Why are a lot of the books written about s#x and disabilities written by/for queer people?

[KidsHappen]

I was recently looking for books about sex for people with disabilities and I could only find one or two. However, I came across several by/for queer people with disabilities. Why? Certainly there are more disabled people who are not queer than ones who are so why is the books ratio lean in the other direction. Is there some relation between the two that I am missing? Are a large percentage of queer people disabled, or is being queer considered a disability or perhaps having a disability is consider queer? These are all honest questions asked with the best of intentions. I am just trying to make sense of what I am seeing and determine if I am missing something.

[Laura Corin]

14 minutes ago, KidsHappen said:

I was recently looking for books about sex for people with disabilities and I could only find one or two. However, I came across several by/for queer people with disabilities. Why? Certainly there are more disabled people who are not queer than ones who are so why is the books ratio lean in the other direction. Is there some relation between the two that I am missing? Are a large percentage of queer people disabled, or is being queer considered a disability or perhaps having a disability is consider queer? These are all honest questions asked with the best of intentions. I am just trying to make sense of what I am seeing and determine if I am missing something.

Just guessing, perhaps queer people are more open in general to talking about subjects that mainstream society finds difficult?  That's what I see with the young queer people I know.

[QueenCat]

Being queer is definitely not a disability. I agree with Laura in that more people that are queer find it easier to talk about more sensitive subjects.

[HomeAgain]

There is not enough clear evidence, but autism seems to have a correlation with higher rates of gender dysphoria and/or non-heterosexual conforming identities.  I'm not sure what the books you were looking at were, but if this was a connection in them I would not be surprised to find books written for a specific audience.

[Rosie_0801]

The more minority groups you identify with, the more thinking you have to do about how to live, I guess.

[ocelotmom]

On 6/1/2023 at 3:18 AM, KidsHappen said:

or is being queer considered a disability or perhaps having a disability is consider queer? 

Wouldn't even looking over a brief summary of the book clarify this? Usually such books would include some sort of information on what subjects they cover, since "disabilities" is a broad topic, and advice aimed at someone with physical disabilities would be vastly different from that aimed at someone with sensory issues, for example.

While I have seen people use language that is at least disability-adjacent to talk about LGBTQ+ people (including themselves), I have never seen someone self-aware enough to be writing a queer sex book use it in that sense.

In addition to what has already been said, which I agree with, there are well known health disparities between the LGBTQ+ population and the general population. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5478215/ provides a good overview of the subject (while this particular article is focused on youth, similar issue do apply throughout the lifespan). Given that, it is reasonable to think that there may be higher levels of disability in the LGBTQ+ population.

[Lecka]

Here is my opinion.

I think there are books written about adults or teens with disabilities, and those books have a chapter, or a section with a few chapters, about sex and sex Ed and related issues.  They don’t include LGBT issues.  
 

Then people read those books and see LGBT issues aren’t included.  They write a separate book to address that.

I can’t say if newer editions of these books have, or will have, LGBT information included.

 

Honestly they might not.  If you’re looking at things written for high school special education to use, I don’t think all those books are going to have LGBT content anytime soon.  Or, I don’t think it would necessarily be covered at the level that someone who was LGBT would need.  
 

I am picturing books I have read about teens and/or adults with disabilities and I can’t remember any significant coverage of LGBT issues at all or it coming up in the chapters about sex.  But yes there are sections about sexual development, consent, relationships, etc. in books I’ve read.  
 

But I have not read a whole book on this topic.  I have not looked at specifically sex education materials.  So, I can’t compare their coverage.  I have felt like there has been a decent amount of coverage in what I’ve read, but not at the level of a curriculum.  

 

Edited June 2, 2023 by Lecka

[Lecka]

I have also heard numbers like previous posters are mentioning, for autism.  
 

It is interesting, I also wonder why the amount of books would be so different.  
 

On some level there must be a market for them!  
 

I do also think there are some things that are like sex ed curriculums and they might not be on Amazon with books.  They might not come up on an Amazon search for a book about sex.  
 

I think if op has any connection to a therapist or teacher, that person might know about more materials like this.  
 

There really are materials that just don’t seem to be sold on Amazon.  
 

I also would not be surprised to find something on teachers pay teachers.  I haven’t looked, but it would be a place I would look.  Not for a book — but for some kind of program or series of lessons someone has made.  

[Danae]

I would guess that 

1)  Queer people are more open to talking/writing/thinking about non-standard, creative ways to have sex, which might be necessary when dealing with some disabilities.

2) People who are writing about disabilities are aware of inclusion/exclusion dynamics and want to include as many people as possible in their books.  

[Lecka]

A 5 Is Against the Law: Social Boundaries - a Compassionate but Honest Guide for Teens and Young Adults (The Incredible 5-Point Scale) https://a.co/d/fXgjjNr
 

I don’t know if this is what op would be looking for — this book has a good reputation.  It’s more for autism.  
 

I have seen a sex Ed curriculum and heard it has a good reputation, but of course now I can’t remember what it’s called.  Iirc it was aimed at Down Syndrome and Autism.  But it’s the kind of thing where there were more basic chapters and more complex chapters, and people could choose what was appropriate for different students.  

[Lecka]

Really — I think the best thing might be to ask?  A professional of some kind who might know, or on a parent group for the disability someone might know.

There is definitely stuff out there, but there’s so many different levels and different disabilities.  
 

My thoughts are look for things like life skills, dating, relationships, or things that say teen or young adult.

 

I think there are things that aren’t saying sex, but they say teen or young adult and something about dating or social skills.  And there’s some section about sex.  


But someone might be able to point you towards some good resources that would be the right thing you’re looking for.

 

It’s something that comes up for people working with teens and young adults for sure!  
 

 

[KidsHappen]

Ok, I think I figured out where I went wrong. I was looking for a practical guide for adults with physical disabilities. I went to Amazon and put "$ex and disabilities" in the search bar and most of the books that came up had to do with teaching or parenting teens or young adults who had autism or down syndrome or other disabilities about $ex. Some of the books dealt with the intersectionality of these disabilities and LBGTQ issues. 

Some of these books had very non-specific titles like "$ex and Disabilities" and when I would click on them the author would say written by a queer person for queer people or something to that effect. I can't even find the exact same books tonight or at least remember which ones they were. But that was obviously not what I was looking for and I didn't realize what a broad subject this could be (probably because I had one specific thing in mind) until I read some of the posts here.

I guess I was not specific enough in my search terms. I went back and looked for "$ex and physical disabilities" and came up with a few more books, some of which were ridiculously expensive, others written specifically for healthcare workers and some about disability studies and awareness. I picked a few to look at a little deeper but at first glance it does not seem that what I am looking for is available. But at least I am somewhat less confused about what I was looking for compared to what I found. 

Edited June 3, 2023 by KidsHappen

[J-rap]

I would guess it's because people with disabilities are able to get advice and strategies through medical or other counselors who are trained and sensitive to their particular issues.  Disabilities vary so greatly that there wouldn't be a one-size-fits-all book.  It feels more complicated and personal than just reading a book.  

I just read your last post though, so it sounds like maybe you're getting somewhere!