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Subject: Conference discusses sex and disability
wonderful review of the conference.
Marcia
---------------------- Forwarded by Marcia Rioux/Atkinson on 03/23/2005
05:55 PM ---------------------------
"Barbara Anello" <[log in to unmask]> on 03/23/2005 05:45:50 PM
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Subject: Conference discusses sex and disability
First annual critical disability studies conference draws accolades
by Anna Olejarczyk
Wednesday, 23 March 2005
The first annual conference presented by the Critical Disability Studies
Students Association was held last week to promote the graduate program as
well as address an issue that hasn't been adequately addressed by our
society: Disability.
The conference, called "Disability and Imagery," was organized by Candace
Padmore and other students of the program and took place on March 15.
Through the event, Padmore says she hopes to educate people and bring the
issue of disability to the forefront.
"I want to counter the media's portrayal of people with disabilities as
being asexual, helpless and pitiable," says Padmore. She hopes many will
understand that people with disabilities are sexual beings.
Opening remarks came from Dr. Sheila Embleton, York's vice-president
academic, who commented on the program being the first of its kind in
Canada, and Tracy Odell, a part-time student in the program.
Marcia Rioux, program director of Critical Disability Studies, says that
her
vision to create a program that was grounded in human rights truly became a
reality at the March 15 event. She said that she was "overwhelmed" at
seeing
her vision become reality through the hard work of the students.
Guest speaker Anna Pileggi, executive director of AboutFace, works to
change
public opinion about differences and disabilities in a pro-active way. She
said that society is too focused on beauty as defined by Hollywood,
pointing
out that children with facial disabilities face a double disadvantage:
Physical ability and physical attractiveness.
She notes that these disadvantages put them at risk of bullying.
"They can't play sports, they are physically not at the 'standard'.
Secondly
they look very different," she said, adding that "they become an easy
target, [which] makes it very difficult and stressful to be in public
school."
Pileggi stresses that children who experience this behaviour rarely report
it because they hope it will go away or are afraid of burdening their
parents.
"This kind of information needs to be shared, needs to be reported. Only
once we can notice it, identify it, document it, that we can come to terms
with it, deal with it in a more positive way," said Pileggi.
Michael Williams-Stark also works with children with facial disabilities
and
started a program called Making Faces. The motivation came from his own
facial disfigurement when he was a child. Today he is an award-winning
musician and comedian who has provided voices for a number of animated
characters.
He uses his life skills to work with the kids, to build up their
confidence,
and uses events such as this one to network and bring awareness to more
people.
"It is about breaking barriers every time something like this happens,"
said
Williams-Stark about the conference.
Alessia Di Virgilio and Cory Silverberg, both graduates of York, dealt with
a different topic - sex and disability. Di Virgilio was born with
arthrogyposis, a form of muscular dystrophy, and today she is a peer
facilitator for SexAbility, a program that offers youth with mobility
disabilities information on sexuality and sexual health.
Through workshops in high schools and universities, Di Virgilio was
constantly asked two questions: "Can people with disabilities have sex and
how do they do it?" In response her program has created a video called The
411 on Sex and Disability.
Cory Silverberg is a founding member of Come As You Are, a sex store in
Toronto and a co-author of a book titled Ultimate Guide to Sex and
Disability. Silverberg is a sex educator working mostly in the disability
community and works with people who are like himself, not disabled.
"I see myself as an ally, a term used in the activists community. For me
what that means is that currently I am not disabled but disability impacts
my life," said Silverberg.
Both he and Di Virgilio hope that the information they provide to youth
will
enable them to make informed decisions about their sexuality.
_______________________________________
Barbara Anello
Acting Chair
DAWN Ontario: DisAbled Women's Network
North Bay, ON
705.494.9078 [Voice - Home]
Email: [log in to unmask]
Email: [log in to unmask]
URL: http://dawn.thot.net
____________________________________
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