“Shopping Is a Nightmare”: Physically Disabled Women's and Nonbinary People's Experiences of Shopping for and Choosing Clothes

Research on Disabled fashion has largely focused on adaptive clothing, limited research has explored physically Disabled women's experiences of shopping for and choosing clothing, and whether and how such experiences are part of their everyday encounters with ableism and hostile environments. The current study extends the small body of literature on this topic by qualitatively surveying 60 physically Disabled women and nonbinary people about their experiences of shopping for and choosing clothing. Participants were restricted and disabled by the built environment of towns, cities, and shops, the designed environment of shop interiors, the near environment of clothing, and the ableist perceptions and behaviours of others. The ways shopping experiences reinforced compulsory able-bodiedness left many participants feeling dehumanised. Participants also felt a profound sense of loss at having to prioritise the practicality of clothing over aesthetic preferences and identity expression.