(S)exerpts from a life told: sex,

gender and learning disability

Chrissie Rogers, Brunel University

Christine.rogers@brunel.ac.uk

Disability Studies Conference 2008

(S)excerpts from a life told: sex, gender and learning disability Introduction Accessing the subject Sexperimentation Educating sexuality Governing the sexual

Some conclusions?

In the first instance although these young adults are developmentally less able does this mean they have a dependent and therefore childlike identity?

Young learning disabled women might not always be able to have, want to have, control or understand sex and intimate relationships, but this does not mean that they should be excluded from participating in these discourses and practices.

Substantively and crucially, the questions raised by my own story with Sarah, are posed throughout the paper.

They offer the reader insight into difficulty, difference, and the social processes that come with the lived experience of dealing with sex, sexual activity and learning disability.

Broadly though, legal, political and social discourse around sexual identity, sexual activity, governance and learning disabled adults still remain contentious, but must not remain hidden based on aversions to difficulties surrounding these issues.

Note: this paper, in full, will be in Sexualities in 2009, please ask me for a copy if you want one before then.