Women are still harshly judged for their sexuality, which suggests that sexual freedom may be even more difficult to achieve for women with disabilities. This work aims to contribute to this fight. This paper reports on semi-structured interviews conducted with six women with motor disabilities, which were analysed through thematic analysis with affinity diagrams and resulted in 13 main themes, grouped into context factors and individual factors. The results confirm the existence of false ideas that people with disabilities are asexual, incapable of having sex, infantilized, and seen as being on the fringes of a so-called normal life. But the participants in this study said that they enjoy sex and they intend to continue exploring this area, even with different abilities and changes in sensitivity. They highlighted the lack of appropriate information and adequate solutions. Based on some of the requirements mentioned, we developed a design concept focused on sexual pleasure and versatile use. The proposed kit contains three sex toys to encourage exploration of various areas of the body and an associated information, participation, and personalization service. We argue that Design can play an important role in this area by providing adequate solutions, but also by listening and responding to the needs of women with motor disabilities.

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“I Am Still a Woman”: Design, Disability, and Sexual Pleasure

  • Catarina Esteves,
  • Paula Trigueiros,
  • Alison Burrows

摘要

Women are still harshly judged for their sexuality, which suggests that sexual freedom may be even more difficult to achieve for women with disabilities. This work aims to contribute to this fight. This paper reports on semi-structured interviews conducted with six women with motor disabilities, which were analysed through thematic analysis with affinity diagrams and resulted in 13 main themes, grouped into context factors and individual factors. The results confirm the existence of false ideas that people with disabilities are asexual, incapable of having sex, infantilized, and seen as being on the fringes of a so-called normal life. But the participants in this study said that they enjoy sex and they intend to continue exploring this area, even with different abilities and changes in sensitivity. They highlighted the lack of appropriate information and adequate solutions. Based on some of the requirements mentioned, we developed a design concept focused on sexual pleasure and versatile use. The proposed kit contains three sex toys to encourage exploration of various areas of the body and an associated information, participation, and personalization service. We argue that Design can play an important role in this area by providing adequate solutions, but also by listening and responding to the needs of women with motor disabilities.