Photo Series Depicts The Sex Lives Of People With Disabilities

People with disabilities are often seen just for their disability and not for the person that they actually are. They are more than their imperfections and have their own personalities and skills just like everyone else. Although they might be different, it doesn’t mean they’re undeserving of love or even that they don’t have active sex lives. Here, one photographer revealed a photo series he did which depicts the sex lives of people with disabilities in an effort to show the world that people don’t have to fit into society’s standards of appearances in order to be beautiful.

Photo series. Italian photographer Oliver Fermariello is drawing attention to the discrimination that people with disabilities sometimes face when it comes to their sexuality by photographing them in their most intimate moments. People sometimes think of those who are afflicted with disabilities as being outside of sexuality completely, but this just simply isn't true.

Standards. “I see disability as a mirror for society. Most of us belong to the 99% of people who do not fit in the standards of manipulated beauty,” said Fermariello, as reported by the Huffington Post. Disability really is a mirror for society. We are all quite different.

Nude. The photo series, which is called “Je t’aime moi aussi”, shows several nude disabled people in the bedroom and posing on chairs, proving not only that they are just as sexually active as the next person, but that they too are beautiful. This is a really amazing work of art because it's thought-provoking and informative. Something all good art should strive to be.

Appearances. “Diversity is scary for people because it reflects our far from perfect appearance. When it gets to matters like sexuality and disability, we usually feel uncomfortable and we rather not want to talk about. Diversity, therefore disability, concerns all of us in some ways and as such, the society needs to fight its ghosts by talking freely about it in order to grow up,” says Fermariello, as reported by the Huffington Post.

Project. Set in Italy, Fermariello posted an advertisement on the internet explaining his project and received multiple responses. Before the shoot, Fermariello spent time with each individual person, getting to know them one day at a time, reports Features Shoot.

Intimacy. "They shared their experience with me, and I shared my skill as a photographer with them. That was the deal. Of course, reaching this stage of...intimacy did not happen overnight,” said Fermarielle, as reported by Refinery 29. And no one would expect it to. It must have taken a decent amount of time. Establishing a rapport is difficult.

Disabilities. The people featured in Fermariello’s work have disabilities of all kinds, so which may or may not be physically obvious. Some are paraplegic, including a street artist named Tarek, while others like Chiara, who is an actress, have brittle bone disease.

Diagnosis. "The people in my photographs suffer from a range of disabilities — many are paraplegics, and others have been diagnosed with osteogenesis imperfecta or cerebral palsy,” says Fermariello, via Refinery 29. You can see Fermariello’s uncensored photos and his other works at PHMuseum.com.

Sex toys. A company in Canada is also breaking taboos by dedicating themselves to help satisfy the sexual needs of the people with extreme disabilities that cause them to be wheelchair ridden by making an entire line of sex toys and devices made specifically for them. We really love anything that promotes inclusivity of any kind, so hats off to this new brand breaking down barriers and un-tabooing what was once seen as taboo.

Chair. The Intimate Rider is a chair made specifically for people with spinal cord injuries who “refuse to let physical challenges in the way,” as the description on their website reads. The chair, along with other sex toys for people with disabilities called “Adapted Sex Toys” is featured in a presentation put on by SCI Ontario, reports Broadly.

Organization. SCI Ontario is an organization dedicated to improving the lives of people with disabilities. The organizations aims to do this by providing people with disabilities with as many resources as possible to be able to live life independently.

Mission. "SCI Ontario's vision is to champion excellence in service, advocacy and quality of life for people living with spinal cord injuries. Our mission is to assist people with spinal cord injuries and other physical disabilities to achieve independence, self reliance and full community participation,” reads the website’s description.

Foundation. Ted Rose is another advocate for people with disabilities, and founded the Rose Centre for Love, Sex, and Disability in 2011, an organization that empowers people with disability and talks to them about issues like sex and dating with a disability. We're glad so many organizations are prioritizing helping as many people as they can.

Healthy relationships. "Our primary goal is to support young adults with disabilities in the areas of sexual expression, dating, and building healthy relationships. Our secondary goal is to raise awareness within the general population on issues surrounding disability and social relationships,” reads the website’s mission statement.

You. What are your thoughts after seeing this moving, thought-provoking work? Are you now seeing people with disabilities in a completely different light? What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments section below.