Full Description
Few people these days would oppose making the public realm of space, social services and jobs accessible to women and men with disabilities. But what about access to the private realm of desire and sexuality? How can one also facilitate access to that, in ways that respect the integrity of disabled adults, and also of those people who work with and care for them?
Loneliness and Its Opposite documents how two countries generally imagined to be progressive engage with these questions in very different ways. Denmark and Sweden are both liberal welfare states, but they diverge dramatically when it comes to sexuality and disability. In Denmark, the erotic lives of people with disabilities are acknowledged and facilitated. In Sweden, they are denied and blocked. Why do these differences exist, and how do both facilitation and hindrance play out in practice?
Loneliness and Its Opposite charts complex boundaries between private and public, love and sex, work and intimacy, and affection and abuse. It shows how providing disabled adults with access to sexual lives is not just crucial for a life with dignity. It is an issue of fundamental social justice with far reaching consequences for everyone.
Contents
Acknowledgments xi
1. The Subject of Sex 1
2. The Roots of Engagement 39
3. How to Impede and How to Facilitate the Erotic Lives of People with Disabilities 78
4. Shifting Boundaries 119
5. Paying for Sexual Services 174
6. Why the Difference? 217
7. Disability and Sexuality-Who Cares? 262
Appendix: Breakdown of Interviews 297
Notes 299
Bibliography 325
Index 345
