Belonging Otherwise: Autistic Mothers and the Feminist Politics of Home

Abstract

This essay uses a feminist lens to examine how home and belonging are produced, negotiated, and contested in the lived experiences of autistic mothers. Drawing on a synthesis of qualitative, participatory, and autistic-led research, the analysis foregrounds first-person accounts to redress epistemic injustice and decenter clinical and institutional framings. I build a tripartite framework—domestic home, institutional structures, and peer/digital communities—to trace three interrelated dynamics: (1) the ambivalence of the domestic sphere as both refuge and site of exclusion, shaped by spatial constraints, gendered expectations of maternal home-making, and unequal access to material supports; (2) intensified surveillance and governance in institutional contexts, where ableist and gendered norms produce moralizing scrutiny, service withdrawal, and a felt sense of non-belonging; and (3) the emergence of autistic-led peer networks and online forums as subaltern counterpublics that contest professional authority, redefine maternal competence, and co-construct alternative forms of belonging. An intersectional reading highlights how race, class, and socioeconomic disadvantage compound barriers across all arenas. By centering autistic mothers’ knowledge, the essay argues that maternal “success” and home belonging are socially and institutionally produced rather than intrinsic.