HIV / AIDS

HIV and/or AIDS is a life threatening disease that is affecting society today.  It is a serious epidemic that is threatening millions of lives around the world. A person can become HIV infected thorough the sharing syringes or through vaginal or anal sex, one does not become infected from the air as some might think.  It is infected through the blood.  Testing positive for human immunodefiency virus or HIV, means that you carry the antibodies, you can be HIV infected and not have AIDS,  AIDS occurs in later stage of infection.  A person is infectious through all stages, although studies have shown that a person is most infectious during the early stage of detection and in the final stage of AIDS,  during the midcourse of the infection they are less infectious.  There are several things that one can do to prevent becoming HIV positive.  One items is that you can practice abstinence, or on a more realistic view, one should be monogamous and always use condoms.  It has been researched that the use of condoms lowers the risk of becoming HIV infected by 90%. Although this protection is not 100% it is the only way that actually helps prevent you from getting the virus.  I think that society should make condoms more accessible to young people, I believe they should have condom machines in girl and guys school bathrooms.  I also feel that they should be distributed in school social events such as dances or proms, when it is most likely that they will be having sex.  Giving youth condoms is not encouraging sex, in my opinion yet it is educated them that they must protect themselves not only from unwanted pregnancies or venereal disease but from death, and from future spread of this epidemic.  Studies shown that 50% of infected people are youths between the ages of 15 to 24 years of age. (Public Health Reports Jul. 1995, v110n4, p462-466. If this is the stage that statistics is showing that are most k]likely to contract the virus than why not do everything possible to help prevent it.

Another study that I believe has brought results in the needle exchange program, In which drug users go and exchange their dirty needles for clean ones in order to prevent becoming or getting someone infected. "There are increasing data showing that those who regularly exchange their syringes in such programs benefit by lowering their risk of HIV acquisition". Khoshnood, Haven Public Health Reports Jul 1995, v110n4, p 462-466.

I believe that AIDS education should be mandated in al states. As I stated before, if we are going to control this virus we need to educate from the start, if  11 years olds are having sex then they can spread the virus, them we need to teach them about AIDS and what to do to protect themselves.  Whether we like it or not, or whether it is right or wrong, children are having sex and they need to be educated. Yes, we should teach them not to have sex, but those who still prefer to have sex need to be taught the precautions and how to protect themselves. "We could make a real difference and slow the spread of HIV of we learn to be open and frank with young people" says Dr.Merson " The widespread introduction of well-planned sex education will go far to protect our children from the risk if HIV infection now.." Women International Network winter 1994, v20n1, p 19. Homosexuality also need to be taught to young people and the dangers and risk of having sex.

"Most people diagnosed with the life threatening illness may feel that their lives reeling out of control-spinning faster and faster as loss surmounts loss, panic overtakes reason, chaos defeats order" (Reed, Brian. HIV, AIDS and the Law, Lambda book report Jul 1996, v5n1, p37-38) I believe this is true yet, I think that as each year goes by the outlook for people who have contracted HIV is brighter. Each year more studies have been made and each time a little step closer to a cure.  Although there is still not a cure and we may still be far from finding one, I think that there is hope and people who have contracted HIV should think positive so that their spirit remain high.  They have found drugs like protease inhibitors which in clinical trials ion human, have reduces the virus in the bloodstream by as much as 99%. (Pitta, Jule Home Edition, Los Angeles Times, 1-15-95, pB-8) Also, the FDA is making experimental drugs available to individuals who are suffering from life threatening disease and I believe that it is excellent.  If drugs are needed to be tested why not test and let human people with the virus use these drugs rather than animals. (Chaggiano, Christopher, First treatment approved for sever PCP.. Vol 28, FDA Consumer, 301094 pg. 7).

I believe that mandatory testing  of Health Care workers should be dome, yet it violates their right to privacy and self-determination and can not be justifies by claims concerning public welfare or epidemic control.  It wasted resources it creates false impressions about patient exposure proneness from surgical procedures, it discriminated against surgeons and other health care personnel, and it create d unnecessary administrative and liability headaches for physicians and hospitals, In short it is unethical. (Bradtson, Keith, Vol. 19, Second Opinion, 1-1-94 P 26)

Altogether AIDS needs to be controlled. Whether it is educating our youth or testing healthcare workers. It needs to be controlled. So, until there is a cure. We must go to all extremes in preventing this virus from spreading much more that it already has.  If you could spread it then you need to be tested, educated , isolated and treated. We must do all that it takes to prevent someone else from being infected.

