Disability, Sex, Relationships & Dating: Roundtable Discussion

Listen to "Disability, Sex, Relationships & Dating: Roundtable Discussion" on Spreaker.

It’s Sexual Health Week, and the theme this year is relationships, sex & disability! So, on this episode, Hannah’s sharing a Roundtable Discussion that she held last year where her, Nima Misra, Charlie Willis, Emily Yates & Jessica Kellgren-Fozard - who all have experience of disability - chatted about everything from the importance of having disability inclusive sex ed, to how disabled people are fetishized. They also talk about the preconceptions around disabled people & sex and the questions they’ve all been asked - including, “Can you even have sex?”

Read the episode transcript here!

SHOW NOTES

What we chat about…

Experiences of sex education growing up
How disabled people tend to be desexualised - “Can you even have sex?”- and also infantilised - “Is it okay I fancy you?”
Disabled people not being represented or included in sex education, and why we need disabled-inclusive sex education to support young disabled people from being abused
Experiences of being LGBTQ+ and disabled
Why does society seem to think disabled people only end up with disabled people?
Thinking an able-bodied person is a ‘saint’ just because they date a disabled person
Being a disabled person in a relationship with an non-disabled person & getting questions like “How does it work?”
Disabled people having ableist thoughts
When to disclose your disability when dating someone, and how to protect yourself in these situations
The difference in having a visible or invisible disability in terms of dating
Whether having a disability opens up communication more, particularly when it comes to sex and relationships
Nima’s experience of being on First Dates!
The adaptations each guest has made to having sex while managing their disability, such as crotchless underwear or adapting disability aids
Disabled friendly sex toys
Devotism - people who find disabled people and disability sexually arousing
The limitations in how we only see sex as penetration, and what we define as ‘normal’
How disability affects mental health, which in turn affects relationships
How relationships should be about being a team rather than about a negotiation
The trust a disabled person needs to have in their partner, both emotionally and physically
The importance of disabled people sharing their experiences