Hi I had attached 2 files … 1 is the PDF and the other one is the captions of that video as I can’t be able to post full video here … so I just post the captions … so you can read what was in t
Welcome back. I’m here in Winnipeg on treaty one territory and the Metis homeland. 0:02 And in this section, we’re looking at the challenges many disabled people face in accessing sex, 0:07 including sexual and romantic relationships, casual sex and sensual encounters and personal stimulation and pleasure. 0:12 Much of the value of the materials this week lies in reading and hearing about the 0:22 various experiences described by the people who were interviewed by the authors, 0:26 including disabled people and those who provide various sorts of sexual services to members of the disabled community. 0:30 The image on the right of the slide is an illustration by Dadu Shin, a New York based disabled Asian-American artist. 0:40 This colorful work accompanied a 2016 New York Times story by the extremely influential feminist disability studies scholar Rosemarie Garland Thomson. 0:48 Part of a series featuring articles by disabled writers. Shin has identified loneliness as a recurring theme in his illustration work. 0:57 And I thought that this would fit well with the material this week, 1:06 as loneliness is certainly among the factors motivating people to seek sexual encounters and relationships. 1:09 Because of the wide variety of forms that disability takes, 1:17 disabled individuals may have vastly differing experiences with the accessibility of sexual relationships or even one-off sexual encounters. 1:19 able to find partners and express themselves sexually with another person with at least some degree of success, 1:35 perhaps like the couple in the photo on the right, enjoying the view together. 1:42 But this, of course, is not the experience of everyone. Even some abled people have trouble finding sexual or romantic partners. 1:47 And this can be an even greater struggle for many disabled people who may experience not only physical or communicative barriers, 1:54 but also the social stigma of things like lack of or underemployment, 2:02 For those whose disability impacts their physical appearance in a significant way, the effects of looksism can also intersect with ableism. 2:11 As well, those who have significant mental health issues, who have a psychiatric history or who identify as Mad 2:20 may encounter a variety of additional barriers to finding and sustaining relationships. 2:27 So may people on the autism spectrum. 2:33 People who are autistic or otherwise neurodivergent often find that social 2:35 norms interfere with acceptance by or communication with potential partners. 2:39 In the last weeks of the course, when we look at intellectual disability in a more focused way, 2:45 we’ll also encounter this theme of exclusion quite prominently. 2:50 For those who take a disability justice approach, the emphasis is usually placed upon the ways that ableism acts as a barrier to sexual access. 2:54 Access to sex, whether to specific sexual activities or to ongoing relationships, 3:03 is a difficult issue because it’s different than the sorts of disability rights that are usually involved in areas like education or employment. 3:09 A school or workplace may have a legal duty to accommodate a disabled person’s needs, 3:18 but you can’t legally or ethically have a system in which people have a duty to have sexual relations with someone they don’t want to, 3:23 even if their reason is nothing more than disablist bias. 3:31 So we need to think about rights and justice in other, more nuanced ways when thinking about sexual access. 3:35 In the chapter by Kulick and Rydstrom that we’re reading this week, 3:42 the authors point out that even within disabled communities, 3:45 there’s very often what they refer to as a hierarchy of desirability, in which people with certain sorts of 3:48 disabilities are seen as more desirable or less desirable partners 3:54 then those who are disabled in other ways. Within this hierarchy, those who have no disabilities or non-obvious ones are at the top. 3:59 Those who have physical or sensory differences are lower down. 4:08 More significant mobility issues even further down. 4:11 And those with pronounced intellectual disabilities, especially when paired with challenges in communicating, at the bottom. 4:15 This is a general pattern, of course. 4:23 It doesn’t reflect every disabled individual’s experience, and we can’t ignore how other factors like conventional attractiveness, 4:25 size, build, weight, age, race, education, socioeconomic status and so on are also relevant here. 4:32 Most disabled people are influenced by societal norms about attractiveness and partner value, just as abled people are. 4:42 having a less disabled partner also offers opportunities for social respect and acceptance 4:54 that having a disabled partner may not, or may not to the same extent. As Kulick and Rydstrom 5:00 explore, disabled people give a variety of reasons for why they may prefer abled partners or those who are also disabled, 5:06 but with disabilities that they perceive to be less limiting than their own. 5:13 In these explanations, 5:18 we can see examples of how ableism doesn’t just impact disabled people’s access to relationships through direct attitudinal bias, 5:19 but also through the ableism that’s embedded in structures and institutions. 5:26 For example, the blind person who fears greater isolation if they partner with another blind person, 5:31 because then they will both be excluded from some opportunities and activities. 