Human Sexuality
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Sexuality is more than just the physical act of having sexual intercourse; it also includes your emotions, your brain and your senses. Sexuality involves the whole person.
Excerpt from "Sex and Disability Impacts of Disability on Sex" by Cory Silverberg, About.com Guide
If you're reading this and live with a disability (or are close with someone who does) you probably already know how common myths about disability and sex can make being sexual or finding a sexual partner more difficult.
If you don't have a disability it may surprise you to hear that the biggest obstacles to exploring sex when you live with a disability are not specifically related to the disability.
The guy who has a spinal cord injury and can't get an erection still has a thousand ways to have sex and feel sexy. The bigger problem is finding someone to have sex with since most people (regardless of disability) don't see someone with a disability as a potential sexual partner.
There's an old rehab saying: disability is a social disease. It reflects the reality for most people who live with a disability that while the impact of a disability can be difficult and annoying, what's most painful is living in a world that ignores you and frankly acts as if you'd be better off dead. Try feeling sexy when that's the message you get every time you leave the house.
Talking about disability and sex can be hard because neither is a simple concept and both are intimately tied to our sense of self and how we interact with others. Even though it's a bit artificial, you can start thinking about sex and disability by looking at the different ways disability can impact and interact with sex.
All people, regardless of whether or not they have a disability, are social and sexual beings from the day they are born, and as they grow and become adolescents, their bodies physically mature and they experience a host of emerging social and sexual feelings and needs.
Learn and explore the following issues:
- Your sexuality and the responsibilities that go with it
- Your values about friendship, dating, love and intimacy
- Protection from unwanted pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases and sexual exploitation
