In Relationships
The Amelotatist found that 55 per cent of a sample of 195 DPWs had dated disabled people, 40 per cent had been sexually intimate with disabled partners, and 5 per cent had current disabled spouses. Nattress (1993) found that 41 per cent of a sample of 50 DPWs had, or were in, relationships with disabled partners.
Relationships between DPWs and disabled people tend to be reported as being ordinary, the attraction being sated by the fact of the partner's disability. It appears that the attraction to disability is undisclosed in a proportion of DPW-disabled relationships. DPWs may press disabled partners to put their disabilities to the fore in intimate situations and exhibit them in social ones. Sexually, some DPWs have been reported to engage in active tactile observation as much as in intercourse.
That DPWs find it hard to satisfy both sexual and emotional needs is borne out in findings by both Nattress (1996) and Dixon (1983). They report that, despite reasonable success in obtaining sexual contact with disabled people, just 21 per cent of DPWs had had long-term relationships with disabled partners.
About half of DPWs fail to establish relationships with disabled people. 'Second-best' options for them are relationships with pretenders and wannabes. Practically all DPWs have experience of relationships with able-bodied partners. Such relationships are also reported to be ordinary despite the (mostly undisclosed) attraction to disability on the part of one partner.
Although it is not common knowledge within mainstream communities, the internet has revolutionized the process by which DPWs can meet each other while pursuing meaningful relationships. Some of these individuals, however, have expressed a level of concern when it comes to their first face to face encounters. While most of these encounters are completely safe, there are important guidelines to provide a sense of security to either party who may feel vulnerable.
Read more about this topic: Attraction To Disability, Population