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Watching Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s explanation of how the Capitol riots impacted her mental well-being and compounded the trauma of a previous sexual assault felt like watching my own life on replay. Not because the Capitol riots personally affected me, but because I am a survivor of multiple traumas and I...

Filmmakers often attempt to tell disabled stories, but few cast disabled actors in disabled roles. Thankfully, Netflix's adaptation of the globally renowned novel All the Light We Cannot See rejected that tired option by conducting a worldwide search to find visually impaired actors for the lead role of Marie-Laure Leblanc...

From teenage sex to unhealthy parent-child dynamics, Ginny & Georgia is a smorgasbord of challenging topics that are seldom depicted sympathetically on-screen. The Netflix series centres the mother-daughter dynamic between the titular Ginny (Antonia Gentry) and Georgia (Brianne Howey), depicting its high points and moments of great emotional upheaval, one...

Representations of disability in the film industry have a long and storied history of being wrong. It's undeniable that improving disability inclusion within the industry, including hiring more disabled writers and producers, would enhance the accuracy of portrayals of disability on screen.

Good Omens' second season nailed disability representation without tokenising a community that rarely gets depicted on screen. Too many representations of disabled people stray into the objectively bad or dangerously prejudiced categories of filmmaking. Narratives position disabled people as burdens, inspirations, or mistakes of biology that must be fixed. Visual...

Before departing England to become a digital nomad, my body confidence was at an all-time high. As a teenager, I developed a distorted relationship with food, bouncing between starvation, binge eating and vomiting, with over-exercising dominating my daily routine. Until my early 20s, I tore my body to shreds every...

Travelling the globe is an adventure I will never regret but when you’re taking it on solo, an unwelcome passenger sometimes makes an appearance: loneliness. While I constantly meet new people travelling full-time as a digital nomad, it is no easy feat to make and keep friends on the road....

“It’s helpful to realize there is no silver bullet treatment or one-size-fits-all therapeutic approach to pain,” says Dr. Jacob Hascalovici, chief medical officer for Clearing. This is one of those nuggets of advice that, for people living with chronic pain, is frustrating and healing in equal measure. There is no...

All relationships involve caring for a partner. Sometimes you’ll need them more than they need you, and vice versa. Mutual care, and respect, are key parts of maintaining synergy in a romantic relationship. However, when living with a disability or a chronic illness, striking the right balance between being cared...

My hair is arranged to cascade down my back. My expression is balanced between sultry and innocent. As I moan, I’m encouraging the lackluster performance of my partner enjoying the view beneath me. Apparently, I’m having the time of my life, riding into a sunset of pleasure without a care...

The sheets are as tangled as my thoughts, each crease is a reflection of my confusion and exhaustion. There are too many emotions to count. One breaks the surface asking to be processed only to be drowned out by another one demanding attention. I have a sex hangover. Last night,...

They changed the sexual landscape forever but do vibrators decrease sensitivity, you know, down there? Are these wondrous inventions—app-controlled vibrators, clit vibrators, finger vibrators, et al—undermining your pleasurable potential? The global sex toy market is steadily growing and research indicates its worth will double from $40.6 billion in 2023 to...

Exploring pleasure is a natural process for the average masturbator but sometimes the price tag attached to sex toys subdues an orgasm before it truly peaks. In 2020, the global sex toy market was valued at $33.64 billion and even though sex positivity and accompanying pleasure gadgets are seemingly taking...

A new study has revealed that bisexual women are four times more likely than heterosexual people to have long-term physical and mental health problems. The stereotype of the chronically ill bisexual has long been laughed about between LGBTQ+ disabled friends, and now there’s clear evidence that bisexual people – particularly...

For anyone born visibly disabled in ancient Rome, being stoned to death was a very real possibility. According to the Twelve Tables – the foundation of Roman law – anyone with a ‘visible deformity’ was better off stoned to death before their life impacted the livelihood of other citizens.

When my last relationship came to an end, one of the primary reasons was their inability to deal with my disability. The words spoken during their dumping explanation gave credence to a fear I’ve wrestled with for most of life: partners cannot love me with my disability, they can only...

Before booking a ticket to any event, I have to figure out whether my disability will be accommodated. Although there are one billion disabled people globally, access is always stuck at the back of the priority queue for organisers and venue owners. Then the global pandemic happened and suddenly remote...

It’s impossible to know how many of the 45 million backpacking trips taken each year end with the making of another lost boy. It’s uncharted territory – perhaps because those who become lost deliberately choose to live on continents where they cannot be found.

When I was eight, I had an unnecessary hymen check. I still remember the sound of the cheap plastic curtain rings jingling as the doctor placed me on the bed and examined my vulva. Frequent medical interventions, investigations, and consultations have been a part of my life since I was...

Vulvovaginitis describes a number of conditions that affect your vulva and vagina. Here, two experts explain why you might notice a new itch or pain and what your treatment options are. If you’ve experienced pain or redness in or around your vulva (the outer parts of your genitalia) or vagina...

