Parallels and Alliances: The Lived Experiences of Young, Disabled Bisexual People

Abstract

Young people (16–25) who identify as bisexual and disabled have to work against dominant forces of homo/heteronormativity and ableism which regulate sexuality and normalcy. Their lives demonstrate the complex negotiations that must be enacted in order to reside within such restrictive confines. This article uses the lived experience of 15 young (16–25 years) disabled and bisexual identified persons to understand how such identities intersect. Throughout, the voices of young people are centered in order to ensure that their experiences guide the article. Exploration of such life-stories highlights parallels between bisexual and disabled experiences, particularly in terms of misconceptions, erasure/invisibility and how dominant forces are resisted. The article suggests that a bisexual/disabled alliance is potentially fruitful for gaining a more nuanced and detailed understanding of sexuality and disability.

Keywords:

• Bisexuality
• disability
• youth
• qualitative
• identity

Notes

1 Examples include: Andrew Gurza, Penny Pepper, Anna Mardoll.

2 See: https://www.stonewall.org.uk/people/bi-role-model-year-2019-hafsa-qureshi

3 Throughout this article I use LGBT + in reference to the partcipants, as with my previous work.. This encompasses a full range of sexualities and gender identities and is not done to diminish identities which reside within the ‘+’. It is used for consistency and the fact that this was the preferred term used by the young people and the support groups/networks engaged with.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Alex Toft

Alex Toft (PhD) is a Research Fellow in the Nottingham Center for Children, Young People and Families at Nottingham Trent University. His research focuses upon sexuality, gender, disability, spirituality and identity theory. His work includes Bisexuality and Spirituality: Critical Perspectives (2020, with Andrew Yip), and Young, Disabled and LGBT+: Voices, Identities and Intersections (2020, with Anita Franklin) and has published in journals including Sexualities and Journal of LGBT Youth. He has worked on projects funded by organizations such as NSPCC and the Fundamental Rights Agency (EU), and recently received British Academy funding to conduct research exploring the negotiation of identity in the lives of young disabled LGBT + people.