5:36 Or the wheelchair user who wants an able-bodied partner who can more easily navigate 5:41 the world or take care of a child when necessary 5:46 family, community or professional support is lacking, as it so often is for disabled parents. 5:49 A disability 5:56 justice approach doesn’t assume that there will ever necessarily be a time in which all persons will be seen as equally desirable partners, 5:56 but recognizes that if ableism was less entrenched in the form of attitudes, 6:05 structures and practices, 6:10 there would be greater possibilities for acceptance and access to sex relationships and other forms of physical and social connection. 6:13 Are societal attitudes changing about the idea of sex with a disabled partner? 6:22 There’s some evidence that they may be. 6:27 The Observer is a UK based newspaper which conducts, via a research company, periodic public surveys in Britain on sex and sexuality, 6:30 using methods that offer a reasonably fair look at what people think and do sexually, 6:38 In their last large scale survey carried out in 2014, they asked, Have you ever had sex with someone with a physical disability? 6:47 To which 7% of respondents answered yes, 50% no, but they wouldn’t rule it out and 44% no, 6:55 and they thought that they would not. 7:03 Now, those figures may not be particularly heartening for a physically disabled person in the UK who’s looking for a sexual partner. 7:06 However, it is an improvement on the results of the Observer’s previous poll in 2008, 7:14 in which only 4% replied that they had had sex with someone with a physical disability. 7:20 26% said that they wouldn’t rule it out, and a whopping 70% said they didn’t think that they would ever have sex with a disabled person. 7:25 It’s hard to say to what extent this reflects a genuine shift in public opinion in Britain, 7:34 but it is a fairly significant swing in numbers. It’s interesting to contemplate just what might be responsible for this change. 7:39 One of the unavoidable issues when sexual access is discussed is that of paid sex work. 7:49 Attitudes towards disabled people accessing paid sex vary widely. 7:54 As we see in the examples provided at the outset of Kulick and Rydstrom’s chapter, 7:59 the positive and supportive public response to Danish mother Lone Hertz’s statement that she had 8:04 purchased sexual services for her disabled son, 8:09 Feminist scholarship and activism has a difficult history with sex work. For quite some time 8:21 feminist thought was dominated by those who took a strong stance against what they would term prostitution, 8:27 claiming that it’s inherently exploitative and perpetuates the inequality and objectification of women. 8:33 Increasingly, though, the feminist mainstream, 8:40 especially among those feminists who identify as intersectional and sex positive in their approach, 8:42 has moved towards what’s sometimes called a sex work inclusive or pro sex work stance, like that represented by the marchers at right, 8:48 holding a banner that reads Decriminalize Sex Work, Safety First. 8:56 This is a perspective that regards those who offer sexual services in exchange for money to be simply another type of worker, 9:02 arguing that we all use our bodies in some way in our work, 9:08 In the readings this week, we see examples of how national attitudes and laws reflect different positions on the spectrum of acceptance of sex work. 9:24 But selling them is not criminalized. The intent behind this approach is to reduce paid sexual exchange by punishing the 9:40 buyers, who are primarily men, and providing opportunities for sex workers themselves, 9:48 who are predominantly women in most places, 9:53 Of course, while there are certainly some sex workers who would like to do this, 10:05 there are also others who have chosen sex work over other forms of work and are concerned 10:10 about attempts to restrict or regulate the practice in ways that may put them at risk. 10:15 Denmark’s model takes decriminalization further than Sweden. 10:20 In Denmark, it’s not a crime to sell or to purchase sexual services, 10:24 and the country only criminalizes third parties like pimps or brothel owners who profit off other people’s sex work. 10:29 where sex workers are placed in more danger because they have less control over their 10:44 working conditions and their transactions with clients have less transparency. 10:48 In Canada, as of legal changes in 2014, we have a model that looks more like the Swedish than the Danish approach, but with some additional complexity. 10:54 For example, it’s legal to ‘sell sex’ but illegal to advertise sexual services. 11:04 It’s also illegal to operate a brothel or in legal speak, a bawdyhouse, which has been a major concern for many sex workers. 11:10 security is generally considered much safer than working on the street, or out of one’s own home, 11:23 known as in-calls, or going to others homes or hotels, known as out-calls. 11:30 There are also a variety of other approaches to the legislation of sex work worldwide. 11:36 In Aotearoa (New Zealand), for instance, it’s nearly completely decriminalized, whereas in Germany it’s highly bureaucratically regulated. 11:41 The Netherlands, meanwhile, are known not just for their social and legal tolerance of sex work, 11:51 but for the fact that disabled people may even apply to the government for a modest allowance to purchase sexual services. 11:56 One concern that advocates of various perspective share is one that we also 12:03 encounter in Kulick and Rydstrom’s chapter over preventing sex trafficking. 12:07 However, in practice, laws that target voluntary and consensual sex work tend not to be very effective at stopping sex trafficking. 