Queer and Disabled: Voices from People Who Have Been Hidden

Abstract

There is a reluctance to discuss sex and gender within the context of special education. Often, the assumption is that individuals with disabilities are asexual or too immature to have thoughts about sex and sexuality. Misconceptions about individuals with disabilities concerning sex and sexuality exclude this population from resources or avenues to explore this very important aspect of being human. Individuals with disabilities who also identify as queer face further isolation from support and a sense of community. The group of people who identify as disabled and queer struggle to find support from either of the intersectional Identities. The queer and disabled population is often excluded from the queer community because of a disability while at the same time being ostracized from the support of the disability community because they are queer. This article investigates data collected from Internet postings, involving individuals who self-identify as queer and disabled to examine issues and concerns faced by this unseen population. In these data, individuals expose their feelings about sex, sexuality, gender identity, access, and disability as they express their very personal accounts of living in two worlds. These analyzed narratives uncover the voices of an intersectional population who the ableist and heteronormative culture has ignored and pushed aside. The goal of an exploration into the perspectives and experiences of the project contributors is to provide insight that eventually leads to understanding and enables more effective support systems to be provided for individuals who simultaneously identify as queer and disabled.