Would you go out with a Disabled person?

[fredv3b]

a bad thing about being disabled somtimes it is hard to go to place like the pub and shops by youself .and cant do somethings. it miht have to be with your mum or a worker. so it is hard about making frinds and boyfrinds.somtimes you can only get much frineds at sevices and them are not gay usally :frown: hard getting a boyfrind.

I think Joseph brings up an excellent point. There are two hurdles that disabled gays face. First, as he points out, there is the problem of actually meeting other gays socially in the first place. Second, as in Sweet Lad's original question, would able-bodied gays actually go out with disabled gays having actually met them?

I was just wondering if what we have talked about here answers sweetlad's question or makes it easier for disabled people to find partners.

I think it probably doesn't help much ...?

I am aware that I am avoiding making a personal commitment to do anything useful. Yet, unless someone (or more likely all of us) does something, what is going to change? For example, zeon has committed us all to "support" sweetlad "150%". What does that actually mean? What is the difference in sweetlad's life if I only support him 0.003% rather than 150%?

One friend on here went through something of a crisis recently and the best I could do was write a message ... :frown:

It's at this point I feel a rebuke from Shadow coming on telling me not to think so hard

The first problem is a complicated practical problem. How to improve disabled access to gay social venues. While internet based 'social venues' may be a part answer its no complete answer. Physical access to bars and clubs can be complicated. For example, making a gay bar install wheelchair access is fairly pointless if its impossible for a wheel chair user to get safely to the front door at night (edge of town centre locations, etc.). There are some disabled people who could not go to gay bars on their own (even with modifications) and will need someone to take them. They have got to find someone who is both prepared to take them, physically able at an appropriate time (i.e. not mid-afternoon mid-week) and not a 'social inhibitor'.

Marshlander is right. This discussion and 'support' doesn't actually change any of this. However talking about the need to change may be the first step towards making that change happen.

The second problem is about us and about our prejudices. Hopefully this thread may have prompted us to examine our own prejudices about disability, and may be we can prompt our gay friends to do the same.

This thread is, at best, a very small step towards improving things for disabled gays, it may not even go anywhere. However I don't know where else to start?

Fred