Disability & Society Vol. 25, No. 1, January 2010, 49–62 ISSN 0968-7599 print/ISSN 1360-0508 online © 2010 Taylor & Francis DOI: 10.1080/09687590903363340 http://www.informaworld.com Stuck in the land of disability? The intersection of learning difficulties, class, gender and religion Kristín Björnsdóttir* and Rannveig Traustadóttir Centre for Disability Studies, School of Social Sciences, University of Iceland, 101 Reykjavík, Iceland Taylor and Francis CDSO_A_436512.sgm (Received 21 November 2008; final version received 24 February 2009) 10.1080/09687590903363340 Disability & Society 0968-7599 (print)/1360-0508 (online) Original Article 2009 Taylor & Francis 25 1 000000January 2010 KristínBjörnsdóttir krb4@hi.is This article discusses the discrepancy between formal rights to full social inclusion and the lived experiences of young adults with learning difficulties. It draws on inclusive life history research in Iceland and employs intersectional theory to study the social participation of young adults with learning difficulties. In an attempt to understand the complex political, economic and ideological forces that hinder the actualisation of their formal rights the intersection of disability, class, gender and religion in the production and reproduction of existing social hierarchies is examined. The article demonstrates how the research collaborators resisted their devalued social construction and attempted to create and affirm themselves as competent social actors. Keywords: intersectionality; learning difficulties; class; gender; religion Introduction Icelandic disability policy and legislation has emphasised social equality and partici- pation for the past 30 years. People with learning difficulties have been granted a formal right to participate in mainstream society through legislation and human rights resolutions and declarations. However, recent research within the field of disability studies in Iceland has shown that people with learning difficulties still face complex barriers when attempting to access mainstream society (Bjarnason 2004; Sigurjóns- dóttir and Traustadóttir 2001; Stefánsdóttir 2008). This article focuses on the social participation of young Icelandic adults with learning difficulties and how the interplay of disability, class, gender and religion affects their actualisation of the formal right to participation. We place the findings of the study in the context of feminist theory on intersectionality and argue that the individual deficit model of disability hinders the development of an understanding of the role of social and cultural institutions in creating, maintaining and legitimating discrimination against people with learning difficulties in Iceland. Intersectionality The idea of an intersectional theory was first introduced by the feminist scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw in the 1970s and she used it to map the intersection of race and *Corresponding author. E-mail: krb4@hi.is