AbortionBirth Control or Legal Murder

Approximately 1.6 million murders are committed legally each year. With

the exception of laws in few states, the mutilated bodies of the victims are

thrown into dumpsters like pieces of rotten meat. While these victims lay

waiting in the infested dumpsters to be hauled off to a landfill, the

murderers are in their offices waiting for their next patient--the

accomplice to the murder. This is the murder of an innocent child by a

procedure known as abortion. Abortion stops the beating of an innocent

child's heart. People must no longer ignore the scientific evidence that

life begins at the moment of conception. People can no longer ignore the

medical and emotional problems an abortion causes women. People must stop

denying the facts about the procedure, and start hearing the silent screams

of unborn children.

     The argument by the pro-abortion side is that the unborn child is not

truly a child. Many people who are pro-abortion justify their beliefs

through the concept that a fetus is only a blob of tissue until it is born,

or the statement: life begins at birth. Abortion is not as simple as

removing a "blob of tissue" (as the pro-abortion activists put it) from a

woman's body. Abortion is the destruction, dismembering and killing of a

human life--an unborn baby. "But it is scientific and medical fact based on

experimental evidence, that a fetus is a living, growing, thriving human

being, directing his or her own development" (Fetal Development). A fetus is

not just a blob of tissue, rather a fetus is Latin for "offspring or young

one." Human life begins at fertilization, therefore it is wrong to murder

the innocent child in the womb. At a US Senate Judiciary Subcommittee

meeting, most scientists said that life begins at conception or implantation

of the embryo. No scientist at the meeting claimed that life begins at birth

(Factbot). Professor Hymie Gordon of the Mayo clinic stated "' . . by all

criteria of modern biology, life is present from the moment of conception'"

(Fetal Development). In a 1963 Planned Parenthood pamphlet entitled 'Plan

Your Children' it states "an abortion kills the life of a baby after it has

begun. It is dangerous to your life and health" (Factbot). Even though

abortion is dangerous to a woman's life, and it kills her baby, Planned

Parenthood still offers it as a safe solution. This statement contradicts

what most abortion clinics say. It is not possible for abortion to be

offered to women as a safe solution, when it not only puts her life in

danger, but it also kills her child.

     Not only has science proven that a fetus is truly a human, the simple

facts also confer abortion kills the life of a human being. Life begins at

conception because of the fact that life in the womb does not change at

birth. There are no special procedures or changes that occur during birth to

magically change the fetus to a baby. It is already a baby--a human life.

"'If a fertilized egg is not by itself a full human being it could not

become one, because nothing is added to it,'" said Dr. Jerome Lejeune

(Factbot). Most of all the development also takes place before one is born.

Of the 45 generations of cell divisions before adulthood, 41 have taken

place before a person is born (Factbot). Fertilization is just the beginning

of a long process of growing and maturing. "Life in a continuum. From the

moment the egg is fertilized a new life has begun. All of the genetic

information is present to construct a unique individual. Gender, physical

features, eye color have already been determined. The baby's heart begins

beating regularly at 24 days. Babies in the womb hiccup, cry, play, and

learn" (Factbot). Life continues from the day of fertilization until death.

Nothing is added to a person during a lifetime. "'Conception confers life

and makes that life one of a kind,'" said Dr Landrum Shettles father of in

vitro fertilization (Factbot). Abortion is wrong because it ends the life of

a human being. The day of conception marks the beginning of a new human

life. "'The zygote is the first cell of a new human being,'" said Keith L.

Moore. There is no way that the fetus is just a "blob of (Factbot) tissue."

Scientific and medical facts prove that the fetus is living. They prove that

the fetus is a person, a human, and functions separate from the mother.

According to our law murder is wrong, therefore it is unlawful to kill an

unborn child. The child in the womb deserves the right to life.

