Myths surrounding sex and disability

Sexual Health Week is an event that happens every year to raise awareness, educate and inform young people everywhere about various aspects of sex. This year, the event will run from September 16-22 and the theme is relationships, sex and disability. 

In an age where we are constantly trying to break down barriers when it comes to subjects previously thought of as taboo, it’s important that we think of sex not only in the traditional man-woman, able-bodied way, but also for all sexualities, tastes and disabilities.

Here at UK Meds, we’re all about making sexual health more accessible, more available and suitable for all. Providing helpful advice, remote sexual health services and a number of products that you may be too embarrassed to go along the high street and buy, we like to believe that we’re making sexual health available for all.

That, of course, encompasses all disabilities. While not all disabilities are the same and certainly not all disabilities involve wheelchairs, a lot of them do involve a lack of mobility or perhaps a lack of independence, which may prohibit disabled people from visiting their local GP or sexual health centre for the advice or treatments they need. Our remote offering means that it can be accessed by all in the comfort of their own homes, allowing people more control over their sexual health (able-bodied or not).

And while we’re committed to making sexual health accessible for all, we’re also committed to breaking down myths surrounding healthcare. And in honour of Sexual Health Week and its theme, we thought we’d break down a few myths surrounding sex and disability.

“Disabled people can’t have sex”

Sex doesn’t look the same for everyone - that’s a simple fact. Sex looks different based on your sexuality, your sexual preferences, your size, the things you like and don’t like. Why would that philosophy not stretch to disabled people too?

The positions may be different but to think that disabled people can’t have sex is really down to a lack of creativity; there’s plenty more to do in the bedroom than the missionary position.

“People with disabilities only have sex with eachother”

Sexual attraction and sexual preference is a very delicate science and one that no one has ever managed to come up with a formula for. There are no rules when it comes to lust and there are certainly no rules when it comes to lust and disability. 

Sure, some disabled people may prefer to have sex with other disabled people (perhaps because they understand each other's experiences more). But equally, some disabled people prefer to have sex with able-bodied people so that there’s more flexibility. And yet most disabled people prefer to have sex with whoever it is that they end up being attracted to; the science that none of us quite fully understand.

“Disabled people can’t have children”

A lot of disabilities affect a person’s body and can have a big impact on them physically. But not many of these have any bearing on someone’s fertility. The idea that disabled people can’t have a perfectly healthy and fulfilling sex life, to one day be followed by a healthy and fulfilling family life is nothing more than a myth.

A happy and safe sex life, access to sexual health and the freedom to talk about all of it is something that should be available to all.