In this example, the other professor was speaking from a space of invulnerability. Price situates spaces of invulnerability as an experience of spacetime, within a pluriversal politic, where an individual does not expect their actions - in this case, the sexist and ableist remarks - to have consequences. 

University of Wisconsin - Madison

Zoe, a disabled queer and Chicanx untenured faculty member, realized in their first year as a professor that one individual in their department made really sexist and ableist remarks about the medieval women they were both studying. Zoe reported these comments to the department chair who, alongside other faculty members, started suggesting Zoe may be the problem or that Zoe may be paranoid. This constant danger of blowing things out of proportion induced a constant process of self-checking to make sure they hadn’t blown things out of proportion. In the case of Zoe the ambient uncertainty of being seen as blowing things out of proportion induced this harmful behavior of self checking.

Example: Zoe and Ambient Harm

Price, M. (2024). Crip Spacetime. Duke University Press.

Crip Spacetime

Space of Invulnerability

In this example, Price discusses that Zoe’s family history of mental health diagnoses and being labeled as Mad and their history of discussing their own disabilities at work with colleagues, including the one who made the remarks, haunt Zoe through Zoe questioning their own affective responses and whether they should have disclosed their disabilities to their colleague. 

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