Introducing Eva Sweeney whose ground-breaking initiative Cripping Up Sex aims to provide education on sex with a disability, something that is rarely touched upon by mainstream blogs or initiatives.
What is Cripping Up Sex and how did you get into it?
Cripping Up Sex is a platform for the sex education I offer for people with disabilities. I run workshops online and in person about sex and disability, write articles, and review sex toys with an accessible lens. As a teenager, I searched and searched for information on sex and disability and could not find anything. Even when I called disability organisations, I got everything from “we can not help with that” to just getting hung up on. So I decided to just do it all myself. I wrote a book called “Queers on Wheels” which talked about dating, adapting sex toys, assisted masturbation, etc. I am happy to say there is a lot more information in the world today because of the internet, but we still have a long way to go.
What is your vision for the future of Cripping Up Sex?
I would love to run workshops on a regular basis and also keep my toy review blog going.
What are the key trends you’re seeing at the moment that influence your work?
App powered toys are a good trend for people with disabilities because it gives more control back to the user and you could mount your phone anywhere so its accessible to you.
What’s the biggest surprise you’ve had since starting to work in sextech?
Even in 2019, sex toy companies don’t even mention accessibility anywhere. In other realms of life, there are more discussions about accessibility and disability but the sex tech world has a lot of room for improvement.
When it comes to sex, what’s the one thing you wish everyone knew?
That with a little creativity and a lot of communication, anyone can have really great sex!
What was your sex education like growing up?
I was lucky to be mainstreamed at a very young age, so I did not have the horrible fear and abuse based “sex education” that most kids in special ed receive. But still, my sex education was mostly hetero-normative and able-bodied-centered. So people with disabilities were not talked about and we definitely never discussed how to integrate your disability with your sex/dating life.
Do you have any practical tips that someone could use tonight to enhance their pleasure?
Just communicate! Have fun, laugh at the things that don’t work and move on. Communication is the key to any good sexual relationship.
