Developing Care Professionals: Changing Disability Services in Sweden

Johansson, Richard Gäddman; Muhli, Ulla Hellström

doi:10.7577/pp.2017

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 10 publications

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“…The post-institutional spaces (re)created for people with intellectual disability shape, through institutionalized attitudes and rigid normative frames, certain desirable behaviors and influence what considered right and wrong (Altermark, 2017;Gäddman Johansson, 2021). Via objects and symbols of power, certain types of sexual scripts are either enabled or hindered (Simon & Gagnon, 1984), essentially fostering a deviant normality in which sexual expression is repressed unless it is institutionally sanctioned as "appropriate" (Feely, 2016;Santinele Martino, 2021).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Who Counts as a Sexual Subject? The Impact of Ableist Rhetoric for People with Intellectual Disability in Sweden

Bahner,

Gäddman Johansson,

Svanelöv

2023

Sex Res Soc Policy

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Introduction The ableist rhetoric around sexuality in disability services and beyond can hinder subjective sexual expression and have a powerful impact on health, self-esteem, and everyday life through internalized ableism, structural marginalization, and interpersonal discrimination. The aim of this study was to explore the ableist rhetoric of sexuality and its impact on sexual scripting for people with intellectual disability. Methods A thematic analysis was carried out on data generated through ethnographic fieldwork at five sheltered accommodations and semi-structured interviews with ten individuals with intellectual disability. Results The results show that people in Sweden with intellectual disability are desexualized within a moral order that is maintained in post-institutional social care. Through this moral order, which is deeply embedded in an ableist rhetoric about sexual relationships, sexual scripting for disabled people is constrained both inside post-institutional social care initiatives, and in the broader community of “ableist environments.” In response, disabled people employ various strategies of resistance. Conclusions A rhetoric of positive sexuality should be a guiding principle for successfully supporting the development of sexual agency on each individual’s own term. Policy Implications We conclude by encouraging the development of initiatives that will empower and support people with intellectual disability to learn about their sexual rights and to find solutions that allow for development of sexual agency and subjectivity.

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