Description
Book SynopsisDon Kulick and Jens Rydström argue that for people with disabilities, being able to explore their sexuality is an issue of fundamental social justice. The authors analyze how Sweden and Denmark engage with the sexuality of people with disabilities; whereas Sweden hinders sexuality, Denmark supports it through the work of third-party sexual helpers.
Trade Review“Complex but important to disability studies programs. … Recommended. Graduate students, faculty, professionals." -- J. L. Croissant * Choice *
“This is a powerful book, sure to make the reader sit up, both intellectually and emotionally, as it considers a subject still largely hidden from investigative scrutiny because of ignorance, anxiety, prejudice and false moralities….
Loneliness and its Opposite will make highly rewarding reading for academically oriented insiders and various feminist, queer, disability and welfare state theorists.” -- E. Stina Lyon * Times Higher Education *
"Kulick and Rydström make important and timely contributions to several disciplines, including disability studies, social work and gender studies.
Loneliness and Its Opposite is a must-read for those who work with and care for people with disabilities and it should also be of great interest to disability and gender studies scholars. Readers will be impressed by the breadth of historical detail and will be challenged to further consider the materiality of disability. . . ." -- Margaret Campbell * Social Anthropology *
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Loneliness and its Opposite is an important contribution to the ongoing work of advancing the sexual lives of disabled people, particularly in its empirical findings that show how life changing politically progressive policy frameworks can be for disabled lives when they are both well funded and when there exists a strong commitment to facilitating those policies in practice." -- Kelly Fritsch * Feminist Review *
"Thought provoking, intentionally humorous at many times, and possessing a rare clarity in argument, this book should be broadly assigned, read, and debated in both undergraduate and graduate seminars." -- Karen Nakamura * Medical Anthropology Quarterly *
"As a medical anthropologist interested in chronicity and impairment, I’m more than a little in love with
Loneliness and Its Opposite. It makes me attempt to take a more inclusive and daring approach, both in the topics I study as well as the work produced. The work is compelling and accessible, written in a style that captures the reader at the start and holds that interest throughout." -- Narelle Warren * Somatosphere *
"
Loneliness and Its Opposite goes a long way toward understanding how a right to sex might be realized for people with disabilities. In their engaging anthropological/historical study of Denmark and Sweden, we hear from sex workers and people with disabilities, read about obscure policy papers and academic articles on disability, and see sexually explicit education pamphlets and movie stills. All of this provides the reader with a rich understanding of those countries’ approaches to sexuality and disability. In the process, it forces us to confront the role of the state in facilitating sexual expression for those with cognitive or physical impairments." -- Alexander A. Boni-Saenz * New Rambler Review *
"[S]imultaneously unsettles a number of taken-for-granted notions about what it means to care or what it means to fulfill a right. As such, this intriguing book deserves a readership outside the realm of sexuality or disability studies." -- Bjarke Oxlund * American Anthropologist *
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments xi
1. The Subject of Sex 1
2. The Roots of Engagement 39
3. How to Impede and How to Facilitate the Erotic Lives of People with Disabilities 78
4. Shifting Boundaries 119
5. Paying for Sexual Services 174
6. Why the Difference? 217
7. Disability and Sexuality—Who Cares? 262
Appendix: Breakdown of Interviews 297
Notes 299
Bibliography 325
Index 345
