[nfb-talk] Blindness and Sexuality

Mon Apr 6 00:12:46 UTC 2009

then again, just because there are a few white boys who can dance
doesn't mean the stereotype is without merit.

On 4/5/2009 1:48 PM, Michael D. Barber wrote:
> 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.
>>
>> __________ NOD32 3988 (20090404) Information __________
>>
>> This message was checked by NOD32 antivirus system.
>> http://www.eset.com
>>
>>
>>
>> RyanO
>>
>>
>>
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