Feminism, rape culture, and intellectual disability: Incorporating sexual self-advocacy and sexual consent capacity

Abstract

In the United States, talk and text about sex is everywhere, yet "it" remains a mystery for many, and sexual empowerment is often elusive. People in the United States continue to be exposed to some of the highest rates of unplanned pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and sexual violence in North America and Western Europe (Advocates for Youth 2011; Lottes 2002). Abstinence focused sexuality policies leave little room for meaningful opportunities to explore sexual facts and values through sexuality education; this is especially true for people with intellectual disabilities (ID). While feminists have been at the forefront of resisting sexual violence and increasing sexuality education, early feminists distanced from issues of disability and sexuality in order to gain rights for nondisabled women (Lamp and Cleigh 2011). Fortunately, contemporary feminists and disability communities are beginning to transform this, bringing disability into feminist scholarship, discourse, and activism, and feminism into disability studies (Garland-Thomson 2005; Hall 2011).