Around fifteen disabled gay, lesbian and bisexual (GLB) people are currently involved in the project. “Homo-disability — What is the relationship between homosexuality and disability?”, coordinated by Arcigay and created in collaboration with the Bologna Family Therapy Center, the association Bologna Disability Documentation Center and Handicap in Rome.
Homo-disability
“But the project continues — he says Raffaele Lelleri, head of Health at Arcigay and supervisor of the investigation – and we are looking for other people who want to describe their daily life, the difficulties encountered and the solutions adopted in living a sort of ‘'double condition'’: being simultaneously disabled and homosexual/bisexual”.
The interviewees ranged in age from 20 to 60 and came primarily from Northern and Central Italy. The type of disability was primarily physical, congenital, or acquired; however, life stories were also collected from people with sensory disabilities. The interviews were conducted using a variety of methods, from video recording to audio recording to virtual interviews via chat.
What is most striking is invisibility and isolation, most often due to problems connected to disability: obstacles in moving around and declaring oneself as disabled, difficulties in coming to terms with one's deficit, in a society - even a LGBT one - that emphasizes physical prowess, young age and a certain type of beauty.
“I particularly remember the words of an interviewee – says Lelleri – He told us: It makes a huge difference whether someone who comes out as gay is able-bodied or disabled. In the case of a disabled person, this choice is initially considered abnormal, then bizarre… They make it clear to you, without words: a disabled person should not think about sex, let alone homosexual sex!?!”.
Numerous topics were covered during the interviews, including: coming out of both homosexuality and disability, family attitudes, reference points and friendships, the role of the Internet, the services used and the relationship with institutions and professional associations (both for disabled and homosexual/bisexual people), the work environment, emotional and sexual life, couple relationships and relationships with others.
In a world where LGBT people with disabilities have very few spaces for participation, it is even more important make your voice heard. Our goal is to better understand the expectations and integration paths that could be activated, in order to improve dialogue between associations. We guarantee respect for privacy, in any case, and anonymity, if desired..
LGBT people with disabilities willing to be interviewed can contact, even via SMS, the number
348.5167091
(if it is off leave a message on the answering machine), or write to
[email protected]
Deadline: end of October 2006.