[nfb-talk] Blindness and Sexuality

Michael D. Barber m.barber at mchsi.com
Sun Apr 5 17:48:40 UTC 2009


Ryan:  Thanks for this post.
This certainly points out vividly the misconceptions that exist on the part 
of the general public about blindness.  It reminds me of that myth that says 
blind people are all so musical.  You and I both know that there are blind 
people who can't carry a tune in a hermetically sealed bucket, just like 
sighted people.  And, of course, we know blind people who are very musically 
inclined indeed, just like some sighted people.  And, of course, there's 
that old myth that we can hear so much better than sighted people.  Or, how 
about the myth that says we certainly couldn't compete successfully with our 
sighted peers as teachers, attorneys, administrators, etc.  It's most 
unfortunate that the general public still has these misplaced attitudes 
about blindness.  But it's even more unfortunate that some of us who are 
blind have the same misconceptions about our blindness and about our own 
expectations of ourselves because of our attitudes about our blindness.
It all shows that we still have a lot of public education to do as members 
of the National Federation of the Blind.

Michael Barber

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "RyanO" <ryano218 at comcast.net>
To: "NFB Talk Mailing List" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Sunday, April 05, 2009 10:14 AM
Subject: [nfb-talk] Blindness and Sexuality


> Warning, Warning, Warning!!!
>
> The following report may contain items that some may find offensive, which 
> means that most of you out there are gonna love it! Enjoy.
>
>
> 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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>
>
> RyanO
>
>
>
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