down barriers for women and girls with disabilities, and has taught countless disabled women worldwide, myself included, how to advocate, agitate and make trouble to bring about social change. Currently the director of the Disabled Women's Alliance, an international organization that focuses on networking and advocacy for women with disabilities, Corbett is one of the founding mothers of the national and international disabled women's movement. She has also been part of the living history of the disability movement in the United States, working on the staffs of the first Center for Independent Living (Berkeley) and the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, as well as other ground-breaking activities.

Corbett has been involved, sometimes single-handedly, in organizing countless landmark conferences that have made a difference in the lives of women and girls with disabilities. These have included the Disabled Women's Symposium, which preceded the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing (1995); International Conferences on Parents with Disabilities and Their Families (1997; 2002); Funding All Women: Including Women and Girls with Disabilities (1999); and the world's first conference on being Queer and Disabled (2002). She also organized a first-ever briefing for California state legislators on issues of girls and young women with disabilities, in collaboration with the Center for Women Policy Studies (2003).

Corbett's creativity extends into media and she has conceived, written and directed several short documentaries about disabled women's experiences with parenting, mentoring, relationships, abuse and violence. Interviews shot at some of the above conferences and the 1997 International Leadership Forum for Women with Disabilities have since been edited by Corbett into an educational package entitled "Workshop in a Box".

A prolific writer, Corbett's works appear in numerous books and such prestigious journals as Journal of Lesbian Studies, Peabody Journal of Education, Disability Studies Quarterly, and Disability World.

Corbett is also committed to strengthening bonds between the women's and disability communities, working, for example, with the Astraea Foundation, the San Francisco Women's Foundation, Women and Philanthropy and the Center for Women Policy Studies.

In addition to all these activities, Corbett is growing a young activist in her 11 year old daughter Meecha, who has been attending disabled women's conferences for virtually all of her life and is beginning to co-write articles with her mother.

The occasion of the "Woman of Valor" award provides those of us who know Corbett Joan O'Toole and have benefited from her wisdom with an opportunity to thank her for her lifetime of activism, her mentoring within and across generations and, most importantly, her refusal to be silent or silenced in the face of injustice.

Selected Publications by Corbett Joan O'Toole
Online
O'Toole, C. J. (2002) Report on International Conference on Parents with Disabilities & Their Families. Disability World, Issue no. 16 November-December www.disabilityworld.org/04-05_02/news/families.shtml

O'Toole, C.J. (2002) Spotlight Shines on U.S. Women With Disabilities. Disability World, Issue no. 16 November-December 2
http://www.disabilityworld.org/11-12_02/women/spotlight.shtml

O'Toole, C. J. (2000) Women: Disabled Women And Independent Living in Brazil, Germany, Great Britain, India, Japan, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Russia, South Africa and Uganda. Disability World, August-September 2000, Issue No. 4
http://www.disabilityworld.org/Aug-Sept2000/Women/MIUSA.htm

In Print (Note: both O'Toole, C. J., and Corbett, K. are the same author)
O'Toole, C. J. (forthcoming Fall 2003) The Sexist Inheritance of the Disability Movement. Gendering Disability. Rutgers University Press, NJ. (earlier version is available at http://www.disabledwomen.net/rutgers/index.htm)

O'Toole, C. J., D'aoust, V., & Brown, A. A. (In press). Disabled Lesbian Health: Ideas for providing inclusive care. In Welner, S. & Haseltine, F. (Eds.) Women with Disabilities: A Comprehensive Guide to Care. Philadelphia: Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins Publishers.

O'Toole, C. & Brown, A. (2003) No Reflection in the Mirror: Challenges for Disabled Lesbians Accessing Mental Health Services. Journal of Lesbian Studies, Vol 7, No. 1, 35-49. [co-indexed as: Mental Health Issues for Sexual Minority Women: Redefining Women's Mental Health. (Ed. Tonda L. Hughes, Carrol Smith, and Alice Dan). Harrington Park Press, an imprint of The Haworth Press, Inc. 2003, pp. 35-49]

O'Toole, C. J. (2002) Sex, disability and motherhood: Access to sexuality for disabled mothers. Disability Studies Quarterly, Fall 2002, 22(4), 81-101. http://www.cds.hawaii.edu/DSQ/issues/page02.asp?dsqID=9

O'Toole, C. J., Doe, T. (2002) Sexuality and Disabled Parents with Disabled Children. Sexuality and Disability. Spring 2002, 20(1), 89-102.

O'Toole, C. J. (2000) The View From Below: Developing a Knowledge Base about an Unknown Population. Sexuality and Disability, 18(3), 207-224.

O'Toole, C. J., D'aoust, V. (2000) Fit for Motherhood: Towards a Recognition of Multiplicity in Disabled Lesbian Mothers. Disability Studies Quarterly, Spring 2000, 20(2), 145-154.

O'Toole, C. J. (1999). A Child of Two Countries. In M. Wates and R. Jade (Eds.) Bigger than the Sky: Disabled Women on Mothering. London: The Women's Press.

O'Toole, C. J., Sygall, S., Lewis, C. (1997). Integrating People with Disabilities into International Exchange Programs, 3rd Edition (1997). Eugene, OR: MIUSA.

O'Toole, C. J. (1996). Disabled Lesbians: Challenging Monocultural Constructs. In Knotoski, Nosek & Turk (Eds.) Women with Physical Disabilities. London:Paul Brookes Publishing.

O'Toole, C. J. & Bregante, J. L. (1993a). Disabled lesbians. In M. Nagler (Ed.) Perspectives on Disability (2nd ed). Palo Alto, CA: Health Markets Research.

O'Toole, C. J. & Bregante, J. L. (1993b). Disabled women: The undiscovered sisterhood. Paper presented at the Fifth International Interdisciplinary Congress on Women, San Jose, Costa Rica, February 22-25, 1993.

O'Toole, C. J. & Bregante, J. (1992a). Disabled women: The myth of the asexual female. In S. Klein (Ed.) Sex equity and sexuality in education. Albany, NY: SUNY Albany Press.

O'Toole, C. J. & Bregante, J. L. (1992b). Lesbians with disabilities. Sexuality and Disability, 10(3).

O'Toole, C.J. & Ross, P.(1992c). A new vision of diversity. Women and Foundations/Corporate Philanthropy News, 15 (1), Spring 1992.

O'Toole, C.J. & Martinez, K.(1991) Disabled Women of Color. New Directions for Women, 20(1)

O'Toole, C. J. (1990). Violence and sexual assault plague many disabled women. New Directions for Women, 19(1)

Corbett, K. (1987). The Role of Sexuality and Sex Equity in the Education of Disabled Women. Peabody Journal of Education. Vol. 64, No. 4, Summer 1987.

Corbett, K., & Froschl, M. (1983) Access to the future: Serving disabled young women. In S. Davidson (Ed.) The second mile: Contemporary approaches in counseling young women. Tucson, AZ: New Directions for Young Women.

Corbett, K., Cupolo, A., & Lewis, V. (1982). No more stares. Berkeley, CA: Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, Inc.

Corbett, K., Lea, S., & Zones, J.S. (1981). Equity issues in special education. Berkeley, CA: Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund.

O'Toole, C. J. 1979). Disabled women: The case of the missing role model. The Independent, 2 (1)

O'Toole, C. J. & Weeks, C. (1978). What happens after school? A study of disabled women and education. San Francisco: Women's Educational Equity Communications Network.

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