DisAbility And Sex

This is a guest post by Rumbold, who blogs at Pickled Politics. It was originally posted at Pickled Politics today. Thanks to Rumbold.

In 2008 a survey came out claiming that 70% of people would never have sex with someone with disabilities. With that in mind, it is good to see that there is now starting to be much more discussion about the sexual needs (and requirements) of some people with disabilities:

[There is to be a] conference entitled “Disability: sex, relationships and pleasure”, which is being hosted by the Royal Society of Medicine in Central London. It aims to educate carers about the sexual needs of patients and to introduce disabled people to available support networks. It is backed by the Sexual Health and Disability Alliance (SHADA) and the Tender Loving Care Trust (TLC), which help to put disabled people in touch with appropriate sexual and therapeutic services, and offer confidential support and advice on sexual matters…

The TLC has helped hundreds of people with disabilities ranging from loss of limb to wasting diseases to learning difficulties. It has 55 sex workers registered on its site, all of whom have been vetted by the trust’s staff. The patients pay for the services themselves, although many sex workers offer a concession to disabled clients who genuinely cannot afford what they offer.

Hopefully the TLC has ensured that the sex workers are not in any way forced. And if it has, I don’t see anything wrong in this, especially given many people’s prejudices against finding disabled people attractive. No one is saying that people have to find all disabled people attractive, but to reject the possibility when there are so many different looking people out there is just bizarre.