5 women share their stories about life and dating with a disability
CBC
Dating is hard.
Dating as a young woman with a disability comes with its own challenges.
There are as many different experiences as there are people living with disabilities. Some good, some bad.
But within the community, between friends, and now, even within larger groups, conversations about romance and sexuality are happening.
Through those conversations, and in speaking out to the larger community, women with disabilities can help break down misinformation and misconceptions when it comes to navigating their sexuality. And express confidence in who they are.
Whether it is about how to talk to potential partners about hopes and desires, or needs and concerns; from the physical aspects of safe intimacy to understanding gender expression; from self acceptance to naughty foreplay.
As part of the disabled community, I reached out to several other young women to talk about their stories. I let their words speak for themselves. Because of the sensitive nature of the conversations, we are using their first names only.
"I am a mom, wife, a former engineer, an aspiring social worker," says Jung.
"I am currently in my last week of completing my last practicum toward my bachelor of social work at the University of Calgary, and a proud Canadian."
Jung was born in South Korea and moved to Canada at the age of seven.
"I have congenital scoliosis and spina bifida," says Jung. "So I do have scars from different surgeries and I also walk with a cane. It's not really anything different, it was just being comfortable showing those scars. More about the mental comfort, which is more of a self-image thing."
Dating was difficult.
"It was difficult because I almost felt like I couldn't have a sexual side … when I hit puberty and started getting interested in boys. And it was a cultural thing, too. Because I thought, 'I have a disability and boys won't like me.'"
"Sometimes I would like to count myself out," says Jung. "I have a lot of great guy friends but I would put them in the friend zone."
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