The sexuality of people with disabilities is a subject that remains “taboo” in an age when the meaning of the word is constantly losing ground. Thirty years after the proclamation of International Day of Persons with Disabilities by the UN, general attitudes and perceptions around sex and disability fail to evolve, leaving many disabled individuals and their communities to grapple with unfathomable, complex and often life-defining issues.
Deficient access to sex education, to health and social services around reproductive rights and family planning, to sexual and domestic violence support programs, to sexual assistance initiatives, are only a few examples of the numerous barriers faced by disabled folks with regards to sexual citizenship.
This is generally explained by the exclusion of people with disabilities from normative definitions of beauty and sexuality, in addition to society’s pervasive devaluation of disability and cultural scripts that depict disabled people as “asexual beings”. The myths surrounding the sexuality of disabled people have a strong foothold in mainstream culture, wherein the dominant discourse on disability comes mainly from the medical profession, largely dominated by a white, heterosexual, and abled-bodied mindset.
Sexual identity is a basic human right and is recognized as a fundamental condition to healthy development. Rule 9.2 of the UN Standard Rules on the Equalization of Persons with Disabilities states they have a right to “…experience sexuality, have sexual relationships…information in accessible form on the sexual functioning of their bodies.”
And yet, the wide-spread discrimination and deep-rooted ableism faced by people with disabilities continue to exclude them in ways that deeply impact sexual identity. Sexual violence and abuse rates among women with disabilities are dramatically higher than of abled-bodied women. Lack of representation and misinformation in culture and media obscure, shame or vilify disabled bodies. As the American sociologist and disabled woman, Anne Finger explains:
“Sexuality is often the source of our deepest oppression; it is often the source of our deepest pain. It’s easier for us to talk about—and formulate strategies for changing—discrimination in employment, education and housing than to talk about our exclusion from sexuality and reproduction.”
Despite or perhaps indeed because of this visceral exclusion, many organizations and initiatives have pushed back against the resulting harmful stereotypes and devastating consequences. Whether through sex education initiatives targeting youngsters with disabilities, social media campaigns like #HotPersonInAwheelchair, countless articles and blogs, conferences and awareness campaigns, people with disabilities are (re)claiming their sexuality and redefining “sexy”.
The performing arts is one domain that is particularly active in pushing the boundaries of “conventional wisdom” found at the intersection of sexuality and disability. More and more disabled artists are finding their voice by exploring sex, sexuality and identity, increasingly through a Disability Justice lens.
An eloquent example of such work is Sins Invalid, “a disability justice-based performance project that incubates and celebrates artists with disabilities, centralizing artists of color and LGBTQ / gender-variant artists as communities who have been historically marginalized. Led by disabled people of color, Sins Invalid’s performance work explores the themes of sexuality, embodiment, and the disabled body, developing provocative work where paradigms of ‘normal’ and ‘sexy’ are challenged, offering instead a vision of beauty and sexuality inclusive of all bodies and communities.”
In honor of International Day of Persons with Disabilities, McGill University’s Equity Office is pleased to host an online film screening of Sins Invalid’s acclaimed short documentary “An Unashamed Claim to Beauty in the Face of Invisibility” (trailer), followed by a moderated panel discussion, featuring the Equity team’s Accessibility Advisor Catherine Roy, as well as Employment Equity Advisor Nelly Bassily and Senior Employment Equity Advisor Sara Pierre.
The film features performances by artists with disabilities, with a particular focus on queer, gender variant artists of color. By departing from the ableist frameworks of disability as undesirable and unspeakable and positioning performances that speak to the ‘sexiness’, desirability, and beauty of all bodies, especially those read as disabled, this 32-minute documentary maps a new landscape for narrating and representing disabled bodies/ minds informed by a Disability Justice lens.
Please join us Friday, December 9, 2022, at 2:00PM for a truly unapologetic ode to the disabled body in all its beautiful complexity, fragility, and grace.
For access to the zoom link or to let us know of any accommodation needs, please write to Nelly Bassily at nelly.bassily [at] mcgill.ca before Dec 7 at 5PM.
Note: This film contains graphic language and images that may not be suitable for all audiences.