     The fetus is a real human being and deserves all the rights and freedom

given to people under the Constitution. This right is evident in the

Fourteenth Amendment that states, "The State shall not deprive any person of

life, liberty, property, without due process of the law; nor deny any person

within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the law" (Factbot). Abortion

denies babies equal protection under the law, and is depriving a person of

life. Thomas Jefferson stated human rights best when he wrote, "We hold

these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, that they

are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among

these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" (Factbot). All unborn

babies have the right to life guaranteed to humans under the constitution.

No other person has the right to take away the unborn child's life, no

matter what the situation is. One must not sacrifice a life to make one's

own life better.

     Many argue that most of the babies that are aborted are unwanted

babies. They believe that they would be abused and neglected. This is why

abortion is okay to them. They believe abortion is saving the child from

abuse. Abortion, however, is the most severe case of child abuse. The

procedures are painful to the child and intentionally end in death (except

in cases where the procedure results in a living child. "About once a day,

somewhere in the US, something goes wrong and an abortion results in a live

baby" (Factbot)). The fetus is alive and has the capacity to feel the

painful abortion procedure. The US Department of Health and Human Services

reported that after nine weeks unborn babies can feel pain, yet 48 per cent

of all abortions are done after this point ( Fetal Development). The baby

can feel all the pain put on it by the painful procedures. The ultra sound

shows the baby struggling to survive. Abortionist doctors such as Joseph

Randall admit that seeing the abortion ". . . of the baby on the ultra sound

bothered me more than anything else. The staff couldn't take it. Women were

never allowed to see the ultra sound" (Factbot). Women should be allowed to

see this. They should see the struggling of the life they are killing. An

early abortion takes about five minutes and is performed six to fourteen

weeks after a woman's last period. The procedure is called a suction

aspiration. It is like a vacuum cleaner. "'A hollow plastic tube with a

sharp edge is placed into the uterus. The suction tears the baby apart, and

the sharp edge is used to scrape the placenta from the wall of the uterus.

Everything is sucked out into a bottle'" (Whitney 94). The other common

method is dilation and curettage. "'A curette, which is a loop-shaped steel

knife, is inserted into the uterus, and the baby and the placenta are cut

into pieces and scraped out. Both procedures are usually done under general

anesthesia, so they're not painful for the mother. Of course we know the

child feels pain'" (Whitney 94). Another method that is not performed much

anymore is the saline injection; a long slow death process of poisoning the

baby. The saline injection was developed in the Nazi Concentration Camps

(Factbot) The most controversial form of abortion is the partial-birth

abortion. Using an ultra sound the abortionist grabs the baby's legs with

forceps and pulls them out into the birth canal. The abortionist then

delivers the entire baby except for the head and continues by jamming

scissors into the baby's skull. The scissors are then opened to enlarge the

hole. The scissors are removed and a suction is inserted. The baby's brains

are sucked out causing the skull to collapse. The dead baby is then removed

( Partial). It has been proven that babies can feel pain in these

procedures. The fetus can feel pain because it is alive and growing like a

human. Something that is not living cannot feel pain. If one crushes a pop

can as the abortionist crushes a baby, the pop can feels no pain because it

is not living. The baby feels pain because it is a living human being.

Abortion is wrong because it deprives the baby of rights and happiness

because of the suffering it must go through during the abortion.

     Women who have these painful abortions suffer emotional stress, and

years after having the procedure they discover that they destroyed a human

life. The women finally realize after many years of emotional stress the

cause of it. "After 5-10 years 54 per cent of mothers choosing abortion had

nightmares and 96 per cent felt they had taken a life" a from study by Dr

Anne Speckhard of the University of Minnesota. People need to listen to the

women who have had abortions in the past to hear what they are really about.

From them people can learn much more than a clinic can teach. After having

an abortion, many women can tell a person the true facts--abortion is

murder. "'Recent evidence indicates many women harbor strong guilt feelings

long after their abortions. Guilt is one important cause of child battering

and infanticide. Abortion lowers women's self-esteem and there are studies

reporting a major loss of self-esteem in battering parents,'" said Dr.

Phillip Ney. There are places that give abortion counseling. However, many

of these places do not give accurate information Accurate information is

needed so women, and men, know that abortion will take away a human life.

