Considering the Quirky Quad Diaries is a blog on “Sex, Sass, and Spinal Cord Injuries” I thought I would dive into the topic of Sex in intimate detail!
Sex … I grew up in a culture in Europe where sex was a very open topic. I was taught to embrace my sexuality and not be ashamed of it, which so many societies, especially here in the United States, seem to shy away from.
Most sex shops are in the back of parking lots and buildings with no windows. I’m not quite sure why as a culture we are ashamed to go buy a porno film, vibrator or any other sexual toy that one desires. Why are we so quick to judge people on race, sexual desires, sexual preferences, etc.? The human condition perhaps?
This spills over into another topic. SEXUALITY & BEING HANDICAP. From numerous conversations with handicap folks and able-bodied folks over the years I’ve come to gather the impression that many people think just because someone is paralyzed that they are not sexual, cannot feel sex, nor do they enjoy it.
This is a very sensitive topic for most and one I am also intimately familiar with. For almost 5 years after my accident I did not think I would ever find love, have sex again, or find someone who would see beyond my disability. Whether you are overweight, short, tall, skinny, disabled, mentally impaired, or different it can be easy to assume sexuality can go out the door. I did not feel sexual, pretty or desirable as I did before the accident, which took me many years to overcome.
However, this particular blog is not about the emotional roller coaster of dealing with sexuality and being handicap. I want to focus on the physical act of Sex. I am constantly flooded with questions from handicap folks and able-bodied folks alike with respect to what the sex actually feels like for me? How about for most handicap folks?
While I cannot speak for everybody I can say that when you do have a spinal cord injury sex dramatically changes. The sexual nerves are wrapped around the bottom part of the spinal cord called the sacrum. If you sustain a spinal cord injury then your sexual function is impaired in the traditional sense no matter how paralyzed you are; whether from the neck down, chest down, waist down, legs down, etc.
As I was preparing to have sex for the first time I had no idea how it was going to feel like or if I would be able to orgasm.
The first question is what is an Orgasm?
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