Loneliness and Its Opposite: Sex, Disability, and the Ethics of Engagement
Don Kulick is Professor of Anthropology at the University of Chicago. His books include
Jens Rydström is Professor of Gender Studies at Lund University (Sweden). His books include
Don Kulick is Professor of Anthropology at the University of Chicago. His books include
Jens Rydström is Professor of Gender Studies at Lund University (Sweden). His books include
How to Impede and How to Facilitate the Erotic Lives of People with Disabilities
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Published:February 2015
2015. "How to Impede and How to Facilitate the Erotic Lives of People with Disabilities", Loneliness and Its Opposite: Sex, Disability, and the Ethics of Engagement, Don Kulick, Jens Rydström
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This chapter documents how the actions of people in Sweden and Denmark who work and care for people with disabilities are guided by very different attitudes about engagement. In Sweden, two related mottoes or mantras are frequently invoked when social workers and personal assistants talk about sexuality and disability. The first is “Don’t wake the sleeping bear”; i.e. don’t do anything (such as provide information or help) that might arouse a sexuality that seems dormant or absent. The second is “If I haven’t done anything, at least I haven’t done anything wrong.” These two expressions summarize and sustain a culture in which disabled people’s sexuality is ignored and hindered. This attitude, and the policies and practices that emerge from it, is contrasted with the situation in Denmark, where helpers assist people with significant disabilities to perform activities like masturbation or engage in sex with others.
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