[nfb-talk] Blindness Research

Wed Apr 1 22:30:53 UTC 2009

Well, the article did quote a man talking about his lady friend.  So 
presumably women are equally gifted.  This of course means that the 
gauge is reset for you v/v blind guys.

I tried to find this article posted online somewhere.  google didn't 
help.  any help would be appreciated.

I think I will make it my new Match.com profile.

Incidentally, they need better editorial staff.  They used the word 
"excepted" when they meant "accepted".   Where are the standards?

Joel

On 4/1/2009 4:52 PM, Sherri wrote:
> That's my question too. Being a blind gal, where can I find these 
> amazing blind guys?
> Sherri
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "tribble" <lauraeaves at yahoo.com>
> To: "NFB Talk Mailing List" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Wednesday, April 01, 2009 1:25 PM
> Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] Blindness Research
>
>
>> ok, so what about blind women? *smile* How do we rate? and where can 
>> we find
>> these blind men that the article describes in such detail?
>> Considering the date today, perhaps I can ask these questions again 
>> tomorrow
>> and get different answers...
>> Meanwhile, you have my email addy...
>> --le
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Michael Bullis" 
>> <mabullis at hotmail.com>
>> To: "'NFB Talk Mailing List'" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Wednesday, April 01, 2009 10:32 AM
>> Subject: [nfb-talk] Blindness Research
>>
>>
>> Considering the date, this is well written.
>> Mike
>> Blindness and Sexuality:
>> Researching Myths and Facts
>> Summary Report:
>> Distributed by:
>> National Data Distribution Center (NDDC)
>> April 1, 2009
>> Atlanta Georgia
>>
>> The two hundredth anniversary of the birth of Louis Braille is being
>> celebrated by the US mint with the production of a silver coin 
>> commemorating
>> the man who created the modern reading system used by many blind people.
>> Unfortunately, although blind people work and live normal lives, they 
>> are
>> still different in many ways and their experiences are a matter of 
>> curiosity
>> amongst the sighted population.  For most of us, the question, "What 
>> is it
>> like to be blind?," has entered our minds more than once.
>>
>> Research, some of it useful and much of it not, about how people who are
>> blind perceive the world, abounds.  One of the more interesting 
>> topics of
>> study is sexuality among the blind.  The story, goes that blind 
>> people are
>> incredible sexual partners--somehow being extremely sensitive to their
>> partners and, being able to stimulate them far more than the average 
>> person.
>>
>>
>> Masters and Johnson were so intrigued by this subject that they 
>> collected
>> data over several years from those who had had sex with blind people.
>> Surprisingly, what they thought would be myths, turned out to be 
>> true. The
>> results were stunning.  On average, women rated their blind partners 
>> 9.1 on
>> a scale of 10.  The average rating was five for sighted partners.
>>
>> "This research has been duplicated several times," says Author Mary 
>> Roach,
>> author of, 2008 best seller,
>> Bonk: the Curious Coupling of Science and Sex.  The data hasn't 
>> attracted
>> much attention because blindness is such a low incidence event.  "We 
>> usually
>> print things that have broad interest.  And, even though this 
>> indicates that
>> blind people are incredibly sexual, there aren't really enough of 
>> them to go
>> around."
>>
>> Comments from sighted partners were astounding.  "He seemed like he 
>> knew my
>> soul," from a 23 year old female.  "Her tongue knew just how to touch 
>> every
>> part of me if you know what I mean," from a college male.  One woman
>> commented, "The things he could do with his fingers were beyond 
>> description
>> in this survey.  It's not that he was built bigger than other men, it 
>> just
>> seemed like he touched me inside with it all over,"  she said with a shy
>> smile.
>>
>> When William Masters was asked, in a 1971 interview, why he didn't 
>> draw more
>> attention to these findings he said, "I didn't know anything about
>> blindness.  We were publishing information of general interest about
>> sexuality and this just didn't fit that mold.  Perhaps some day 
>> researchers
>> will help us understand why blind people have such incredible sexual
>> capacities and we'll be able to use that information to increase the
>> abilities of others.  Until then, a very few lucky men and women will
>> experience the phenomena of sex with a blind person."
>>
>> There is a down side to this research.  When interviewed, blind people
>> generally expressed frustration about sexuality.  Broadly speaking, they
>> divided sighted people into three groups.  First is the group who simply
>> want to have sex with them for the thrill and experience of it.  "We 
>> feel
>> used," was the most common thing reported.  second, was the group who 
>> simply
>> couldn't see themselves with a blind husband or wife.  "They want to 
>> be with
>> us, but don't see us as fathers and mothers, for example,"  was often 
>> heard.
>> the third group were those who "get it" as one blind man put it.  
>> "They can
>> see beyond blindness and except us for who we are.  Blindness just fades
>> into the background and becomes another characteristic."
>>
>> The sad truth is that although blind people work, raise families, travel
>> independently and generally speaking, live normal lives, the public
>> perception is the opposite.  The image of the helpless beggar still 
>> lurks in
>> our minds.  Sighted people report that the fear of blindness 
>> overwelms their
>> rationality.  "I know that I shouldn't let blindness interfere with 
>> how I
>> think about my partner, but, I can't help it," said a young college 
>> student
>> engaged to a blind physicist working at NASA.  "Yes, he has money, 
>> and yes,
>> he's sexy, and oh, my god, can he please me, if you know what I 
>> mean.  The
>> hardest thing is getting over this image of him as a helpless blind 
>> man. We
>> sail, bike ride and horse back ride.  I can't think of anything he 
>> can't do
>> except drive, but, I'll admit, the image of a helpless blind man still
>> haunts me.  People look at him with such pity and I just want to scream,
>> "You don't get it you fools.""  But she admits that making the 
>> decision to
>> mary is difficult.
>>
>> Chad, a young blind college student says he finds the whole sex thing 
>> a bit
>> distracting.  "Sure I can please women more than my sighted friends 
>> can, and
>> frankly, it's because they just don't pay attention to women and what 
>> their
>> bodies and hearts are saying.  Women will tell you everything you 
>> need to
>> know if you just listen and feel."
>>
>> We give you all of this information with the caviat that perhaps only 
>> one in
>> six thousand people is an eligible blind man or woman, so, happy 
>> searching.
>>
>>
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