12:12 workers and what Kulick and Rydstrom refer to as sexual surrogates, who use sex and what they identify as therapeutic ways, 12:29 whether with disabled clients specifically or more broadly. 12:37 After looking carefully at the literature and data, 12:42 the authors don’t find much evidence that sexual surrogacy is actually very widely practiced, 12:45 though there are small numbers of people who self-identify as sexual surrogates or use similar labels. 12:51 places in the world where there are special sets of laws and regulations that 12:59 apply to anyone claiming that their clients pay specifically for therapeutic sex. 13:03 The authors also point to the ways this sex surrogate designation can be problematic, 13:08 altruistic form than that of other sex workers and establishing a hierarchy of moral status, 13:19 one that tends to further marginalize already marginalized sex workers, 13:26 especially the large numbers of racialized sex workers who often already struggle to survive and 13:30 remain safe in an environment where people of color are devalued and targeted for violence. 13:35 seeing it as promoting the idea that sex with a disabled person is so unappealing that not only do disabled people need sex workers, 13:48 they need special sex workers. 13:57 In the chapter, we also encounter examples of organizations that may or may not provide actual sexual services for disabled people. 14:01 In Denmark, there’s Handisex. 14:09 This is the organization that Eva describes hiring to help her set up a sex toy for masturbation and then to help her tidy up afterwards. 14:11 This organization offers education and this kind of more tangible support, 14:19 but its workers don’t engage in sexual activities as such with their clients. 14:24 We’re also introduced briefly in this chapter to an organization called Touching Base, 14:29 located in Australia, 14:33 So we know that there’s a demand from disabled people around the world for access to various types of sexual support and services, 14:43 depending on their needs and comfort levels. 14:50 Let’s briefly look more closely at a few points within Kulick and Rydstrom’s chapter, Paying for Sexual Services. 14:54 Don Kulick is a professor of anthropology in Sweden at Uppsala University. 15:01 His coauthor, Jens Rydstrum, teaches gender studies at Lund University, also in Sweden. 15:05 They’re both middle aged white men pictured on the upper right. 15:11 The chapter is taken from their 2015 book, Loneliness and Its Opposite — Sex, Disability and the Ethics of Engagement, 15:15 in which they focus on the contrasts between sexual circumstances and services for disabled people in Sweden and in Denmark, 15:23 and find a pattern of barriers, legal and otherwise, to sex for those in Sweden and comparatively greater access and support for those in Denmark. 15:31 One of the things the authors consider in this chapter is why disabled people may choose to purchase sexual services. 15:42 If you like, you can pause and have a look at pages 207 to 212 where they identify and discuss these reasons. 15:48 Kulick and Rydstrom emphasize that the majority of disabled people do not access paid sex. But for those who do, 15:56 their reasoning may include suffering, distress, shame and embarrassment over a lack of sexual experience compared to their peers. 16:03 They may be seeking to increase their self-confidence, their knowledge of sex, 16:11 or their understanding and acceptance of their own bodies and sexual capabilities. 16:16 Some express a desire to be loved and accepted and see these services as at least a first step towards achieving this end with others in the future. 16:20 And for some people, they believe that this is their only realistic opportunity to actually have sex, to enjoy sensual pleasure and satisfaction. 16:29 Because of this range of goals, different sorts of sexual services may meet some people’s needs better than others. 16:38 For instance, for some, an encounter with a quote unquote mainstream sex worker might be considered sufficient to bring sexual release. 16:45 For others, the education and guidance offered by a worker who has experience working with others with similar disabilities might be more important. 16:53 Some are seeking sexual intercourse. Some are interested in other sorts of sexual or sensual acts or touching. 17:02 And others, like Eva, need assistance in engaging in self pleasuring. 17:09 The Danish social workers, known as sexual advisors in the English translation, are an interesting type of sexually oriented support worker. 17:14 That’s the organization’s logo on the bottom right, with a pair of colorful, cleverly joined figures. 17:22 They are paid professionals who don’t participate in sexual activities with clients. 17:29 Their motto is, sexuality regardless of disability. 17:33 Sexual advisors work primarily with those who live in group settings, 17:38 and they perform a variety of tasks, from helping disabled people to clarify or express their own sexual wishes, 17:42 guiding them in understanding prices and specific services, or otherwise 17:59 helping to get their clients prepared for a sexual encounter or a masturbation session. 18:04 But they don’t perform sexual acts with their clients. 18:09 The authors interviewed a number of these advisors at length for their work, 18:12 and the advisors discuss some of the specific dilemmas they face in practice, 18:16 such as determining the sexual wishes of clients who do not use oral language or 18:20 steering their clients away from sex workers who may be sex trafficking victims. 18:25 In the latter case, they may do this by refusing to arrange appointments with non Danish sex workers. 