Ninety-five percent of women who had abortions said their Planned Parenthood

counselors gave ". . . little or no biological information about the fetus

which the abortion would destroy." Where 80 percent of women who have had

abortions from Planned Parenthood said little or no health information was

given to them about potential health risks (Factbot). Women need to be told

the true facts of abortion. They need to see the fetal monitors. In many

clinics they are not allowed to see the ultra sound. The doctors do not want

a woman to see that the baby inside of her is alive. This is wrong because

it not only denies the child the rights such as the right to be heard and

seen, it denies women the truth. The truth must be told and shown. Shari

Richard, an Ultrasonographer, said, "'In fact many women will come to me

considering an abortion, and I have been personally told that I am to turn

the monitor away from her view so that seeing her baby jump around on the

screen does not influence her choice'" (Factbot). Abortion clinic staff

members are taught how to sell abortions, told never to give alternatives,

and told to tell the women how much trouble a baby is. Women are not told

the facts. It is obvious from the ultra sound that the baby they are

carrying is alive, and abortion kills the baby. If the clinic can clearly

see that the baby is alive, the mother should also see. Abortion is

described as a decision between a women and her doctor. Yet over 90 percent

don't even see the doctor until he appears to abort their baby. This should

not be the case. The clinics are hiding and withholding the true facts.

Clinics need to shape-up and tell the truth to women: Abortion is wrong.

     Abortion is one of the key issues facing the human race today. This

issue, like many, forces people to take sides against each other, and is one

of the main factors people look at when voting. In a 1973 court ruling,

known as Roe v. Wade, abortion became legal. Since this ruling the number of

teen pregnancies has increased from 4.94 per cent in 1972 to 9.92 per cent

in 1990. The number of teen abortions has doubled from 19.9 per thousand

teenagers in 1972 to 43.8 per thousand teenagers in 1990 while the number of

teen births has increased from 22.8 to 42.5 per thousand. The number of

births to unmarried women has increased 7.3 per cent during the years

from1972 to 1990 while the number of abortions increased 11.7 per cent

during those years (Factbot). Abortion should no longer be legal. It is

rapidly becoming a form of birth control. No longer must women worry about

protection, if they should conceive a child, they can choose to take its

life. One-third of all babies (Planned Parenthood) are aborted, which

entitles the abortion industry to $500 million a year in income in the

United States (Factbot). Abortion is the most frequent surgical operation in

the US, and the leading cause of death in Minnesota (Factbot). Currently

there are two million couples waiting for adoption in America, yet there are

30 abortions for every one adoption (Factbot). These statistics are true.

Abortion needs to be stopped.

     There are arguments against the stopping of abortion. However, there

are solutions. Many say abortion should be legal if the woman's life is in

danger. Only three percent of all abortions are done for the mother's

health, where 40 percent of women who have abortions will have more than

one, and 50 per cent use it as their sole means of birth control (Factbot).

As for the argument that women will do them illegally in the back alleys

endangering their lives, 72 per cent said they would definitely not have

sought an abortion if they were illegal, and death happens during a legal

abortion too; maternal death rates for first trimester abortions are 61 per

100,000 cases (Factbot).

     Abortion is clearly the taking of a human life, an action that is wrong

under the United States constitution. Women must stop being denied the facts

and start being told the truth. The people of the US must start standing up

for the rights of all people, born and unborn. "Abortion concerns not only

the unborn child , it concerns every one of us." said former President of

the United States Ronald Reagan (Factbot). Abortion concerns all of us.

People need to start caring for the women who are hurting as a result of an

abortion, and women who are struggling over the decision. People must tell

them the facts, and work at making the conditions better for women, because

84 per cent would keep their babies under better circumstances (Factbot).

America needs to open her ears to the screams of the 1.6 million babies

murdered each year.

Bibliography

Can abortion be justified? San Diego: Grenhaven Press, Inc., 1991.

"Factbot." Netscape. Online.

"Fetal Development." Netscape. Online.

Harrison, Maureen, and Steve Gilbert, eds. Abortion Decisions of the United

States Supreme Court: The 1990's. Beverly Hills: Excellent Books, 1993.

Is abortion immoral? San Diego: Grenhaven Press, Inc., 1991.

"LIFE at the University of Illinois." Netscape. Online

Melville, Keith, ed. The Battle Over Abortion. Dubuque: Kendall/Hunt

Publishing Company, 1990.

"Partial-Birth Abortion." Netscape. Online.

Should abortion remain a personal choice? San Diego: Grenhaven Press, Inc.,

1991.

