[nfb-talk] Blindness and Sexuality

[Margo and Arrow]

Very good, Mike.

margo andArrow
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Gloria Whipple" <ladygloria at webband.com>
To: "'NFB Talk Mailing List'" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Sunday, April 01, 2012 8:42 PM
Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] Blindness and Sexuality


> That is very good!
>
> Gloria Whipple
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of Michael Bullis
> Sent: Sunday, April 01, 2012 17:26
> To: 'NFB Talk Mailing List'
> Subject: [nfb-talk] Blindness and Sexuality
>
> 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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