18:30 This is a less than perfect solution, though, given that migrants are not the only people trafficked. 18:35 recent research has found that the majority of people who are victims of sex trafficking here are Canadian citizens. 18:43 authors’ research with sex workers about their attitudes towards disabled clients. 18:54 What they find is that most prefer not to work with disabled clients, and many will outright refuse. 19:00 The reasons these workers provide vary widely, 19:07 from some feeling discomfort with bodies or minds that diverge from normate ones, to others 19:10 believing the physical or emotional expectations of such clients may be too high, 19:15 and some expressing concern about unintentionally causing pain, offence or transgressing personal boundaries. 19:20 All of these are perhaps unsurprising, 19:28 though all are also influenced by ableist assumptions and misleading popular representations of disabled people. 19:30 While some sex workers accept disabled clients, the authors find none in Denmark 19:37 who specialize exclusively in offering their services to them, with the very low financial resources of most disabled people being a major barrier. 19:42 Interestingly, one of the workers they interviewed also mentioned that personally they disliked the idea 19:51 of being thought of as self-sacrificing and benevolent for having disabled clients, 19:57 stating, quote, I’m a businesswoman and I do this. 20:02 It’s a job to support myself. I am not a charitable institution. 20:06 the experiences that these sex workers reported with disabled clients were positive, 20:12 respectful interactions with some becoming committed regulars, 20:16 and also sometimes surprising and amusing, as when a client unexpectedly removed a prosthetic limb. 20:20 For their part, 20:27 disabled clients reported varied experiences with sex workers from satisfying and considerate encounters to being outright cheated or insulted. 20:28 Experiences that could obviously be quite traumatizing for a person who had already experienced considerable sexual exclusion or rejection. 20:37 Moving to thinking about the Canadian context through CBC reporter Pia Chattopadhyay’s story — 20:50 — that’s her in the orange coat in the upper right — we see that as far as sex work laws are concerned, 20:55 there is no distinction made here between abled and disabled clients. 21:00 And so anyone claiming to offer therapeutic sexual encounters and anyone paying 21:05 for them would be treated just as they would in any other paid sex situation. 21:10 Legal for the sellers. Illegal for the buyers, with advertising these services 21:15 also forbidden. 21:20 Disabled individuals or their partners in Canada who are seeking sexual support have a few options available to them. 21:22 The indisputably legal ones include people who specialize in providing counseling or education in sexual matters without sexual contact with clients. 21:29 This would include sex therapists, sexologists and sex educators. 21:39 A small number of whom do specialize in helping disabled people. 21:43 In the CBC article we’re introduced to one such organization, Sensual Solutions, 21:56 based in Vancouver, B.C., where employees are referred to as intimacy coaches. 22:01 The range of services that they offer include many of those that a sexual advisor might offer in the Danish context, 22:07 but also ones that are much more sexually engaged, including massage and cuddling. 22:12 Though their website states that they do not sell sexual services. 22:18 There is also a lot of vague language. 22:22 would potentially make their clients legally vulnerable to charges for purchasing sex. 22:36 This puts people like Spencer Williams, interviewed in the article and the audio piece about his own use of the services of 22:41 Sensual Solutions in a difficult and legally vulnerable position. 22:48 For your response this week, 22:57 given what you’ve learned from this week’s material about the challenges that some disabled people face in accessing sexual pleasure, 22:58 please identify and briefly discuss three measures that you believe would enhance disabled people’s sexual access here in Canada. 23:06 Describe why and how you believe these should and could be implemented. 23:13 Please draw meaningful connections with the course materials. 23:18 These measures could include legal changes, government support, community initiatives, educational resources, 23:22 professional roles, or any other things that might make sex or pleasure or sexual exploration or relationships more accessible. 23:30 Please cite relevant course materials using parenthetical citations to support your response. 23:40 Outside sources and bibliographic entries aren’t needed for this activity. 23:46 This week, we have our usual Zoom meeting on Thursday and you have your cycle of creation, evaluation and feedback for the responses. 23:56 The Week 7 section is another that I think is really interesting and thought provoking. 24:06 We’ll be looking at the fetishization of disability. The reading that I’ve selected does a great job of looking into this issue beyond the surface. 24:11 The author is Alison Kafer, a white woman with curly red hair pictured on the right, 24:19 seated at the front of a classroom or lecture hall in a wheelchair. 24:24 She’s a feminist professor at the University of Texas, and her work has rapidly become very popular among disability scholars. 24:28 In this chapter, she combines research with her personal reflections on her own experiences and feelings as an amputee woman. 24:35 I hope you enjoy it, and I’ll see you on Thursday. 24:43 Bye for now.