Sex & Disability

Finally, a sex-positive guide for all of us who live with disabilities, pain & chronic illness!

We are preparing a sex-positive resource book on sexuality and disability to be published by Cleis Press. We are hoping that our book will offer helpful, pertinent information, advice, and support for readers of diverse experiences (heterosexual, bisexual and gay, young and old, partnered and single, sexually experienced and new to sexual exploration) representing a wide range of disabilities. Our guide will also reflect the experiences of people who live with chronic illness, pain, and other conditions that effect their sex lives. We want to hear from you, too!

If you identify yourself as having a disability, we would like to hear from you!

We hope you will complete our full questionnaire - or arrange a telephone interview. Survey participants’ comments will appear as brief, anonymous quotes throughout the text. If we use your words in the book, we will send you a free copy upon publication. Your anonymity will be protected. If you - or someone you know - would like to participate but are not able to fill out a paper or electronic survey, we will be happy to interview you by phone. (If you are under age 21, we will need written consent of your parent or guardian. Please contact us for more information.)

Do you have a story to tell?

We intend our guide to be explicit and user-friendly. So don’t hold back! Here’s your chance to share your experience, teach others what you’ve learned, rant about your difficulties, rave about your successes, celebrate your survival, and tell your favorite stories!

Negotiating with attendants about sex

Living with little (or no) privacy

Talking with doctors, rehab workers, ot’s, pt’s about sex

Ways to meet people

Flirting

Communicating with a potential or current partner about sex

People’s expectations about your disability/sexuality

Paying for sex

Sex on the Internet

Masturbating

S/M play

Using sex toys

Orgasms (are they important?)

Sex with partners

Phone-sex

Cleis Press is the publisher of many groundbreaking books on sexuality, including The New Good Vibrations Guide to Sex. Many people know Cleis as the publisher of the first feminist book on women and disability, With the Power of Each Breath: A Disabled Women’s Anthology (1985). Cory Silverberg is co-owner of Come as You Are, a co-operatively owned sex toy store in Toronto. He has an M. Ed in Psychology from University of Toronto. He has written and presented on the topic of sexuality and disability in Canada and the U.S. since 1991. Felice Newman co-founded Cleis Press in 1980. As publisher of Cleis Press, she has edited and produced many books on sexuality. She recently completed the San Francisco Sex Information volunteer training, which is the most comprehensive course in human sexuality available.

U.S.:
Felice Newman, (415) 575-4700
Cleis Press
PO Box 14684
San Francisco, CA 94114

Canada:
Cory Silverberg, (416) 504-7934
CAYA Co-op
701 Queen St. West
Toronto, Ontario M6J 1E6

Email: fncleis@aol.com or csilverb@interlog.com

Please distribute, reprint, post & pass along to your friends!