Tied to Taboos - Umayma Z.
Description:
This artwork represents disabled individuals being tied down from exploring a life that truly cherishes them. Especially when it comes to their need for sexual intimacy, there is an unfaltering stigma with the idea that they are not sexual citizens and hence, do not require any aspect of sex or intimacy.
Significance:
I chose to make this artifact because I wanted to portray societal perceptions about persons with disability (PWD)’s worth and identity tying them down from their potential. The hand reaching illuminating light represents their strength and endurance in fighting the weight of false perceptions that limit how others view their potential. Especially in terms of sexuality, misconceptions can include the majority of PWD being asexual; they do not require intimacy or relationships that go beyond friendship, or contrastingly they are overly sexual beings who engage in inappropriate behaviour. These misconceptions are far from the reality which is – they possess the same desires and needs as every other able-bodied individual. They are as much of a sexual citizen as you and I, and this sexual citizenship does not require any visa application, and no societal taboo can reject it. Through this artwork, I wanted to represent the fight to overcome these misconceptions and break away from having a mentality that rejoices in putting others down and putting disability in a box defined by ableist views.
Positionality:
I have chosen this unit ‘Disability and Sexuality’ under my ‘Gender Studies’ minor because I was interested in the intersectionality of disability and sexuality – how it might integrate. Coming from a brown conservative household and being Muslim, sex education was non-existent and access to safe and age-appropriate information was not available to me. Due to a lack of social recognition for sex education in Bangladesh, sexual minorities such as persons with disabilities (PWD) and their perspectives were never taught. Therefore, when the opportunity presented itself where I could gain knowledge regarding both of these topics – I was eager to learn and perhaps even unlearn some ideals that I was brought up with.
Impact:
This unit has impacted me by truly reflecting on my very limited knowledge of disabled individuals and their struggles in society, especially in terms of their sexual citizenship and body autonomy. Previously I only envisioned physical disabilities when I thought of PWD – largely due to the social stigma surrounding it but, now I’ve come to the understanding that it is not limited to only physical disabilities. Understanding how PWD have garnered sexual vulnerability through restrictions in developing romantic relationships, having no access to adequate sex education, and societal expectations of normative functioning have left me dumbfounded as this is a topic I never saw myself exploring [ Hollomotz, A. (2010)]. Being able to acquire knowledge about sexuality and disability is a privilege and this unit allowed me to unlearn ableist perspectives like assuming they do not have sexual desires and advocate for PWD and for a society that includes them through and through [Silverberg. (2011)]. It also impacted me in a way where I think of disability as a matter of ‘when’ and not ‘them’ since this disability is multi-faceted and everyone, regardless of their health right now is capable of becoming disabled – whether it be due to age, an unexpected accident, a health issue or otherwise.
Wish List:
I wish for this artifact to ignite some curiosity and seek knowledge about the disabled community and how we are all entitled to body autonomy and how no one else should be able to dictate how we should govern our bodies. I wish for everyone to understand that sexual citizenship is not limited to the able-bodied, it is for us all. Everyone must also unlearn harmful assumptions that they previously had in regards to PWD such as thinking they are asexual or hypersexual, that they are not able to partake in sexual acts just because of their disability, and that they do not require access to sex education, and so on. PWD, as do everybody deserve to have their right to sexual and reproductive health, and be able to establish relationships, choose to have a family and have access to tools (such as sex education) to make informed decisions about their bodies and retain their body autonomy.
Scholarship:
From sexuality research being regarded as ‘dirty work’ and having sexual scientists arrested for their contribution to sexuality research, we have come a long way and changed the landscape for sexuality research [Irvine, J. M., 2014]. Sexual minorities such as persons with disability (PWD) are often disregarded in sexuality research even though they make up 650 million of the world population. PWD have been denied access to sex education, their sexual and reproductive rights, and their right to establish relations and have a family – which directly violates their human rights [World Health Organization & United Nations Population Fund, 2009]. Due to their lack of accessible knowledge of sex education and controlled environment by their families or support workers, they are more susceptible to sexual abuse and intimate partner violence. A lack of coordination among health care providers, materials to facilitate communication (braille, sign language etc) and negative attitudes of health care workers perpetuate further barriers to proper knowledge acquisition of individuals with disabilities. This, along with engraved ableist understanding of who is and who is not sexual only allows environment and objects to cater to able-bodied people, accommodating their ways of experiencing sight, auditory and feeling [Silverberg, 2011].
Prejudice and stigma surrounding disability halt individuals from looking past one’s disability and sexuality leaving them socially isolated and unsupported. Luckily, there have been strides in society recognising its responsibility in enabling inclusion and helping individuals with disability recognise the social nature of their condition [(How the Social Model Paved the Way for the Human Rights Model – Disability Advocacy Resource Unit (DARU), 2019)]. It should be recognised that disability is caused by the way that society is equipped to cater to those who are able-bodied, not the impairment or medical condition. Body autonomy should be practised by disabled individuals even if they require external help in maintaining the health of their bodies as their body is theirs to govern. By challenging ableist norms and accessibility to healthcare, and education, society can foster an environment that is inclusive to disabled people where they are not marginalised.
2 Comments
I really appreciate the symbolism in this work, especially the hand reaching for the light, it really beautifully shows the resilince and strength of disabled people when challenging societal perceptions. I think it was really important to highlight sexual citizenship, it emphasizes the importance of recognising the advocating for the rights and autonomy of disabled individuals. This artifact has helped me understand how ablelist views limit disabled individuals rights, which confirms the need for inclusive and comprehensive sex education and access to healthcare. I found that Silverberg (2011) reference really stressed how important unlearning harmful biases and working to promote inclusive practice to empower and provide access to sexual health education for everyone.
I really liked this piece, I think that the symbolism of both the hands, string, and light are very powerful. I believe that your reflection on your own lack of education, as well as reflections of lack of education for wider society was extremely important, especially when considering the connecting link you made between that and blind-spots / bias / ableism, as well as how it can lead to higher susceptibility of sexual abuse for people with disabilities as well as other sexual minorities. Overall I believe that your focus on the barriers that people with disabilities face when on the topic of sexuality, around things such as lack of education, abelism, and social stigma / misinformation, as a rope-like barrier to reaching the “light” and acceptance is very beautiful. 🙂