Disability and sex work: developing affinities through decriminalization

Disabilities and sexual expression: A review of the literature

“…Defined by Block et al as “assistance with a sexual activity provided to a disabled client by a personal assistant or other provider,” sexual facilitation can include assistance with a variety of sexual or romantic acts including, “positioning the disabled person for masturbation or for sex with a partner, helping her or him undress, assisting with stimulation, transferring them to a bed or couch, transporting them to a partner's residence, purchasing condoms, or providing reminders about using birth control” (Block et al, , p. 166; see also Earle, ; Hamilton, ; Kulick & Rydström, ; Mona, ; Shapiro, ; Tepper, ; Willock, ). Several scholars detail how forms of facilitated sex “transgress the cultural view of sex as private and as an autonomous project of the self,” and note that depending on the socio‐legal context, people who assist disabled people with sexual activities may be at risk of legal and social ramifications (Block et al, , p. 166; see also Fritsch, Heynen, Ross, & van der Meulen, ; Kulick & Rydström, ; Mona, ; Shildrick, ).…”

Cripping sexualities: An analytic review of theoretical and empirical writing on the intersection of disabilities and sexualities

“…In spite of its shortcomings, this theoretical body of work has nonetheless done the necessary work of proposing that, rather than seeking assimilation and acceptance, our understandings of disability and queerness need to radically change (Clare, ). “Queer and crip sexual practices,” Cohen (, p. 156) argues, “deeply challenge heterosexual norms of position, limit, seclusion, independence, and reproduction.” Queer disabled people have shown agency and creativity by reconstructing sex and sexualities in ways that go beyond normative forms (Fraley et al, ; Fritsch, Heynen, Ross, & van der Meulen, ; Gallagher, ; Guldin, ; Guter & Killacky, ; McRuer & Mollow, ). I argue that crip theory—which has not yet made enough of a splash in the field—should be brought into sociology to help us imagine new possibilities for cripping sociological theories and reimagining disability within sociology.…”

Sex Workers Who Provide Services to Clients with Disability in New South Wales, Australia

“…At the launch of the survey only minimal empirical research had examined the topic of sex workers providing services to clients with disability, predominantly from the UK (Sanders, , 2007. Additional academic findings have since emerged (Earp & Moen, 2016;Fritsch et al, 2016;Kulick & Rydström, 2015;Liddiard, 2014) further strengthening the resolve of the researcher to finalise this research project. This is the first time sex workers have been directly asked about their experiences with clients with disability, which has provided an enriched data set that can be utilised not only within NSW but internationally.…”

“…Other recent papers making general reference to it derive from Canada (Fritsch, Heynen, Ross, & van der Meulen, 2016) and Ireland (Bonnie, 2002;Huschke & Schubotz, 2016). The earliest known reference in Australian film comes from an obscure slapstick detective comedy called Plugg (1976).…”