By Kristen Williams
I

t’s 2019 and the internet is aflame with hot disabled people pushing you to acknowledge their sexual prowess and your ableism all at once, through the #DisabledPeopleAreHot social media trend. Disabled people from all four corners of our flat earth are popping up in their sexy outfits and everyday lives being, well, hot.

The “disabled people are hot movement,” as it’s now being dubbed, has been alive and thriving for about a month now, and was originally started by Andrew Gurza, who works as a sex and disability consultant. The point of the whole thing is to give space and representation to disabled people for the sexual beings that we are — and to also show able-bodied people that we exist in sexual capacities.

As a population with a history of desexualization and disenfranchisement, #DisabledPeopleAreHot works to bring the sexuality and humanity of disabled people to the fore. And so far, it’s done just that for a wide range of disabled people, spanning from here in Canada to places like France, Kenya, and many spaces in between.

When we as disabled people pick our own photos and audiences (through privacy settings and such), we are navigating how we are seen and by whom.

Unfortunately, not everyone is on board with the hashtag or its goals, with some believing that it hypersexualizes or objectifies people with disabilities. But objectification is a passive process, with the goal of dehumanizing someone, often for the sexual pleasure of the viewer. With #DisabledPeopleAreHot, however, the narrative around disabled bodies is actively controlled by disabled people.

Choosing which particular photos of us are seen on social media also flies in the face of “inspiration porn,” a term coined to describe the act of abled people using scenes from disabled lives to feel better about their own lives.

When we as disabled people pick our own photos and audiences (through privacy settings and such), we are navigating how we are seen and by whom.

In the process of posting, we are also owning our own stories, instead of hinging on the stories of people that are able bodied.

Even if you’re not a fan of racy photos , I encourage you to see #DisabledPeopleAreHot for what it is: a wide-spread movement to make disabled people seen. Viewing disabled people as sexual is long overdue, and the internet at large is finally recognizing that.

 

One Reply to “Explaining Disabled People Are Hot: The truth behind the hashtag”

  1. It’s true, every human and animals have sexual feelings,, it has to be met at the right time

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