Should abortion remain legal? San Diego: Grenhaven Press, Inc., 1991.

When does life begin? San Diego: Grenhaven Press, Inc., 1991.

Whitney, Catherine. Whose Life?. New York: William Morrow and Company, Inc.,

1991.

Abortion ProChoice or ProLife

What is abortion?  Is it the killing of a defense less child or is it the freedom of a woman.  In the case of the latter, it is easy to see how abortion can be very beneficial for the mother.  Perhaps she is a teenager who is too young and too scared for such an awesome responsi bility or perhaps she simply does not have the resources for or want another child.  The situation becomes more complicated when the father of the fetus wants the baby.  Does the father, whose very DNA was transferred to the fetus, have any right to determine whether the mother receives an abortion or is the decision totally that of the mother, who must endure the nine month pregnancy and the birthing process as well as any lingering physical or psychological effects.

     Even if abortion is considered the killing of a defenseless child, serious and difficult questions cannot be avoided.  Certainly, it is illegal and immoral to kill a week old baby; but can the same be said of the termina tion of a week old fetus?  When does a fetus become a life entitled to the same protection as a newborn baby or when is it too late to end a pregnancy?  Some would say at any point before birth; however, a fetus can be viable and live outside its mother's womb quite some time before its natural birth otherwise would occur.  Is that the point at which abortion is inappropriate and, thus, illegal as well as immoral?  While there are those who would answer in the affirmative, many would argue that a life entitled to protection began at the time of concep tion, the entry of a sperm cell into the egg. 

 

     In any event, abortion must be viewed as an issue with many angles.  If a person is pro-life, is he or she opposed to abortion altogether, is there a period early in the pregnancy that the fetus may be appropriately terminated, or are there circumstances, such as rape,  incest, or danger to the life of the mother, that justify ending a pregnancy?  If another person is pro-choice, is he or she in favor of abortion on demand at any time, regardless of the fetus' viability.  As is true of most  complex issues, the matter of abortion raises a multitude of questions that elicit a variety of answers and opions.

A Review of The Outsiders Club Screened on BBC 2 in October

INTRODUCTION

I decided to write a review on the social group known as The Outsiders. The group's main aim is to enable disabled adults to form personal relationships, including specifically sexual ones (Shakespeare 1996), either with each other or with non-disabled members.  The group has been in existence for several years, and has attracted a great deal of attention, including reaction from present and former members, and in particular from within the Disabled People's Movement . Many of the comments made by former members of the group have been critical, sometimes highly condemnatory, and frequently made by disabled women (Rae 1984).

In both my professional and private capacity I am interested in sexuality and disability, and specifically in the ways in which disabled adults can establish meaningful relationships with other people (disabled or on-disabled). Issues such as sexuality and the forming of relationships are regularly discussed in mainstream youth and community work, but rarely with regard to disabled people (which is not surprising since disabled people are often absent from mainstream groups). Indeed, it is only in the last few years that disabled people themselves have been in the forefront of this debate, and the leading protagonist have usually been activists within the wider disability movement, who are well aware of other social and sexual issues such as gender, sexism, homophobia, and so on. The Outsiders was set up (and is still fronted by) an able bodied woman who for many years has been well known in the controversial arena of sexual liberation and soft-core pornography, so it is hardly surprising that her group has both supporters and critics.

A recent BBC-2 documentary series (From the Edge) devoted a whole programme to the group, and this essay picks up the main themes that were aired.

SEXUALITY AND DISABILITY

Morris (1989) writes "once we first become disabled we are usually denied any

form of sexual identity." It is certainly true that among the many negative stereotypes of disability some of the most commonly held views are that disabled people are non-sexual, or sometimes asexual beings, or that they are likely to be attracted only to each other. 

THE OUTSIDERS CLUB

The Outsiders Club was established by Tuppy Owens in 1979. Tuppy,  a self-proclaimed stalwart campaigner for sexual equality, and a trained sex therapist.  She conceived the idea of a social group for disabled adults after her close male friend, Nigel, became blind. Fearful of the effect of disability ever afflicting her own life - and blindness in particular - she became determined to assist Nigel in any way she could. She began by taking Nigel to parties where she described to him in great detail what other women were wearing, and took delight in it. She claimed that this enabled him to

have more fun, as he could imagine what women were wearing, even though he could not see them. One question raised by this is: whose needs were being fulfilled?  I have

already suggested that many able-bodied people have quite misguided views concerning issues of sexuality and disability, so was Tuppy fulfilling a sexual fantasy of her own, or performing a valid role for her friend? (Shakespeare, Gillespie-Sells et al. 1996).

