Pleasure, sex, prohibition, intellectual disability, and dangerous ideas

Abstract

The sexual lives of people with intellectual disability continue to be the subject of prohibition and restriction by disability sectors. Without access to sex education and the concomitant sex literacy, people with intellectual disability are denied the essential conversation about sex, sexual expression, and pleasure. The authors explore the history of sexual repression of people with intellectual disability, and the culture of sexual disempowerment. This propositional paper offers a sense of hope about sex facilitation and sex education for people with intellectual disability which can afford them a full life.

Sex care robots

“…It could also be that organizations are confused about the legality of offering support to safe sexual expression [37]. Sometimes it also depends on who is asked.…”

Muted voices: The unexplored sexuality of young persons with learning disability in Malta

“…There is a need for recognition that although many persons with learning disability require support in their daily lives, they are not unable to make choices and take decisions (Callus & Bonello, ), while acknowledging that they need to have the level of support they require in order to do this. Interventions that bring about a shift in mentality, thus changing the way persons with learning disability are infantilised and disempowered, and embracing a person‐first approach and a sex‐positive environment, are essential in organisations, institutions and sectors working with persons with learning disability (Alexander & Taylor Gomez, ). Finally, persons with learning disability need to be empowered by means of education, self‐advocacy and social opportunities that will enable them to speak up for themselves, build decision‐making skills and make informed choices, thus laying the foundations for positive relationships, including those of a sexual nature.…”

“…Disability movements, demanding that persons with learning disability live normal lives, have fought their way away from the mentality described towards human rights and equality. Persons with learning disability are demanding better quality of life as they claim that socialisation, leisure, relationships and sexual expression have been pushed way down the list of priorities (Alexander & Taylor Gomez, 2017). They believe that their marginalised social positions are actively linked to barriers relating to their sexuality (Pownall, Jahoda, Hastings, & Kerr, 2011), as social exclusion limits access to formal sources of information, opportunities to establish relationships and ultimately to achieving a good quality of life (Goyal, 2017;Pownall et al, 2011).…”

Making Connections and Building Confidence: A Study of Specialist Dating Agencies for People with Intellectual Disabilities

“…The lack of importance attached to the potential for them to experience personal fulfilment through intimate relationships is, it has been argued, part of a larger problem: that of simply not recognizing the importance of pleasure in people's lives more generally, be it from food, music, clothes or any other Disclaimer: The views expressed in this paper are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NIHR School for Social Care Research or the Department of Health, NIHR or NHS. measure of quality of life [8]. Salt et al [9] state that intellectual disability "remains a risk factor for failing to achieve both the social and psychological transitions associated with adulthood" and this is significant because there is a strong connection between the quality of social and personal relationships and good physical and mental health [10].…”