Stuttering at the Intersection of Gender and Culture: A Qualitative Study of Women's Lived Experiences

Background: Research on the experiences of women who stutter remains underrepresented in the stuttering literature, and these experiences are often interpreted through evidence based largely on predominantly male samples. Although emerging research suggests that gendered sociocultural expectations may shape how women experience stuttering, little is known about how these processes operate in Chinese contexts. Purpose: This qualitative study explored how Chinese women who stutter described their lived experiences of stuttering and in what ways gender and sociocultural context shaped those experiences. Method: Twelve adult Chinese women who stutter participated in individual semistructured interviews conducted online in Mandarin. Interview data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis, guided by an intersectional, gender-informed lens. Results: Participants described stuttering not only as a speech-related experience but also as a gendered and culturally situated condition. Their accounts showed how stuttering, gender, and culture intersected in the ways they participated socially and communicatively, navigated family and intimate relationships, imagined future family life, and reinterpreted stuttering and themselves. Conclusions: For these participants, stuttering was inseparable from the gendered social conditions in which it was lived. The meaning and lived impact of stuttering were shaped by culturally specific expectations surrounding women's speech, relationships, family roles, and selfhood, underscoring the need for more culturally responsive and gender-attentive research and clinical support.