For this blog I am going to look at the impact that sexual esteem and body esteem has on persons with physical disabilities.
Taleporos and McCabe(2002) looked at the impact that body esteem has on person’s with physical disabilities.”When a person with a physical disability faces the reality of being unable to match up with the ‘ideal’ body, his or her body esteem would be expected to suffer.”(Taleporos and McCabe,2002; p.294) To me this statement makes complete sense especially when I read a comment from one of the participant of the study saying “. . . everyday you are treated differently because you have a disability. It can be hard to try and be positive and confident when people are always reinforcing what they perceive to be a negative aspect of you. You tell yourself it does not make a difference but their actions suggest otherwise.” (Taleporos and McCabe,2002; p.299)
According to Taleporos and McCabe(2002),”body esteem refers to the overall positive or negative evaluation of the body.”(p.294) I found also found another definition that I understood better. “Your “body-esteem” is closely linked to your self-esteem and is sometimes referred to as “body image”. It’s very similar to self-esteem, except it relates to how you feel about your body and how you care for it. It’s also the mental image you have of your body, and how you believe you appear to others.” (Dawson,2008)
Participants in Taleporos and McCabe(2002) study “overall felt that their disability impacted negatively on their physical attractiveness, but it did not generally extend to strong feeling of unattractiveness.”(p.299) Which I guess is a positive in a way, but the fact that their disability did still have some negativity toward their physical attractiveness is sad. One of the quotes from a participant of the Taleporos and McCabe(2002) study said “Well of course my disability makes me feel less attractive. I mean, if you’re in a wheelchair you’re not gonna have a great body with ripping muscles.”(p.299) This statement makes me wonder if he thinks everyone that is not in a wheelchair has ripping muscles, or just the fact that a person who has an able body would have the choice to get those “ripping” muscles.
“Shame, discomfort and a lack of acceptance of the disability can occur and result in strong negative feelings towards the body and a desire to hide the disability whenever this is possible. Accepting the disability and feel- ing comfortable with being physically different is something that is certainly possible for the person with a physical impairment and beneficial to psycho- logical adjustment.” (Taleporos and McCabe,2002;p.302) I think that able bodied persons have a hard enough time being comfortable in their own skin, so I can’t imagine how hard it would be for persons with physical disabilities to feel comfortable with oneself. With the affects that media plays on us already, making us believe that you have to look like this, and anything less than that is unacceptable I believe has an impact on our mental health. The constant pressure to look a certain way, and be a certain size is not healthy for the mind.
Another participant said “before my accident I had many, many partners, I was picked up all the time and had lots of one night stands, over 20 partners in 2 years. Since I had my accident I have been approached only three or four times.” (Taleporos and McCabe,2002;p.299) Whether this participant actions were appropriate before the accident or not, is no the issue. It’s the fact that the participant now feels like people are less attracted to him/her now, and is somehow less than they were before the accident. I can see how this would not only hurt a person’s feelings, but mess with their mind in a way. The constant wondering why your not good enough, or attractive enough could drive a person crazy, and the fact that that part of your life is not the same anymore could also make me wonder if feelings of neglect would arise. Because that companionship is no longer so consistent.
Taleporos and McCabe(2001) also looked at physical disability and sexual self esteem, investigating the impact of physical disability on sexual feelings, sexual experiences, and sexual esteem.(p.131) For the purpose of this blog I am just going to look at the sexual esteem issues.
Some social and practical barriers that persons with physical disabilities have to go through is the “dependence on others for care, which can seriously restrict an individuals opportunities to freely express sexuality, because of lack of privacy and over-protective parents or caregivers.” (Taleporos and McCabe,2001;p.132)
“A number of studies have also suggested that people with physical disabilities have more limited sexual and romantic lives. For example, MacDougall and Morin’s survey of the sexual attitudes and self-reported behavior of 45 congenitally disabled adults revealed that nearly all of the participants were unmarried. Nearly half had never had an intimate sexual experience with another person. Limited romantic opportunities among people with physical disability were also suggested by a study of dating issues with 430 single women who had physical disabilities. The study revealed that women with physical disabilities were less satisfied than the able bodied control group with their dating frequency, they perceived more constraints in attracting partners and they also perceived more societal and personal barriers to their dating. A study of the psychosexual functioning of 43 spinal cord injured men also indicated that physical disability hinders sexual expression. Similar findings were revealed in a study that included females with spinal cord injuries.” (Taleporos and McCabe,2001;p.132)
These studies show how extremely hard it is for persons with physical disabilities to have the same opportunities and experiences as able bodied persons. I think society as a whole need to continue to work on our viewing of persons with physical disabilities. We need to learn to see the person before we see the wheelchair or prosthetic, and get to know the person for the human being that they are instead of just seeing the negative aspect of the person.
Alyssa V
Bibliography
Dawson, Sherri (2008) What is Body Esteem?
Taleporos,George and McCabe, Marita P (2001) Physical Disabilities and Sexual Esteem. Sexuality and Disability,Vol.19,No.2
Taleporor, George and McCabe, Marita P (2002) The Impact of Physical Disability on Body Esteem. Sexuality and Disability,Vol.19, No.4
Great post! I agree with you when you said it must be hard for people with a disability to feel attractive or acceptable in societies eyes. It really is true that those who do not have a disability to battle can have self esteem problems. Add some sort of physical impairment and throw in depression and I can only imagine how lonely and unhappy that person may be. While this is not the case for everyone I know there are still many people who struggle with self esteem.
ReplyDeleteJennilee M
I think being self-conscious is still a rather taboo sentiment in our society despite the fact that there is a trillion dollar industry to do with vanity; cosmetic surgery, pharmaceuticals, sports facilities etc. The amount of pressure to try and adhere to a certain body type can at times be overwhelming for me and I couldn’t imagine the restrictions and challenges someone with a disability might face. I think as a society we need to try to see individuals holistically and not but such a high value on aesthetic beauty. However I acknowledge how difficult that is when “sex sells” is the basis for all media and advertisement.
ReplyDeleteHolly L