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Subject:
From:
Bobby Greer <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
St. John's University Cerebral Palsy List
Date:
Tue, 31 Aug 1999 09:36:45 -0500
Content-Type:
text/plain
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In Metamorphosis: Adjustment to Severe Disability. McGraw-Hill(1981)
Charlene DeLoach has a whole Chapter on the myth of the Asexuality of the
Disabled.

Bobby G. Greer

>Why is it so easy to overlook a disabled persons sexuality?
>
>Recently, A Disabled colleague talked to me about her sexual experiences. I
>was shocked - and then I felt guilty about my reaction. Why was I so
>surprised she is sexually active. One of the biggest obstacles the disabled
>have to overcome is society's resistance to acknowledging their sexuality.
>Ignorance leads many people to presume that the disabled are "incomplete".
>Images in the media suggest we consider even minor physical imperfections
>undesirable. Compounding the problem is the fact that centers for socializing
>- clubs and bars, often don't offer wheelchair access.
>
>As Harilyn Rousso, born with cerebral palsy, has described it, "I grew up
>believing that I could have no social or sexual potential." The result was
>that Rousso, now Director of Disabilities unlimited Counseling & Consultative
>services, never entered the social arena. It wasn't until she was an adult
>that she "re-thought" that attitude. Your colleague's confiding in you
>suggests that she has accepted herself as she is - and that she trusts that
>you will do so, too. Now that you've come to see her as a whole person, you
>can build an honest friendship thats meaningful to you both. A sex and
>marriage therapist, Dr. Zussman is co-director of the Association for Male
>Sexual Dysfunction and past President of the American Association Sex
>Educators, Counselors and Therapists.
>
>This article was originally published in Glamour, May '91. Reprinted with
>permission

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