The club produces its own Practical Suggestions Guide, a guide considered offensive and oppressive by some members of the disability movement (Shakespeare, Gillespie-Sells et al. 1996).  The reason for this view is that the guide's content is based around a medical model of disability which suggests that disabled people's problems are due to their impairments, not to environmental and  attitudinal factors (Oliver 1996). In other words, in the view of the critics the guide fails to acknowledge the dominant model of disability which is widely propagated by the disability movement.  There is a 'medical' side to disability (or 'impairment') and it is at least arguable that some (maybe most) problems of sexual function are intrinsically medical - and not imposed by society. However, issues of shyness, assertiveness, and social/sexual confidence may well be rooted in expectations of disapproval, contempt or rejection from an unaware non-disabled public. 

HOW THE CLUB TREATS ITS MEMBERS.

Billy Prosser, a member of the club considers that the topic "Disability and sexuality

is taboo", ie sexuality as expressed by disabled people carries a kind of stigma. Goffman in 1963 uses the term "stigma" to refer to an attribute that is discrediting.  To an extent this derives from traditional cultural and media assumptions about physical beauty and "attractiveness".  Disabled people are seldom portrayed (for instance in films, on TV, in books, comics or magazines) as sexy, or desirable, or sexually alluring to non-disabled people. The club's membership is made up of able-bodied and disabled people. What is interesting about the current membership is that there is a gender imbalance, with men outnumbering women by 2:1, and it appears that the club attracts able-bodied men but not able-bodied women (Shakespeare, Gillespie-Sells et al. 1996).  So what attracts non-disabled men to the Outsiders Club? Are they splendidly broad-minded individuals who have no sexual hang-ups about mixing with disabled women, or are they themselves sexually frustrated, isolated people at the last chance saloon?

We need to look at the management, structure, and general style of the club to find some answers, and to try to answer the underlying question - is The  Outsiders Club a good or a bad thing?

THE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE

The Outsiders Club's Management Committee consists of four people, including

Tuppy Owens, she is the only able-bodied person on the committee. In the film, Annette Taylor, the club's Chairperson, suggested that the club ought to address the negative images which have developed since its inception in 1979. When viewing a film like this, I feel it is imperative that we, as individuals (either club members or interested observers) are able to challenge our own moral standpoint.  It is perhaps inevitable that

individuals who are confronted with the issues depicted in the programme have been provoked into feelings of discord. I found, as I was watching, that it was practically impossible not to draw upon my own personal feelings concerning the issues expressed above (Waitman and Conboy-Hill 1996). 

THE OUTSIDERS CLUB AND SEXUAL SURROGACY.

In the film, Tuppy Owens mentioned her support for the use of sexual surrogates, presumably (in some cases) via contacts made at The Outsiders Club. A sexual surrogate is someone who usually is employed by a sex therapist to assist with some sexual problem.  This can be associated with a lack of confidence or poor self esteem.  The film interviewed two able-bodied sexual surrogates, one male and the other female. Both surrogates in this film used statements like: "I like to give pleasure and to make the person happy" and "I massage them".  The fees commence at £60 per session, and a typical case would involve an able-bodied, female, sexual surrogate who would spend two hours with a disabled person (male) for the purpose of sex.

The surrogate explains:

"I take them out of their chair, put them on to the bed, make them comfortable, please them, wash them, dress them and put them back in their wheelchair" I found the impersonal, matter-of-fact words used by the surrogate woman in the film rather offensive. She kept referring to disabled people as "them" which seemed to imply that the disabled person was somehow less than the surrogate herself.  It was considered reasonable by the surrogate that a fee (£60) was charged, partly because it is after all a 'business' transaction, and "otherwise they would become too attached if we did not charge".

