“…..the problem of disabled sexuality is not how to do it but who to do it with. The barriers to the sexual expression of disabled people are primarily due to the society in which we live, not the bodies with which we are endowed.” – Shakespeare, 2000.
Writing around the broader theme of gender, subjectivity and sexual identity, Renu Addlakha in her research work has focused on how young people with disabilities conceptualise the body, sex and marriage in urban India. She has used case studies here, hence, one can get an in-depth understanding of the problem. Through her work and also through many previous works done on a similar topic, “it is evident that people with disabilities, their sexual needs, dreams and aspirations are more or less rendered invisible. Sexual and reproductive rights are not seen to be relevant to them.” – Renu Addlakha, 2007.
According to World Bank reports, one billion or, 15% of the world’s population suffers from some form of disability, and disability prevalence is higher for developing countries. Women and the LGBTQIA+ community face the double burden of marginalisation. People with disability are the most marginalized in society in all aspects of life. “Even in religion and mythology, negative characters were attributed some form of deformity. E.g: Manthara (hunchback), Shakuni (lame).” – Ghai, 2002. This reinforces the law of karma (being disabled is the just retribution for past misdeeds). Such constructions of disability by the non-disabled have the dual effect of not only justifying the complete marginalization and disempowerment of a whole population group but also leading to the internalisation of such negative stereotypes by disabled persons themselves (Addlakha, 2007).
Further, Addlakha’s research work helps us understand how men with disabilities have greater access to health, education and employment opportunities than their female counterparts. They also find it easier to find sexual partners both with and without disabilities. A woman with a disability is considered incapable of fulfilling the normative feminine roles of homemaker, wife and mother. In terms of physical appearance too, she doesn’t fit the stereotype of the ‘normal’ woman.
Women embody family honour in the Indian context. Hence, disabled girls are kept hidden at homes by families and denied basic rights to mobility, education and employment. Parents become more protective and restrictive especially after the girl reaches puberty. Travelling to school is a double burden, transport difficulties coupled with the danger of sexual abuse and violation. Furthermore, the reasoning that there is no point investing in a disabled girl’s education, as she will never anyhow be able to earn. She will eventually be a ‘lifelong burden’ on the natal family because marriage is also not a realistic option. They may thus be married off to older already married or men in poor health.
Annulment of marriage on the account of disability is a major factor in the lives of women with disabilities. There are more divorced or separated wives than husbands with disabilities. Very often, this happens because the natal family chooses to conceal the disability, especially if it is an invisible one like mental illness at the time of marriage. At other times, the disabled married women may be expelled from the marital home for other reasons, ranging from her inability to satisfactorily perform household chores to bearing a disabled child. In short, women with disabilities do not have the same options of marriage and motherhood as non – disabled women. Being nurturing and caring are core components of normative constructions of feminity, but women with disabilities are themselves in need of care. This inversion reduces them to the status of being lesser than women.
From a research point of view, more detailed surveys in this area are essential to etch a deeper and more nuanced understanding of the phenomenon at both macro and micro levels. Empirical and analytical scrutiny is very important here along with the common sense understanding.
Renu Addlakha, through case studies, has brought out the dilemmas faced by persons with disability to construct their sexual identities within the dominant heteronormative discourses of conjugality in the Indian context. Adolescents and young people are chosen as participants since the development of personal identity occurs here. People with disabilities may experience greater dependency and internalise a perception of helplessness and withdrawal. Therefore, the aims of researching them should bring in at least some positivity in their minds about themselves and help them live independent, dignified lives.
Interestingly, though the number of disabled population is more in Asian countries, researchers studying disability are more from European countries. Some of the prominent researchers studying sexuality and disability are Alex Comfort (British) whose book Joy Of Sex is famous, Jacob Neufeld (Idaho, USA), Fred Klingbeil (Lowa, USA). It’s possible that the researchers in Asian countries lack support at a larger level because the extent to which sex and sexuality in disabled people are stigmatised is far deeper than it is in European countries. Culture plays an important role here, as the values, folkways of both Asian and European countries differ vastly. And hence, in the Asian countries where this topic is seen as a taboo, the state should step forward for a progressive change and invest more in such researches and see the problems of disability as a larger concern. Reservations have helped them to achieve education. Similarly, reservations can also be helpful to them in employment.
However, this reservation rather than being tokenism should aim at quality employment for the disabled. Also, the participants of this research were students who came from relatively safe environs and are also to some extent, privileged. Therefore, results of this research work cannot be generalized and more research is needed to study the unsafe environs of the society, to study the intersections of caste, race, religion, class and sexuality. However, this remains a well-established fact that the disabled communities worldwide, face marginalisation and exclusion at extreme levels.
Writing on the intersections of sexuality and disability is not a new phenomenon. Various articles are available on the internet ranging from scholarly articles to personal blogs. However, news as an agency has not been very disability inclusive. Only those cases make up to news articles where heinous offences of sexual abuse have occurred against the disabled, especially women and children. Also, employment rates in news agencies are extremely low. How many journalists or news anchors from disabled communities do we see on our television? It is the responsibility of journalism schools and of the state to make such spaces more accessible for them.
LGBTQIA+ community with disabilities are rarely looked upon as a topic of concern and thus, insufficient work has been done to study and understand them. Also, physical disability gets comparatively more attention to psychological disability. According to the participants of research done by Addlakha, there is a general tendency to pour in sympathy for the disabled communities and pity them whereas efforts to help them live dignified and independent lives should be the larger concern. Also, a deconstruction of the term “disability” is essential to gain a broader understanding of the topic as well as to gain inclusivity for the disabled bodies. After all, if lack of ability is disability, almost every human being will lack some ability. Disability then, can strike anyone, at any time. Maybe through a bad accident or through any traumatic event! Norms of patriarchal body standards, narrow understanding of “normality” and faulty public architectural styles, etc., consistently contribute to producing the stigmatised “disabled” beings in the “differently abled” beings. Stigmatising and marginalising people with disability is disrespecting diversity.
Focusing on media as an agency which has huge capabilities of moulding perceptions in society, it too has not been very inclusive. Even if there are films made on disability like “Fanaa”, “Black”, “Iqbal”, “Guzaarish” and maybe a few more (with many problems in them), the question of poor and inadequate representation still remains. Films have not aimed at empowering disabled people. Rather, the way the question of disability is portrayed in films is rarely true to life. They continue to reinforce the common stereotypes attached to disability. Romance in disabled bodies becomes a less masaledar area for Bollywood. The leading roles of movies which are supposed to be disability centric are not played by actors who belong to the community. It is not that there are no such actors who will aspire to work but it is that the Bollywood does not feel like investing in them. Also, advertising agencies have played a hand in this exclusion. Rarely do we see people from disabled communities advertising for any product.
To conclude, we have a very long way to go as far as the questions of disability is concerned. Acceptance of disability as normal is essential for they too have the same Constitutional rights as human beings as other communities have. But can they enjoy these rights? Especially the rights pertaining to sexuality and sex. Do we let them access to their own rights? Sadly, No. And this is a global problem because in almost every society, maybe in different levels and forms, every institution, there is institutionalised violence against the disables. This violence may not every time be physical in nature, most of the times, it is in the form of poor or no representation, exclusion and marginalisation. Disabled lives are constantly lived on the edges, being extremely vulnerable. Violence against both mentally and physically disabled people is rampant, especially in children. Their lives too need to be improved, empowered and dignified for they too deserve this, they too, are human beings!