11 votes

'A human need': Australian disability groups say people on NDIS should have access to sex workers

10 comments

  1. [4]
    Comment deleted by author
    Link
    1. JakeTheDog
      Link Parent
      I think the point is that they can't use sex toys (i.e. impairment to their mobility). If you read the article: Also, there is the added component of the physical, human-intimacy (even with sex...

      Can't a disabled person buy a sex toy like the rest of us? Why do they need it to be government covered?

      I think the point is that they can't use sex toys (i.e. impairment to their mobility).

      If you read the article:

      ... someone with severe cerebral palsy who could not reach their own genitals.

      Also, there is the added component of the physical, human-intimacy (even with sex workers, despite the transient nature) which makes current technologies sub-par with respect to human sexual needs.

      Can't a disabled person buy a sex toy like the rest of us? Why do they need it to be government covered?

      Depending on the disability, some people have no incomes and depend on the government/insurance anyways. Presumably this would just be progress in expansion.

      8 votes
    2. [2]
      DanBC
      Link Parent
      Because this is about intimate human to human connections, not orgasms.

      Can't a disabled person buy a sex toy like the rest of us?

      Because this is about intimate human to human connections, not orgasms.

      3 votes
      1. JakeTheDog
        Link Parent
        But it is also about orgasms. As is intimacy is not necessarily dependent on genital stimulation (otherwise companions would suffice).

        But it is also about orgasms. As is intimacy is not necessarily dependent on genital stimulation (otherwise companions would suffice).

  2. [7]
    hhh
    Link
    Do the people supporting this think this should be extended to incels? I'm genuinely curious.

    Do the people supporting this think this should be extended to incels? I'm genuinely curious.

    6 votes
    1. [3]
      Comment deleted by author
      Link Parent
      1. [2]
        Algernon_Asimov
        Link Parent
        This article is about using government money to pay for sex therapists and prostitutes to provide services to disabled people. It's not about legalising sex work.

        This article is about using government money to pay for sex therapists and prostitutes to provide services to disabled people. It's not about legalising sex work.

        12 votes
        1. [2]
          Comment deleted by author
          Link Parent
          1. Algernon_Asimov
            Link Parent
            @hhh's question is a way of implying that people wouldn't recommend using government funds to pay for sex services for non-disabled people who want them, so we probably shouldn't recommend using...

            @hhh's question is a way of implying that people wouldn't recommend using government funds to pay for sex services for non-disabled people who want them, so we probably shouldn't recommend using government funds to pay for sex services for disabled people. It's a very indirect way to approach the subject, but it's still about spending government money on sex workers.

            It's also worth noting that prostitution has already been decriminalised in most Australian jurisdictions. It's highly regulated and extremely restricted, and the legislation varies greatly from state to state (some states require prostitutes to work in licensed brothels, while brothels are illegal in other states) - but, in most Australian states and territories, prostitution is legal in some form. The legalisation argument is therefore old-hat here. (Which is why disability advocates can suggest using government money to hire sex workers!)

            6 votes
    2. Algernon_Asimov
      Link Parent
      Given that most people with disabilities who are involuntarily celibate ("in-cel") are in that situation without being hateful sexist pigs, you'll need to define who you're talking about. But, if...

      Given that most people with disabilities who are involuntarily celibate ("in-cel") are in that situation without being hateful sexist pigs, you'll need to define who you're talking about.

      But, if you're talking about able-bodied men who aren't able to get sex because of their misogynistic chauvinistic entitled attitudes to women... then, no, I highly doubt that disability activists are suggesting we use taxpayer funds to provide them with prostitutes. This service would be for people who are physically unable to get out of the house, or who have problems with their sexuality due to a disability.

      A horrible personality might be a disadvantage in life and romance, but it's not a disability.

      9 votes
    3. [3]
      JoylessAubergine
      Link Parent
      Yes. I'd like to see studies done whether it does help self worth and quality of life before a program fully kicks off but i dont see why you wouldnt extend it to less visible disorders. Lets be...

      Yes. I'd like to see studies done whether it does help self worth and quality of life before a program fully kicks off but i dont see why you wouldnt extend it to less visible disorders.

      Lets be honest, when you get past the buzzwords and meme status of "incels" (and when it's not just being used as an insult like virgin was in highschool) it's just an outwardly destructive manifestation of self worth and depression issues. We know men and women "show" different when it comes to many different mental conditions. An "incel" has many of the same problems that his sister counterpart has but where hers are anorexia and thinspo boards his are misogyny and incel boards. Both have the right to help.

      6 votes
      1. [2]
        sublime_aenima
        Link Parent
        Access to a sex worker is likely not going to help a stereotypical incel much though. These men are usually able bodied and their malady is mental rather than physical. They would do much better...

        Access to a sex worker is likely not going to help a stereotypical incel much though. These men are usually able bodied and their malady is mental rather than physical. They would do much better seeking the help of a therapist than a sex worker. That said, I feel a sex therapist is the same as any other therapist with a specialty focus and that people who need access to one should definitely receive it. An incel that has access to a sex worker will not change their toxicity and delusions just from having sex.

        7 votes
        1. DrStone
          Link Parent
          I can see how it might be possible to give them the perspective needed to break free from that mentality. They've built up the idea of sex in their minds so much over so long, giving it wildly...

          I can see how it might be possible to give them the perspective needed to break free from that mentality. They've built up the idea of sex in their minds so much over so long, giving it wildly disproportionate importance in life. They believe that having sex is the goal, that it's their right, and it will make them happy and whole as a man. It's difficult to simply talk that down, particularly if the recipient believes the advice to come from someone who is having it, viewed like telling a man in the desert, "really, water isn't that great, you don't need it". What if, instead, they could be shown exactly what they're missing and asking for? While the act is certainly pleasurable, it's not magic, and I can see the after effects going a few different ways. On the negative end is that nothing changes, they still hold the same views, maybe even rationalizing the results and doubling down. On the positive end, it could sow the seeds of confidence and positivity, all of the benefits that @vivaria mentioned elsewhere, and give them the tools to dig themselves out of the mental hole. And in the middle, they may feel the same same pain, lack of fulfillment, emasculation and realize that sex wasn't the silver-bullet they believed, starting to open them up to new ideas and mental help. That last one seems fairly likely; "I guess I'm a man now, but I don't feel any different" is a fairly common theme in coming-of-age media.

          6 votes