We all know that a sunny spring day, a hot cup of tea or a beautifully bloomed flower can spark joy, but now there’s a term to define the impact these simple things can have on our mental health – glimmers. Glimmers, which are amassing hundreds of thousands of views...

Disabled and Sexual is a new monthly(-ish) column by Hannah Shewan Stevens which will explore all the challenges, comedy, and fun that disabled people experience as sexual beings, even while we are desexualised by a predominantly non-disabled society. One of the most pervasive myths about disabled people is that we’re...

Chronic pain can negatively affect a person’s mental health and lead to thoughts of suicide. Factors like stigma and being dismissed by doctors can heighten this risk, which is why speaking out about this issue is so important.

The weight of living in a world that doesn’t consider disabled people’s needs is piling on. Something has to change. We live in a society that presumes disability is intrinsically tragic. In reality, for me and many others, being disabled actually comes with many beautiful things, including a vibrant and...

It took me more than a decade to call myself disabled. When the label finally stuck, the pride it injected — and the thriving community that came with it — enriched my life. At my sickest, I embraced my identity as disabled. Since then, the chronic illnesses that disabled me...

Amid the era of ultimate girl bosses and side hustles, I fell out of love with my greatest love: ambition. After becoming tantalisingly close to securing a dream job I had set a strict timer for ten years ago, I realised I did not want it. Saving for a mortgage,...

Finding stylish mobility aids amid a sea of dull, colourless options which match the aesthetic of a hospital ward is the bane of many fashion-forward disabled people’s wardrobes. In the UK the spending power of disabled people tops £249 billion per year yet affordable and elegant mobility aids that consider...

This April, I boarded a one-way flight from London to Bangkok in Thailand to start my life as a full-time digital nomad. I gave up a cosy rented home in Birmingham to pursue my dream of travelling and working as a freelance journalist throughout South East Asia. In the six...

Every day, people select an outfit that speaks to them but, in a world rife with gender-based violence, people with femme-presenting style are often forced to use fashion for expression and protection. Throughout history we have been targets of unwanted male harassment, violence and sexual assault, and the blame is...

LGBTQIA+ people throughout history have fought battles for equality, shown solidarity with other oppressed groups and struggled for the right to live proudly. To survive in oppressively heteronormative societies, especially before homosexuality was legalised in the West, we’ve used fashion symbols to interact safely and show pride without endangering ourselves.

Love Island has announced what it says is its “most diverse” cast ever, which includes their first physically disabled contestant: Hampshire PE teacher Hugo Hammond, who has a clubbed foot.

While fashion sometimes moves too swiftly a pace to even keep track of, the process of diversifying its catwalks is happening at a glacial pace. Yes, we are finally seeing a broader range of shapes, sizes, colours, and genders grab the spotlight they deserve, meaning it would be easy to...

Last week, Sofía Jirau made history as the first model with Down’s syndrome to pose for Victoria’s Secret. The images are stunning, yet the shoot’s launch set off ableists everywhere. Critics have denounced her history-making achievement as objectifying, arguing that it is wrong to sexualise a person with Down’s syndrome....

To state what should be the obvious: sexual assault has no time limit. Whether it lasts one second or one hour, the violation of another person’s body is equally unacceptable. Yet, apparently, this is difficult to grasp – for an Italian judge has cleared a school caretaker of groping a...

Social media is incandescent with rage about Huw Edwards’s suspended sentence, but I’m not remotely surprised. As a survivor of childhood sexual abuse who was actively discouraged from pursuing charges at all, I know it’s par for the course. This country is essentially on the edge of decriminalising childhood sexual...

In April 2022, I flew to south-east Asia for a backpacking trip designed to relieve the stress of post-pandemic life. Now, with the cost of living crisis taking over the UK, I’ll never return to live in my home country – I cannot afford to. I left full-time work in...

I made the decision to become a digital nomad after experiencing burnout. But, unlike so many of my 35 million nomadic peers, my Odyssean journey is haunted by an array of disabling chronic illnesses.

“I should tell you, I’m not great with monogamy, so I only do open relationships now,” read the WhatsApp message. Frozen in my once tranquil place on the sofa, I flicked away the notification as if its disappearance could erase the message’s existence. “What on earth does that mean?” I...

When an employer began stripping away duties and relegated her to a tiny desk in the kitchen unit of the office, Barbara Stensland knew her recent multiple sclerosis diagnosis was behind it. This was an attempt to push her out of the workplace. Eventually, after repeated requests for accommodations went...

Carrie and her husband Aiden have been married for nearly three decades. However, for the last 11 years, the couple has had to survive on a single income and constantly fight to make ends meet. ‘If I died, Aiden couldn’t afford to bury me,’ Carrie tells Metro matter of factly....

“Have you always been such a slut?” says my friend. “Yup,” I reply with a grin. In my life, some people called me a sex addict and some – like my friend – have called me a slut. But years after this particular friend queried my supposed promiscuity, a therapist...

“Your boobs are huge,” my partner quipped from the hotel bed as I wiggled into my swimming costume. I laughed it off and jiggled them in his face before taking one last swim on our holiday in the Dominican Republic, trying to quiet that voice in the back of my...