Sex And Disability: Starting the Conversation, Finding the Resources

Here at Scarleteen we view being a sexual person and having a disability, or two or three, as just as normal as any other human variation.

We also know, though, that there isn’t a lot of disability-positive material out there, and even less material related to sex ed.

As an educator and advocate of healthy sexuality, who also has some disabilities, I think it’s pretty important for people to have accurate information, but also to see themselves and their experiences included in the conversations we have about sexuality.

We get a lot of negative, or vague messages about sex, and people with disabilities often get left out of the conversation completely. Both topics—sexuality and disability—have loads of social and psychological complexities around them. So, I’ve put together a list of resources that put people with various kinds of disabilities smack dab back in the middle of the conversation.

You’ll notice that a lot of the information is the same as the standard material on sex and relationships, including topics like self-esteem, body image, and contraception. There are more similarities than differences when it comes to the way people with disabilities experience sex and relationships, but there are enough differences that we need to start talking about them.

Books:

At Scarleteen:

Other Sites and Organizations:

Do you have a resource to share?

Email us and we’ll add it to the list.