November 2012 – mamasmunchkin

I was watching “The Jeff Probst Show” this past Monday and he was talking to Deborah Ann Woll from the HBO series “True Blood”. Her boyfriend happens to be legally blind because of a rare condition called Choroideremia. What I happened to find most interesting about the interview was that they were talking about the modified dates they have been on because things like the sun are painful to her boyfriend’s eyes and can actually speed up his vision loss.

No matter what a person’s disability is, they have a right to have relationships with the opposite sex if they so choose. There might be some impact on the non-disabled person’s life but depending on the disability, this is not always the case. Also, if they love each other or really like each other it shouldn’t matter either way.

It was also interesting to me that during the interview, Deborah’s boyfriend (his name is E.J.) said that while he was trying to date people, some were bothered by his disability. Unfortunately, I know firsthand, from past experience, that some people can not handle dating someone who has a disability. In the long run, it is the person with out the disability who misses out, not the other way around.

As I was thinking about this, I can’t say that one gender is more likely to date a disabled person than the other. I just really think it depends on the person’s personality and their experiences that would make them more or less likely to be open to dating someone with a disability.

All in all, relationships can be complicated enough. People should not start out from the beginning with the attitude that things cannot work out with someone who is disabled, (or really vice versa for those who have a disability that are a little leery on dating someone who isn’t disabled.) just because they may have to do things a bit differently with that person. If they are interested in dating one another, they should just have an open mind about it and see how it works out.

Why is it that when you mention the words “dating” and “disability” in the same sentence, the topic seems so out of the ordinary to some people?

Thanks for reading..

Since we recently had a Presidential election, I was thinking about people in history that have impacted the disability world. I started to think about Franklin Delano Roosevelt. FDR was the 32nd President of the United States. He used a wheelchair, but tried to hide the fact that he had Polio from the public. My guess is that he did so because he was afraid of the reception he would get from people about his disability.

Then, I started to think about how this is not something that would probably be hidden today for a few reasons. First, I would hope that the climate toward people having a disability has changed. If there was a candidate who had a disability, he (or she) would not feel like their disability was something that needed to be hidden in order to even be seriously considered for the highest position in the country. Second, a lot of people feel like their disability limits them from achieving their goals. In my opinion, being the President of the United States is like achieving the American dream to some. If it is possible for someone with a disability to attain this goal, maybe someone else would see this as the motivation they need to achieve their own goals. Also, I feel like if we had a President with a disability now, he or she would be out in public. As a result, maybe more people would realize that having a disability is not as uncommon as they might think it is anymore. It would also be a good example, demonstrating that people who are disabled participate in everyday things just like anyone else.

FDR did many things for this country that ended up in the history books I studied when I was in school. While I do remember his disability also being mentioned, I believe that he started bringing down a tremendous barrier with out really intending to or realizing what he was doing.

What is your favorite piece of history that shows others overcoming stereotypes?

Thanks for reading..

Month: November 2012

Relationships and Disability

A Little Presidential History…