POWER, CONTROL, and FETISHISM

The film showed several disabled women who discussed their experiences of the club. One woman, who uses a wheelchair, claimed that she had only been asked out by able-bodied men. Tuppy's explanation of this was that some able bodied men feel inadequate within their own experience, but are enabled to feel empowered if they have sex with disabled women. She said that such men feel they are in control, and by this process are able to exercise power over a woman, albeit that the woman is disabled.  Shakespeare makes the point that there is an assumption here that any sexual contact is better than no sexual contact (Shakespeare 1996).  A further disturbing aspect of the club, mentioned in some detail in the TV film, is that it is used by some (usually able-bodied) men as an informal network for specific sexual tastes. An example of this is that in the Outsiders Club handbook it states: "Do not confess your fetish early in the relationship, as some women may find this offensive". There seems to be a voyeuristic view of disability in cases such as these, and this was given weight by Shakespeare in 1996. What is particularly disturbing, is that the Outsiders magazine publishes most of the members' names and addresses with telephone numbers. It was suggested that most people who join do not fully understand how the club operates.  This highlights very real dangers, particularly for some women who may already lack social skills and consequently be considered to be vulnerable.

CONCLUSIONS.

Tuppy Owens and members of The Outsiders Club co-operated willingly in the shooting of the film - to their credit. They do not seem ashamed or evasive about what they do and how they operate. The programme was not long enough to be a truly authoritative portrait, but it did raise sensitive, awkward, and provocative issues. The programme itself almost seemed to depict some disabled people and some non-disabled people (ie Club members) as somewhat sexually deviant or even dangerous, which it suggests is hardly surprising when we live in a sexually supercharged culture, where the emphasis is upon the body beautiful and how attractive a person is (Longmore 1987), and there is a growing fascination with sexual extremes. The programme quoted from its guide that women should not turn down advances from men as this may be perceived by the men that the women who are saying no in fact mean yes(Shakespeare, Gillespie-Sells et al. 1996).  This is a  dangerous proposition, and adds fuel to the uneasiness that is evident in people's views about the club. I do not disagree per se with the idea of a sexual club where consenting disabled adults can meet together with other disabled people or non-disabled people to develop social skills, build self esteem, and possibly involve themselves in sexual relationships.  I do however consider that the Outsiders Club does not meet the needs of disabled women, and their vulnerability is not fully understood by the club's organisers.

References

Longmore, P. K. (1987). "Screening Stereotypes: Images of Disabled People in Television and Motion Pictures." .       

Oliver, M. (1996). Understanding Disability: From Theory to Practice. London, Macmillan.

Rae, A. (1984). Refusing to be the Outsiders. Spare Rib 145 . p. 18-20.

Shakespeare, T. (1996). Power and Prejudice: Issues of Gender, Sexuality and Disability. Disability & Society: Emerging Issues and Insights. L. Barton. London, Longman.

Shakespeare, T., K. Gillespie-Sells, et al. (1996). The Sexual Polities of Disability: Untold Desires. London, Cassell.

Waitman, A. and S. Conboy-Hill (1996). Confronting Moral Standpoints.

December 1996

A response paper to a film on S&M Bondage

Whip me, Beat me, Make me feel like an IDIOT!

   This documentary does hit on the key issues of instinctual

drive, Sex and Aggression. I felt like sex and aggression was met by

both participants in each sexcapade by the use of what the customer

felt was a mixture of love and domination. Love is what I felt all the

customers were looking to their dominatrix for; and by them

humiliating, beating  and subduing them the customer attained a

feeling of what they felt was love, something that had probably been

lacking since early childhood. Aggression for the most part was

released by the mistress who, in my opinion, also needed that release

of a basic instinctual drive -- Aggression. This was probably fueled

by a subdued hatred for men or to attain that feeling of power one

gets when they conquer something.

Another issue is the cathartic effect this type of expression has

as a means for deterring non-consensual sexual activity. This

statement was illustrated best by the man who had psychotic

thoughts and feelings and used this as a means of "getting things in

his head right", if he had not had this mental and sexual release he

could very well have committed some sort of heinous crime against

humanity. So I may not agree with these people or even see the

soothing capabilities of this "therapy" but that does not mean it does

not hold its own social value and merit.

In closing I would like to say that I feel enlightened to have this

information, which may help me in the future to sympathize with

someone who may have that "urge", and I feel that armed with this

knowledge I may be able to recognize that deviant in the future.