Parents despite support networks? An intersectional analysis of disabled parenthood

Abstract This article uses an intersectional perspective that considers patriarchal and ableist mandates to understand how family and professional support networks impact the reproductive trajectories of disabled people. The study analyzes 16 semi‐structured interviews with disabled people and 1 with a non‐disabled support worker. Thematic analysis of the empirical material identifies two main themes. Firstly, supporting the desire to mother at the intersection. Participants critically reflect on the impact of their support networks as a condition of (im)possibility for the emergence of the desire for parenthood, highlighting that these networks can react negatively due to the intersection of systems of oppression, which requires participants’ emotional work. Secondly, negotiating care assemblages: claiming interdependence in parenthood. Participants who are parents actively negotiate the limits of the support provided by their interpersonal networks to sustain their parenthood. In this conflictive process, patriarchal and ableist mandates are both reproduced and subverted. In conclusion, the study suggests that there is a tension between the reproduction and subversion of ableist and patriarchal mandates in the support networks of disabled people.