Sexuality(s) and disability(s): some contributions of a socio-representational approach

Resumo

Our article aims to highlight how the association of disability(s) and sexuality(s) reveals major psychosocial issues. In this context, the study of social representations offers a heuristic way of questioning certain foundations of our judgments, by revealing their social background and explanatory effectiveness. Disability and sexuality are quasi-prototypical objects for the study of these phenomena because these social objects incorporate multiple and dynamic social-symbolic issues. We will explore "normal sexuality" and "disabled sexuality" to present some representational content and their implications using data from the literature but also through empirical illustrations. Taking into account the normative and socio-cultural context makes it possible to highlight the role of social representations which often serve as justifying theories in the construction of social norms and rules in matters of sexuality, both for “normal” sexuality and “disabled sexuality”.