Increasing Opportunities for Healthy Sexual Socialization in LGBTQ+ People with IDD: The Role of LGBTQ+ Organizations and Community

Abstract

In the current intersectionality-focused discourse within sexuality research, individuals existing at the convergence of intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer+ (LGBTQ+) are often overlooked. Individuals with IDD face difficulties acquiring sexual knowledge and skills due to limited opportunities for sexual socialization, misconceptions concerning sexuality and IDD, lack of comprehensive sexual education, restricted support from staff and caregivers, and a lack of community experiences that facilitate the development of healthy sexuality. When an individual with IDD identifies as LGBTQ+, these disability-related barriers can exacerbate the stigma and discrimination some LGBTQ+ people experience. Using the intimate justice framework, we explore avenues to support and foster inclusivity within the LGBTQ+ community for members with IDD. Several recommendations were identified from the literature search, including logistical considerations and using accessible language for outreach events, presentations, workshops, training, and other activities and opportunities for sexuality education while challenging disability-related stigma in LGBTQ+ spaces.

Beyond “not my type”: A quantitative examination of intraminority stigma among gay men who use dating apps.

“…Because race/ethnicity was treated as a binary variable (i.e., non-Hispanic White or another race/ethnicity) in all analyses to preserve statistical power, this study precludes the analysis of within-group differences among gay men of color and may overshadow anti-Black bias that is prevalent within the United States and across the globe (e.g., colorism in Latin America; Cuevas et al, 2016; Liu et al, 2023), thereby limiting the findings and implications for working with gay men from different racial/ethnic groups. Furthermore, not all possible forms of intraminority stigma were measured, such as community-level denigration based on height, sexual position, human immunodeficiency virus status, disability status, and consensual nonmonogamy (Hammack et al, 2022; Pachankis et al, 2020; Simić Stanojević et al, 2023; Stewart et al, 2021), all of which may intersect with each other to influence gay men’s experiences on dating apps.…”