Unspoken and unthinkable: The older disabled body in judicial discourse

Pritchard-Jones

doi:10.1016/j.ijlp.2019.101525

Unspoken and unthinkable: The older disabled body in judicial discourse

Pritchard-Jones

Authors

Laura Pritchard-Jones l.g.pritchard-jones@keele.ac.uk

Abstract

While much has been said about gendered bodies in legal discourse, as yet relatively little has been written about older bodies. This is surprising given the fact older people are statistically far more likely to be the subjects of certain areas of law which constrain and regulate bodily autonomy, such as mental health and capacity law. This paper uses discourse analysis to understand the way in which older disabled bodies appear in judicial discourse. It is argued that these bodies are often understood as abject, which in turn is used to legitimize certain problematic legal interventions.

Acceptance Date	Nov 22, 2019
Publication Date	Dec 23, 2019
Journal	International Journal of Law and Psychiatry
Print ISSN	0160-2527
Publisher	Elsevier
Pages	101525 - 101525
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijlp.2019.101525
Keywords	Abjection; AgeingBodies; Discourse analysis; Old age; Mental capacity
Publisher URL	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijlp.2019.101525